Wildlife rescue at Julia Durbin Day Nursery

Kind-hearted children and practitioners from Julia Durbin Day Nursery in Headington were delighted to carry out a good deed as they rescued a fallen baby squirrel from a pathway.

After carefully transferring the creature into a box to stay warm, children from the Ofsted-rated ‘Outstanding’ Day Nursery on Roosevelt Drive spoke about the importance of treating all living things with kindness, whilst waiting for the squirrel to be collected by local wildlife hospital and sanctuary, Tiggwinkles, in order to receive their expert rehabilitation.

To further the learning experience, children were delighted to revisit the story of ‘Snowy the Squirrel’, a fiction book written by Childbase Partnership professionals and provided as a free gift to every nursery child, filled with key environmental messages and facts on topics including hibernation, diet, endangered status and habitat to give a deeper understanding.

The nursery have since received an update from Tiggwinkles, who were pleased to report the squirrel is thriving under their care, with no major injuries sustained from the fall. It will now be fostered out with other baby squirrels, before being returned permanently to the rescue centre when big enough as greys cannot legally be released back into the wild.

Julia Durbin Day Nursery Business Administrator, Emma Piorkowski explained;

“The children were so proud of our rescue operation and couldn’t wait to tell their families about the important role they had played in helping. Tiggywinkles is an incredible charity and we are so grateful for the compassion they have shown not only to this squirrel, but every other animal in their care. This has been a hugely valuable experience for the group and we were thrilled to have the Snowy the Squirrel book to link to our learning.”