Hope for Wildlife was established in 1997 as The Eastern Shore Wildlife Rehabilitation and Rescue Centre, Nova Scotia’s first private organization for the care of injured and orphaned wild creatures. Its existence as a charitable society allowed founder Hope Swinimer to assemble a volunteer staff and accept individual and corporate donations to develop and then expand services. Its home facility at Seaforth is fully licensed and inspected, with a federal license for the rehabilitation of sea birds and a provincial one for indigenous wildlife. The group’s name was changed to the Hope for Wildlife Society in 2005. The society’s staff, supported by local veterinarians, rehabilitates and releases more than 1,500 birds and animals each year.