562.434.0141 - 379 Newport Ave Ste. 302 Long Beach, CA90814

Kim, our C.E.O., started our story-telling part of the program by reading "Owl Moon" by Jane Yolen.  Owl Moon is a wonderful, award-winning story suitable for all ages. It tells a tale of a young man and his father venturing out into the winter woods on an owl-watching trip. This is a  very good story with a moral of hope. If you want to know more about this wonderful story, we suggest checking it out from your local library. The children totally enjoyed the story and the superb story-telling abilities of Kim; she can really make a book come to life.

When the story had concluded, we introduced Archimedes, a Saw Whet Owl, to our young audience. As always, the entire crowd greeted Archimedes with a unanimous "Ahhh" followed by silence. She seems to  instill a sense of wonderment in children because she is so cute and tiny. We explained about Archimedes, telling of her history, her species natural habits, habitats, diets, behaviors and characteristics. We then took Archimedes from child-to-child letting each child meet her face-to-face and answered the children's' questions. It is always such a rewarding experience to watch the children's reactions when they get to meet Archimedes "up close and personal". In a zoo type environment, children see a fence, bushes, another fence and then cages that separate them from the animal being viewed. What everyone sees at a zoo is an animal in an exhibit, not the animal. With the AWRE experience, the children actually meet the animal and leave with the understanding that animals are not to be feared or killed but to be cared for and protected. This is one of AWRE's primary beliefs and part of our mission: Education of community, especially our children. They are the key to protecting and conserving our wildlife