The WildCare medical center in San Rafael has handled an estimated 120,000 rescued animals over the past half century.

In April, the nonprofit plans to break ground on a two-year, $24 million renovation project for its crowded and cobbled-together center on Albert Park Lane.

In the meantime, WildCare’s 35 employees and 250-plus volunteers are treating animals at a temporary site on a half-acre lot next to the Old Gallinas Children’s Center on North San Pedro Road.

“It’s a bit of a labyrinth, but I have to say we love it,” WildCare spokesperson Alison Hermance said while standing near an array of tall bird cages.

The public is invited to visit the new site’s “ambassador zone” during its opening event Feb. 15. Ambassadors are former animal patients unfit to be released back into the wild. They help the staff educate visitors about local wildlife.

The ambassadors include chatty pigeons and antsy acorn woodpeckers as well as Sequoia, a northern spotted owl that arrived at WildCare as an injured owlet and has stayed nearly 20 years.

“It’s a threatened species, so it’s pretty unique for people to get to see an owl up close or even see it all in their lifetimes,” Eileen Jones, the education director at WildCare, said about northern spotted owls.

Hermance said WildCare admits about 3,500 animals a year, and about 80% of them arrive between April and August. Because the spring nesting season is coming soon, she advises residents to postpone trimming trees and removing large plants from their yards, actions that could cause nests to collapse.

“As we go into spring, animals are going to be using every part of our property to raise their babies,” Hermance said. “Be aware of that.”

During the staff’s move to the temporary location last fall, organizations across the Bay Area helped house WildCare’s animals.

“It was such a tremendous project to get every single component of animal care for approximately 3,500 animals every single year moved into these tiny buildings and get us set up to be able to provide the care that they need,” Hermance said.

Ellyn Weisel, WildCare’s executive director, said her staff recently reached 75% of its goal in raising $24 million for the Albert Park Lane center’s renovations.

“We know we’re so lucky to live in Marin County and we’re surrounded by nature, but we need to take care of it,” she said. “This is a place where you can come and fulfill your responsibility to being able to live in this beautiful place we call home.”

The nonprofit plans to begin moving operations back to the completed Albert Park Lane site in the summer of 2026.

Weisel said her organization plans to keep the North San Pedro Road site for education programs and additional cage space.

WildCare has a 12-year lease from San Rafael City Schools for the North San Pedro Road site. Under its agreement with the district, the nonprofit is paying $2,500 per month plus an annual increase of 3% to 6%.

The center has medical rooms in portable buildings. It also has separate rooms for surgery and X-ray procedures, whereas the old site only had one small room for medical treatments.

During lunches at the medical facility, staff and volunteers provide meals that fit each patient’s diet. During a recent feeding, wildlife assistant Kristie Nguyenhoag carefully and quietly opened a red-tailed hawk’s cage to place mice in front of it.

WildCare’s treated birds are typically released in the same places where they were rescued, whether backyards or the wilderness. Frequent release sites are China Camp and pond areas in San Rafael.

“It’s so mixed here,” wildlife assistant Laura Scaparro said about release sites. “You go from downtown San Rafael to North Beach at Point Reyes, where there are no humans at all.”

She reflected on what she finds rewarding about her work in rehabilitating animals.

“It’s healing their wounds and releasing them back into the wild,” Scaparro said. “Being able to get them back to where they belong and live the life they deserve.”

The opening event is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 15 at 251 N. San Pedro Road. Advance registration is online at DiscoverWildCare.org/RSVP.