WildCare's new wildlife hospital and education center on Albert Park Lane remains on track to open this fall, and the nonprofit is inviting San Rafael residents to support its $24 million capital campaign with a fundraising hike Saturday, Aug. 29, at China Camp State Park.
WildCare says it has raised nearly $23.4 million toward the campaign. A $2 million matching gift means donations made through Sept. 30 will be doubled, according to WildCare's capital campaign page.
The "Elevate Every Step Hike-A-Thon" will take place at Miwok Meadows in China Camp State Park. Check-in runs from 9 to 9:45 a.m., and guided hikes begin at 10 a.m., according to WildCare's event page.
The event comes weeks after members of the Pt. San Pedro Road Coalition's Wetlands Committee toured the construction site Aug. 11.
Executive Director Ellyn Weisel led the hard-hat tour alongside Education Director Eileen Jones, Director of Advancement Nicole Trautsch and Director of Marketing and Communications Crystal Beasly, according to the Pt. San Pedro Road Coalition.
Weisel told the group the completed facility will be open to the public and free of charge, calling it a gift to San Rafael, Marin County and the North Bay that will help educate the next generation of environmental stewards.
What's inside the new campus
The centerpiece is a restored 1879 Carpenter Gothic building originally constructed as the parish hall at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in downtown San Rafael.
The building was moved to Albert Park Lane in the 1950s and served as the Marin Junior Museum before WildCare took over the site. It was temporarily relocated in 2025 while crews installed 64 deep-foundation piers to stabilize the flood-plain site, then returned and restored.
Its old-growth redwood interior will house a new Learning Center with interactive exhibits.
A new three-story building next door includes a wildlife hospital on the second floor and a raptor aviary. Roughly two-thirds of WildCare's patients are birds, according to the Pt. San Pedro Road Coalition.
The third floor includes additional hospital caging beneath a solar-panel-covered roof, and a freight elevator connects the building's three levels. The ground floor houses administrative offices, the Living with Wildlife Hotline and laundry and kitchen facilities used for animal care.
Outside, an Ambassador Courtyard will feature enclosures designed to resemble natural habitats for animals that cannot be returned to the wild.
"They have lessons to teach us about how we interact with nature," Jones said during the tour.
A new footbridge over San Rafael Creek will include interpretive signage about wetlands. Crews are also removing invasive giant reeds and palms along the creek and replacing them with native plants including coffeeberry and snowberry.
Why it matters
WildCare treats about 3,500 animals annually and serves roughly 13,000 students each year through school outreach programs, camps and hikes, according to the Pt. San Pedro Road Coalition.
The previous facility lacked insulation and temperature controls and experienced leaking roofs, flooding and problems with free-ranging rodents, according to the Pt. San Pedro Road Coalition.
The San Rafael Planning Commission recommended approval of the project's Environmental and Design Review Permit in July 2023.
How to help
- Hike-A-Thon: Saturday, Aug. 29, at Miwok Meadows in China Camp State Park. Check-in is from 9 to 9:45 a.m., with guided hikes beginning at 10 a.m. Registration is available through WildCare's event page.
- Donate: Contributions to the Elevate WildCare campaign through Sept. 30 will be matched dollar-for-dollar. Donations can be made through WildCare's capital campaign page.
- Questions: Contact WildCare through discoverwildcare.org.
WildCare has not announced a more specific opening date beyond fall 2026.
