NATIONAL MARINE LIFE CENTER, INC.
This organization has already been registered
Someone in your organization has already registered and setup an account. Would you like to join their team?Profile owner : j**********y@g***l.c*m
Mission Statement
The National Marine Life Center rehabilitates and releases stranded marine mammals and sea turtles in order to advance science and education in marine wildlife health and conservation.
About This Cause
Cape Cod is a stranding hotspot for endangered sea turtles and local and seasonal seals. Each year on the beaches of Cape Cod and southeastern Massachusetts, hundreds of marine animals beach themselves alive and in need of veterinary care. The National Marine Life Center is an independent, non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1995 as a marine animal hospital, science, and education center. NMLC’s mission is “to rehabilitate and release stranded marine mammals and sea turtles, in order to advance science and education in marine wildlife health and conservation.” With this three-fold mission of rehabilitation, science, education, NMLC’s contributions to the environment, the Cape Cod community, and the marine animal field are considerable. Rehabilitating sick or injured animals benefits both the individual animal and also creates opportunities to learn about marine animal populations, wildlife health, and the condition of our ocean and shoreline habitats. In learning more about wildlife and ocean health, researchers often discover human health implications. Through NMLC programs that teach about marine animal strandings and rehabilitation, both children and adults learn about the need for environmental stewardship. Rehabilitation Program: NMLC’s core mission is to rehabilitate and release stranded sea turtles and seals. Since initiating a rehabilitation program in 2004, we have cared for 419 endangered sea turtles, 250 seals and 107 endangered Native turtles. Our rehabilitation program goal is to release healthy animals back to the wild and to learn from the animals in our care. Science Program: Animals in rehabilitation provide important opportunities to learn more about wildlife disease, wild populations, and the marine ecosystem. Findings may have implications for human health. NMLC is committed to advancing scientific knowledge about strandings and marine wildlife health. Current scientific interests include case studies of our patients; investigations of the role parasites play in marine animal health, stranding, and disease; study of middle ear disease in seals. Education Program: The third branch of NMLC’s mission is to provide enlightening educational experiences focusing on marine animals, the ocean environment, and the human impact on that environment. NMLC’s patients provide a context for teaching about these topics, thereby promoting positive actions and a sense of environmental stewardship. To that end, we conduct hands-on educational programs both on-site and off-site. Since initiating a formal education program in 2005, we have taught over 2,364 programs to over 76,713 children and adults. Another educational initiative is our summer visitor’s center, the Marine Animal Discovery Center. Since opening in 1999, we have welcomed over 120,986 visitors, both residents and tourists alike. A final area of education is providing hands-on learning opportunities. Since 2005, NMLC has welcomed over 450 students for community service projects and 90 student interns and work-study participants. These in-depth work/learning programs are valuable opportunities for both NMLC and students alike. Participating students have developed skills in animal husbandry, environmental education, facilities management, administration, interpersonal skills, marketing, data entry, water quality testing, and much more.