00:17
Kathy
Welcome to episode 7 of Wild About Wildlife. I’m your host Kathy Mueller.
In this episode I’m joined by Salthaven founder Brian Salt along with our very special guest – Amber Marshall, star of the long time running hit CBC series Heartland.
Amber has been a long time supporter of Salthaven, dating back to the days when she volunteered in our clinic as a teenager.
Brian and I had a chance to sat down with Amber earlier in the year to reminisce about her time at Salthaven, and to see how she was able to merge her love of animals with her other passion – acting.
01:09
Amber Marshall
First of all, I just want to say that it does mean a lot for me to be on this podcast because Salthaven was a big part of my youth and I owe a lot to Salthaven for kind of giving me those value systems and those, just kind of general good, kind hearted ideas. And I think that every person goes through that in their life where they're trying to figure out who they are, who they want to be, and it's the people around you that really shape who you are, so I want to thank Brian first off, for everything that you do and all of the kindness and the good that you share with those around you too.
01:47
Brian
Ah, well, you're welcome and thank you for those kind words.
01:50
Amber Marshall
You're welcome. But yeah, just I guess, animal loving girl from London, Ontario and I was involved in a lot of different, I liked to volunteer at animal shelters, kids horse camps, things like that because I just wanted to feed that animal loving soul inside me. And then when I was in high school, it was one of my teachers, Mr. Campbell who introduced me to Salthaven in the beginning and it was just one of those things where it fit, right? I knew I was like, this is something that is, I can do good, can be around animals and I can be around like-minded people that are wanting to do better for the world. And those are all the things that you want as a teenager right? You want to be involved with people that inspire you and that encourage you to do all the things that you really love to do and to do it in a positive way. So, I reached out to you and your team. And I was able to come on board that summer and do some volunteering with Salthaven and I was hooked, right? Right from the beginning I said this is such an amazing organization. But it's the people that make it so incredible. And as you know, as I think most who know me, I am an animal lover through and through and so any chance for me to be around any type of animal makes me happy right to my core. But it's also being around those people that inspire you and make you want to be a better person yourself. So, I think that's kind of an all-encompassing feel that I got at my time at Salthaven.
03:21
Kathy
And Brian what do you remember of Amber? Did she stand out in any way? Was she, you know, just part of the annual group of volunteers who were being onboarded? What stood out maybe a little bit about Amber when she first came to Salthaven?
03:40
Brian
Well, the one thing I remember about Amber was that she was always positive, and you know the summers in southwestern Ontario are hot and humid and they can be dusty when the wind kicks up. And you're working with animals that are sick or injured and so you know it takes a little bit of energy to be up all the time. But Amber was just that. She always wore a smile on her face. I could never figure it out. She’d come eager to work and most of our volunteers are, but Amber was just, when things got really tough, she just had that vibrance about her that was just really, really nice and that's what I remember about Amber.
04:32
Kathy
And Amber what were you? Oh sorry, I was just going to say like what exactly were you doing?
04:37
Amber Marshall
Thank you Brian and yeah, well lots of stinky jobs. I mean that's the part of animals that people don't realize too. It's like they see the cute and oh you know you're feeding baby animals. But with that feeding comes a lot of the other too. You know we were cleaning up after very messy birds and ducks and geese and all kinds of things that, I still don't know how Pauline let you put all that in her washing machine, but we would.
We would go out. We would take all of the bedding from all the different cages, whether it be squirrel pens or birds or any animal that was in there. And we would first hose them down to get most of the animal feces and whatever else was on these blankets. And then we would put them in the laundry basket to be put in the washer and dryer.
But you know it's things like that that I think really make you appreciate the whole journey right? Because it's not just about feeding and helping and splinting wings and doing things like that. It's the nitty gritty dirty hard work as well that really makes it pay off in the end. And I remember that one of my favourite things about the whole experience was the fact that it was so fast-paced. There was never a moment where you were bored because all of these baby animals need to be fed all the time, right around the clock and there would be timers set up for all these baby birds that needed to be fed and you would be in the bird room and at the time this was just a little tiny shed. Brian, I'm sure you remember fondly of this space that just was covered with little baby animals everywhere. And these timers are going off you know and you're just going. Okay, what next and you're checking sheets and you're wanting to make sure that you're doing the right thing too, right? Because each of these animals has a different feed requirement, some are injured, some need medication. There's all kinds of things that are going around the clock and it takes that time and dedication of those people there to work as a team to make sure that nobody gets missed. Because that's the thing too, if you have a lot of people out there trying to help out and you're not communicating, then somebody's going to get missed or somebody's going to be fed twice. And that's something that is crucial with these baby animals. That's a matter of life or death. So, I think that was what I really enjoyed about the experience is the fact that we were all working together for that common goal. We wanted these animals to succeed and be able to be released. And so it was just like this, this adrenaline rush of, okay, we got to get in there. It's go time. The timers are going off. We're feeding baby animals and then in between all that you're trying to clean pens and you're trying to make sure that the ones that are outside are still safe and happy and have water and food. It's kind of one of those things that I think prepares you or helps prepare you for the chaos of the regular world. And I think that as a teenager, it was one of the best things I could experience because life is not perfect. There's always going to be something going on. There's always going to be that emergency that you're not prepared for and I think the more training you can have towards that, the better off you're going to be in life as a whole.
