Cleanup gets underway at Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre

It’s cleanup day at the Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre in Napanee. A time to throw out some bad memories as well as charred lumber and crumpled steel.

It’s been just under a month since a fire gutted a barn used to shelter wild animals.

Heavy machinery was brought in on Tuesday to rip down the remains of the structure.

“We are getting ready to build as soon as we can,” said Sue Meech, the founder and director of the centre. “We’re going to rebuild the barn first, than put in an aquatic centre on the side of the barn using one of the existing walls.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We are getting ready to build as soon as we can," said Sue Meech, the founder and director of the centre. "We're going to rebuild the barn first, than put in an aquatic centre on the side of the barn using one of the existing walls."

It was Jan. 12 when the blaze broke out. Since then, appeals for donations have paid off. Local resident Ken Tulloch helped with the cleanup.

The equipment, as well as labour, didn’t cost the centre a thing. Tulloch, who runs a construction company out of Selby, says it’s the least he and others could do.

“Wild animals — they only have themselves and when they get hurt, a lot of the hurt is from us as a a community. We’re overtaking their areas. So for a wild animal, they need the extra care and that’s what Sue’s here for. People have a heart for that and I think that’s where it all goes.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Wild animals — they only have themselves and when they get hurt, a lot of the hurt is from us as a a community. We're overtaking their areas. So for a wild animal, they need the extra care and that's what Sue's here for. People have a heart for that and I think that's where it all goes."

Meech says the centre continues to look for donations — hay and straw would be great, and money is of course always welcome.