Hawk Creek Wildlife Center

Situated on a quiet and wooded country road on the outskirts of East Aurora lies one of our region’s hidden gems. Hawk Creek Wildlife Center (Hawk Creek) occupies a dozen acres dedicated to instilling respect for nature andpromoting stewardship of our planet.

“We aim to inspire minds through wildlife,” said Tanya Lowe, Curator at Hawk Creek.

Started in 1987 as a way for its founder and executive director, Loretta Jones, to teach her children respect and responsibility for nature, Hawk Creek has evolved since then to house a diverse, global collection of raptors and wildcats, and today provides engaging, meaningful up-close encounters through flying bird shows and animal interactions for varied audiences, on-site and through its outreach programs.

“It has really grown with the community,” explained Tanya. “As we’ve gotten more involved and our knowledge andexpertise with raptors and small wildcats has grown, we’ve become a resource for not only the immediate community,but also the extended zoological community. We have also become a resource for propagation of rare andendangered species.”

A scenic walk through Hawk Creek’s property allows guests to visit a plethora of wildcats, porcupines, a fainting goat,owls, eagles and hawks, just to name just a few.

When it came time to plan for the future, Hawk Creek turned to the Community Foundation to establish anendowment in 1999, which provides a perpetual stream of funding.

“As a not-for-profit, funding is crucial to us surviving. With the Community Foundation, we knew that we had found an organization – and people – that we could trust to help us,” Tanya said.

“Even though we’re a small organization, the Community Foundation really makes us feel like our business is just asimportant as any other client,” added Hannah Brenner, Development Manager at Hawk Creek.

As Hawk Creek continues to evolve and grow with the community, it appreciates having a partnership they candepend on. “We love working with the Community Foundation,” Tanya said. “The people there have a passion forwhat they do, and genuinely care about us succeeding. To continue to grow and thrive, it gives us great peace of mind knowing that our future is in good hands.

Click here to read more about inspiring Community Foundation clients.