Nature’s Nursery is on track for record year and running out of room

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - Nature’s Nursery helps thousands of injured and orphaned wild animals every year. And this year is on track to be a record-breaker for the rehabilitation center.

The number of animals taken in is up double digits compared with this time last year and there’s no end in sight.

2026 has been a busy year from the start. Nature’s Nursery has seen significant increases in the number of animals coming in. Allison Aey is the executive director.

“We have admitted over 930 animals already this year, which is a 25% increase compared to the same time during our busiest year ever. We still have a lot of the season left. We are just starting to get in baby opossums and baby birds, so being that significantly higher than where we have been in previous years, we’re concerned about resources and compassion fatigue for our staff and volunteers,” Aey said.

One of the busiest places right now is the NICU.

“Generally, we don’t open the NICU for babies until May 1st. And we’ve already had babies in there for several weeks,” Aey said.

So what’s behind the big jump? Aey believes the weather is the main culprit.

“We had an influx of animals in January and February because of the arctic cold temperatures, we got in quite a few raptors. Then the heavy winds we had in March led to an increase in baby squirrels. And we’ve been dealing with rain so we’re getting baby bunnies. Because of their shallow nests, baby bunnies are being washed out,” Aey said.

The weather has also delayed the release of some animals.

“We still have animals here that were here all winter. They are ready to be released, but the weather needs to cooperate. We need three warm nights in a row so we can finish releasing bats, frogs and turtles. We are backlogged on our winter animals and yet our spring animals came in early,” Aey said.

Because of the influx of animals, the center even had to limit admissions Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning.

“We’ve never had to completely cut off admissions, but we had to limit them for a bit this week. We had to make a hard stop at noon Tuesday until late morning on Wednesday to give the staff a chance to catch up,” Aey said.

The increase has meant an increased workload for employees and volunteers.

“We’ve had to adjust our staffing and bring in extra help early on. Some fosters are taking more animals home than they normally would. Volunteers have picked up shifts to help out.”

So how can you help? Aey says it starts with making your yard wildlife friendly.

“And how do we do that? Keeping cats inside during baby season. We have taken in a lot of bunnies and birds injured by cats. Watch your dogs, too. If you have a nest in your yard and you can take them on a walk during baby season that would be helpful. Also, check your lawn and landscape before doing work so you are not impacting nests.”

Aey also suggests if you need to cut down or trim a tree during nesting season, wait to do so for a few weeks until the baby squirrels and birds are out of their nests.

As you can imagine, the increased numbers have put a strain on resources.

Nature’s Nursery relies entirely on donations and grants to operate. There are a lot of different ways you can help. You can volunteer, hold a fundraiser, donate supplies or money.

If you’d like to learn more, click here.

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