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Seaside Seabird Sanctuary rebuilt after hurricanes thanks to Greater Good Charities

By Travis Anthony
Published  April 20, 2025 6:16pm EDT
Pinellas County
FOX 13 News

Seaside Seabird Sanctuary rebuilt after hurricanes

FOX 13's Travis Anthony shares the restoration effort needed to get the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary back up and running.

The Brief

    • The Seaside Seabird Sanctuary was rebuilt after the recent hurricanes thanks to Greater Good Charities.
    • When a wounded or injured bird is found, the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary takes them in to rehabilitate and care for them until they can be released back into the wild.
    • Greater Good's Pet Program and Construction Team brought in the lift vehicles, netting and other construction equipment to rebuild the outdoor aviary enclosures.

INDIAN SHORES, Fla. - When a wounded or injured bird is found, the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary takes them in to rehabilitate and care for them until they can be released back into the wild.

But when the 2024 hurricanes sacked the Pinellas coast, it was more than the small non-profit could handle on their own.

"Hurricane Helene and Milton really was a two punch for us," shared Melissa Edwards. She is the Avian Hospital Director at the Sanctuary. "Helene flooded all of our buildings (and) all of our enclosures; and then Milton really did some damage to the netting that makes up all of our seabird enclosures."

The backstory:

If they had been a traditional business, they would have been out of business. However, those same hurricanes caused injuries to birds, and the venue is the home to 100 birds that cannot be released due to the nature of their injuries; so shutting down was not an option.

"We had over $600,000 in damages after both storms, and that's a lot for a small non-profit," admitted Edwards.

The Seaside Seabird Sanctuary was rebuilt after the recent hurricanes thanks to Greater Good Charities.

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Volunteers helped with the physical cleanup of the property and donations helped to fund the renovation work for the structures. 

However, some of the bird enclosures required technical help that was beyond the skill level of local volunteers.

That's where Greater Good Charities was able to help.

What they're saying:

"We love working with other non-profits that are doing great work like this," shared Zach Baker of Greater Good Charities, "Because we can take our construction expertise and come in and get them back on their feet; so they can do what they do really well."

Greater Good's Pet Program and Construction Team brought in the lift vehicles, netting and other construction equipment to rebuild the outdoor aviary enclosures.

"This has just been a huge amount of netting," said Baker, "It's a 3rd of a mile of rigging that's been going up, just a ton of material. Our construction team that is here now specializes in renovating for animals."

When a wounded or injured bird is found, the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary takes them in to rehabilitate and care for them until they can be released back into the wild.

In the course of just a few days the entire outdoor habitat area was repaired or rebuilt, and all for free.

"To be able to have another non-profit who helps so many other organizations supporting wildlife and animals," stated Edwards, "It's really humbling that they saw our purpose and really thought it was important enough to help us out."

What you can do:

The facility is open again thanks to all the volunteers and help from other non-profit groups.

To learn more about the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary to visit or support them financially, you can click here. To learn more about Greater Good Charities and their mission around the world, you can visit their website.

The Source: Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Travis Anthony.

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