Saturday, June 25, 2022
Green Reporter
  • Home
  • Biodiversity
  • Climate Change
  • Energy
  • Filmmaking
  • Food
  • Investment
  • Management
  • Sustainability
  • Technology
  • Transportation
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Biodiversity
  • Climate Change
  • Energy
  • Filmmaking
  • Food
  • Investment
  • Management
  • Sustainability
  • Technology
  • Transportation
No Result
View All Result
Green Reporter
No Result
View All Result
Home Biodiversity

Wild World Biodiversity Center reopens after devastating December fire

GrR by GrR
June 17, 2021
in Biodiversity
0
62
SHARES
269
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


HANOVER, Mich. — Six months ago, Brendan and Ashley Finerty looked on as their farm and years of hard work went up in flames.

An electrical fire took out their supply barns on Dec. 15

“It was terrible. I cried so hard. This has been Brendan’s dream since he was three years old,” Brendan’s mom, Vicki Basile, said.

The only saving grace was that their animals weren’t hurt. Now, they have re-opened, this time as the Wild World Biodiversity Center.

“The community here in Hanover, we have had unbelievable support from the township and everybody else opening,” Brendan said. “They did a raffle to help us raise some money. We had some local businesses just pitch in.”

The community came to their aid. A GoFundMe was established in hopes of rebuilding the barns. Friends, family and strangers raised just short of $3,500.

Their business is now located at the site of the former Buffalo Ranch on Rountree Road in Hanover. Brendan feels like it’s fate they were able to get the 56-acre site. He says, after he and his wife purchased their house nearby, the Buffalo Ranch was always calling their name.

“Five years ago, I said, ‘You know it would be kind of funny one day we could end up getting that.’ We sort of sat back and watched the property,” Finerty said. “It came to the point if we wanted to go anywhere, we would have to go past the Buffalo Ranch. When everything happened and we thought we were cooked, the owners reached out to us out of the goodness of their hearts. We managed to strike up a deal and now here we are.”

The Buffalo Ranch was a popular destination in the 1970s where guests would come watch rodeos.

The former Buffalo Ranch now home to Wild World

Joe Gebhardt, WSYM, 2021

The sale was finalized on April 15. Brendan said the next two months were some of the most grueling work he has ever put in.

“Until June 11, these were 20-hour days. It was an unbelievable amount of work,” he said. “Thankfully we had an incredible landscaping company come out and clean everything up because there’s no way I would be able to do everything on my own. My wife who works a Monday through Friday job was working until 4:30 and then would come out and work here until midnight. We were working under the headlights. It was an unbelievable two months to get everything up in time.”

They opened on Saturday. Guests can come in seven days a week to view and pet the animals that range from the domestic to the exotic. Emus, alpacas, peacocks, an alligator, a double yellow headed amazon parrot, two Australian black swans are just some of the animals they have on site.

“We are currently seeing about 100 to 120. Probably 85 percent of them are farm animals or small insects. We have quite a variety of domestic breeds,” Finerty said.

Finerty says the majority of their animals are either rescued or donated to them from people who “can’t take care of them anymore or don’t want them anymore.”

“The peacocks came to us from the Washtenaw Songbird Center,” Finerty said. “They bought a new building and the guy who was selling them told the place that if the Washtenaw Center did not take them, he was going to shoot them. The center is only set up for native species. They contacted us and asked if we could take them in.”

Basile said it’s a very educational experience.

“If you don’t know a lot about any animals Brendan will teach you,” she said. “He’s very knowledgeable. When you leave here you won’t just say, ‘Oh, the goats licked my hand. Ww.’ You’ll say, ‘Oh, wow. This is so cool.”

It was not easy to open Wild World. At one point they thought they would never be able to reopen.

“To be honest, once we got word that there was an issue with the insurance being written, we honestly kind of thought we had no idea what we were going to do,” Brendan said. “We kind of thought we had hit a wall especially after COVID that we might not be able to recover for years if at all. So the fact that we can stand here six months later and be open like this, it’s the definition of a Cinderella story.”

Finerty says they still plan on going to offsite birthday parties, offering pony rides at the Jackson Hot Air Jubilee and visiting schools and nursing homes during the January through March offseason to keep their business a year-long operation.

“Maybe they’re driving up north from Ohio or something this kind of gives them something to do,” Finerty said. “Families that are coming in for M.I.S weekend, Faster Horses things like that. It kind of brings a little bit more crowds through the village of Hanover.”

Hours of operation are Monday through Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Thursday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Cost is $8 for children between 3 and 12. Children 2 and under are free. Adults are $10. Seniors over 63 are $8.

Want to see more local news? Visit the FOX47News Website.

Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.

Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox.

Select from these options: Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines, and Daily Forecasts.

Follow us on Twitter

Like us on Facebook





Source link

Previous Post

Why 1971 was an extraordinary year in film

Next Post

5 goals in UnitedHealth’s sustainability report

GrR

GrR

Green Reporter is a global source for news of sustainability, green industry, green technology, clear energy, sustainable food production, and green investments. Our aim is to deliver the best news and information to you.

Next Post

5 goals in UnitedHealth's sustainability report

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest

Climate change in our backyard: Manitoba begins to grapple with the consequences – Winnipeg

August 10, 2021

Repsol starts marketing debut sustainability-linked bond sale

June 29, 2021

Sustainability Ambitions Soaring at KCI

December 6, 2021

Chris Pratt explains where the White Spikes originated

July 3, 2021
Stop burning our rights! What governments and corporations must do to protect humanity from the climate crisis – World

Stop burning our rights! What governments and corporations must do to protect humanity from the climate crisis – World

Biden said to mull dropping corporate tax hike to fund jobs plan

Biden said to mull dropping corporate tax hike to fund jobs plan

Global investors pressure Asian utilities to cut emissions

Global investors pressure Asian utilities to cut emissions

Global inequity could derail path to net zero

Global inequity could derail path to net zero

Division exists on climate change, vaccination status, mask mandates and gender identification – The Irish Times

June 25, 2022

Powering Future Manufacturing With Decarbonized Industrial Operations

June 25, 2022

How Google’s Jen Bennett Wants to Make Sustainability Easier for Firms

June 25, 2022

50 Irish food producers that have embraced sustainability

June 25, 2022

Recent News

Division exists on climate change, vaccination status, mask mandates and gender identification – The Irish Times

June 25, 2022

Powering Future Manufacturing With Decarbonized Industrial Operations

June 25, 2022

How Google’s Jen Bennett Wants to Make Sustainability Easier for Firms

June 25, 2022

50 Irish food producers that have embraced sustainability

June 25, 2022

Recent News

Division exists on climate change, vaccination status, mask mandates and gender identification – The Irish Times

June 25, 2022

Powering Future Manufacturing With Decarbonized Industrial Operations

June 25, 2022

How Google’s Jen Bennett Wants to Make Sustainability Easier for Firms

June 25, 2022

Browse by Category

  • Biodiversity
  • Climate Change
  • Energy
  • Filmmaking
  • Food
  • Investment
  • Management
  • Sustainability
  • Technology
  • Transportation

Follow Us

  • Privacy & Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise

© 2021 Copyright Green Reporter

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Biodiversity
  • Climate Change
  • Energy
  • Filmmaking
  • Food
  • Investment
  • Management
  • Sustainability
  • Technology
  • Transportation

© 2021 Copyright Green Reporter