Take A Walk on the Wild Side in Weymouth

Take a walk down the windy wooded South Weymouth road and it won’t take long to realize so much education is going on at the New England Wildlife Center.

Snakes receive ultrasounds, squirrels are injected with medication, baby turtles are hatching from their eggs, pet goats are butting heads, and best of all young volunteers and interns are receiving education and experience to prepare them for the work force.

Katrina Bergman, Executive Director of the wildlife center said graduates from 41 universities from Japan to Baghdad and everywhere across the world have volunteered and interned at the Weymouth animal center.

The wildlife center even has on-campus housing for their students who do everything from treat snapping turtles to hedge hogs.

The center, which is located on Columbian Street, recently received a $50,000 grant from Arbella Insurance, which they used to pay for iPads for their young student who visit the center. With the iPads, Dr. Greg Mertz of the Wildlife Center, said students will be able to instantly call the wildlife center and ask questions about animals they are studying.

Mertz said he hopes students will use the iPads to explore the outdoors and take photos of different animals. He believes the new tools will encourage students to get off the trails and start exploring the woods.

“We’ve become not only mentors to the students while they are here, but we also become mentors to them throughout the rest of their lives,” Mertz said. It’s a significant step forward in technology for us, but it’s also a way to convince those kids to get off the trail and actually find and explore the things that are real in nature.”



The Wildlife Center invited local officials, including Superintendent Kenneth Salim and Norfolk County Sheriff Michael G. Bellotti to their center on Friday to give them a tour to show off all of the activities going on inside.



Guests were able to see interns treating a boa constrictor, which was dropped off at the center after it suffered bite wounds from a rat. They saw a goose which was receiving rehabilitation on its eye site. They got a closer look at the new x-ray center, which was able to detect a bullet in a bird. They even got to see the many volunteers who do everything from preparing the animals’ food to packaging products found in their gift shop.

Hingham Animal Rescue Officer Leslie Badger who was present at the event, said she doesn’t know where the South Shore community would be without the New England Wildlife Center.

“I depend on them, I can’t do my job without them,” Badger said. “When I need help they’re always answering my questions.”

To volunteer, visit, or donate to the New England Wildlife Center, guests can call (781) 682-4878.