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Doors Open Ottawa happens every year in June allowing thousands of people access to buildings and facilities that normally are not open to the public.
For many of the participating organizations, it is the biggest event of the year and it allows them to raise their visibility with the public.
The Rideau Valley Wildlife Sanctuary (RVWS) is an example of this. Tucked away off the beaten path near North Gower, Ontario, this not-for-profit organization has been caring for injured or abandoned wildlife since 2005.
Since then, the RVWS has cared for more than 9,000 wild animals. So far in 2019, they have taken in more than 300 animals.
The goal of the organization is to nurse the wildlife back to health and release them back into the wild as close to where they were found as possible.
On one of the guided tours of the facility, visitors will see a gamut of wildlife ranging from turtles, to bats, to skunks, to raccoons, to squirrels – including babies being hand fed by the staff.
As the RVWS receives no government funding, it relies on donations from the public to keep its operation going.
To learn more about the sanctuary, click here.