2018 was an eventful year here at Safe Haven Animal Discovery Experience. We accomplished some major projects: completing several animal exhibits, establishing two beehives on property, and completing renovations on more outbuildings. However, we also experienced a major setback with a direct hit by Hurricane Florence. The wind damage ended up undoing some of our previously finished projects, meaning we lost a lot of time and money having to do things over again, but thankfully we learned a lot about things we were doing right and things we could improve on for the next hurricane.
We started off the year by building some more animal exhibits around the periphery of the petting barn area. A chicken barn and yard was first on the list. It was built using a foundation of pallets in order to reuse and re-purpose old materials for a more environmentally friendly construction project.
Starting with a load of pallets. We were able to pick these up from a local business and save them from ending up in the landfill.
Laying the foundation. Once is was level, we were able to run some boards as the base then build the rest from the rescued pallets.
Walls are completed. Framing in the door.
Siding and a roof going up.
Nesting boxes are made of reporposed materials too. These old milk cartons make great spots to lay eggs as they’re the right size and easy to clean. Two of the girls were so excited to try them out that you can see them both squeezing into a box on the bottom.
Chickens are ready to move in!
Next on the agenda was fixing up the old block building. The entire roof had to be replaced. We were able to upgrade from a shingle roof to a metal one for more long-term stability. The cinder block walls were scraped free of the vines that had grown up on the sides and the holes were patched with cement. We then began construction on the interior and exterior animal holding areas around the outside. We transformed what was a carport style porch into an insulated, lighted, and heated room for tropical birds with a shift door leading to a large outdoor aviary exhibit. It is the perfect exhibit for birds that need warmer winter housing because it allows us to not only keep them warm in the winter months, but allow them easy access to the outside when warm weather allows. And because we don’t have to move them to another area over winter, it’s a stress-free transition between seasons.
Transforming the porch into a climate-controlled room for housing cold sensitive species.
Poles for the aviary exhibit going in.
Wire and natural perching are installed.
The tortoise yard was the next project completed. We house 18 Burmese mountain tortoises here at Safe Haven. They are a rainforest species that love the hot, humid environments like we have here in North Carolina. A shy species of tortoise as juveniles, they also prefer shaded areas. So we were able to give them an exhibit with two huge crepe myrtle trees to keep them move comfortable and out of the direct sun. The exhibit is connected to the block building, which allows us to run electricity to their barn. The tortoise barn is heated and has a light source, which means they can stay warm and safe in their habitat during the cold spring and autumn nights and winter months, yet still be easily let out, even in winter, on days that the temperature is warm enough for them to be out safely. They really enjoy cruising around the large space and the yard is so large that it’s sometimes difficult to spot a tortoise, even with so many in the exhibit.
Building the exterior of the tortoise barn.
Barn is fully electrified and insulated. Finishing some posts for the fence before the tortoises move in.
Couldn’t resist this picture of the crepe myrtle tree blossoms dropping in front of the tortoise barn in the spring. Those trees create the perfect shaded environment that Burmese mountain tortoises require.
Fencing the perimeter of the exhibits was the next important step towards getting open. It is necessary to have a secure perimeter fence as well as a visitor barrier in order to prevent visitors from accidentally coming too close to our animal ambassadors. We installed a 6 foot wooden perimeter fence around some of the bird aviaries that will ultimately be in an off-exhibit back area. We also got the guest barrier installed in front of the aviary exhibit, got the chicken yard fenced in, and got another barnyard exhibit area started.
Perimeter and chicken yard fencing going up simultaneously.
Public barrier going up in front of some aviary exhibits.
Throughout the winter and into spring we had participated in a local beekeeping course. At the end of the course, our co-founder took and passed the state exam making her a Certified Beekeeper in the state of North Carolina. Then in the early summer, we set up two hives on property and welcomed two colonies of honey bees to Safe Haven. These wonderful insects will not only help pollinate many plants within a five mile radius, but they will also be a valuable teaching tool by acting as ambassadors for their wild cousins when discussing the importance of insects and pollinators in our environment. Plus, the honey we will eventually harvest can be used as enrichment for the animals we care for.
After installing our first hive, the new bees are getting acquainted with their new home. The grass is used to plug the hole right as the bees are added because it discourages them from absconding yet is only temporary and easily removed by the bees.
When you inspect the hive, one of the things you are looking for is the presence of your queen. She’s present and accounted for during this inspection. She’s the one with the red dot on her abdomen.
September 2018 was a trying time here at Safe Haven Animal Discovery Experience. We got word that Hurricane Florence might be making landfall in North Carolina and started storm prep and keeping an eye on the radar. Sure enough, it looked like it was heading our way and we started implementing our hurricane preparedness plan in earnest. Animals were moved inside into sheltering areas, windows were boarded up, water was collected and stored all around the facility, generators were brought out, and our ride out team prepared to stay during the storm, and on the night of September 13th we received a direct hit from the hurricane that stalled over the property for two whole days. We lost power for four days. We were unable to travel off the property as roads all around were impassable. Gas stations were closed. Cell phone towers were down. The wind ripped pieces of roof off of our two big barn buildings, pushed down some of our fencing, and toppled trees. Yet thru it all, our staff and animals remained safe, due to our storm emergency planning.
There is a lot of cleaning up to do. And it’s not just us, the whole county will need time to recover from the devastating storm. It could take months to get insurance adjusters and contractors out to our property to give estimates and get claims processed. It was a huge blow to our momentum as we were now having to backtrack and replace things that may have just been built the months and weeks before. But in the end, we learned quite a bit about insurance processes and what things we needed to adjust with our coverage plans going forward. We also fell in love with the community even more after seeing their resilience and watching everyone come together to pitch in for the recovery efforts and are excited to be able to open and serve this unique and amazing community in the future.
Roof damage on the newly completed petting zoo barn.
Long barn damage - roof and posts were lost with this one.
Leaning perimeter fence which will need to be straightened.