07:37
Brian
Amber brought up the point to you know how small the clinic was. It was really a shed. It was a 20 by 15 foot shed and we called it a clinic and it had an air conditioner. And I think on rainy days when everything was inside. It was, the most common heard words were oh excuse me, excuse me because it was so tight in there. It was pretty amazing.
08:01
Kathy
And Amber when you were talking about being a teenager and doing all the laundry at Salthaven and it struck me that, it was probably pretty hard as a teenager, like for any teenager for mom to get a teenager to do laundry at home. But at Salthaven it was kind of a different experience.
08:23
Amber Marshall
Well, when it's for an animal there's no questions asked. If it was for myself. But I think what helped me in my position at Salthaven is I also worked at a veterinary clinic. So, I was already used to kind of dealing with the traumas that came in, the caring for sick and injured animals and there was lots of dirty jobs there too. You know when you start out as a teen in a vet clinic, you're not given the nicest jobs, right? You're given the okay, let's go scrub that pen of some pretty nasty stuff. And I think that for me, that was that was one of the best teachers I could have because still to this day I'm out there, I have a lot of my own animals and so now when I'm faced with that, either it could be an injury or trauma that those animals have, I'm a little bit better prepared to deal with it myself. And I think that you know that first initial kind of getting right down to the problem is very important and then of course calling in the right people, having a vet on call, having someone come out that really knows what they're doing. But being able to get in there and not have that squeamish stomach or you know I've had all that training where the sight of blood doesn't bother me and the sight of some messy things that come along with animals is just something that's kind of been ingrained in me. That's just how it is when you're working with animals. It's going to get messy sometimes.
09:52
Kathy
And then like you were saying, so many of those skills are transferable to outside of the animal world. So not being squeamish at the sight of blood could help you if someone you care about is injured, a person.
10:08
Amber Marshall
Exactly no, it's so true and I think too, not just those values. Not just that kind of idea. But also, if you can read animals and you can understand when an animal is in pain or an animal's suffering or they're uncomfortable, then you can read people a lot better. Because people are not as subtle as animals and for me, being around all of these incredible creatures that don't speak but yet they do. You learn to listen on a different level and I think that's one thing that's really kind of helped me in my adult years, is that understanding the animal language allows you to understand human language a lot better as well and to understand when someone, because people don't always tell the truth too, right? Someone could say yeah I'm fine but you know, they're not fine, and it's learning to read those subtle cues that animals give off every minute you're with them and humans do the same thing. We just usually are programmed not to notice. So, I think that's one thing that animals have done for me that kind of gives you, gives you a better read on the humans in your life as well.[KM3]
11:18
Kathy
You talked about how you were working at a vets when you started at Salthaven so you walked through the door, you already had some training under your belt. Can you talk about the training that you got at Salthaven because you know, we get a new batch of volunteers every year, we tell them when they apply listen, you don't need any experience whatsoever because we will put you through your paces and make sure that you're trained to Salthaven standards. So, can you talk a little bit about the training what you remember that you got at Salthaven?
11:50
Amber Marshall
I think one of the most important things right off the beginning was the fact that I did feel like I was welcomed. You know, I didn't feel like it was okay, you don't know what you're doing, just step aside watch us. It was very hands-on and that's how I learn and I think that's how a lot of people learn is not just by being told something but by doing it and being allowed to make a few mistakes. And so I think that going through and having a really good mentor and I remember right off the bat, it was Liz who was there and she kind of took me under her wing and she's like, this is how we do it and this is the systems and this is why. And I think that's so important with any type of job you're doing is to know the reason behind something because then you can understand it and it's like okay, so why do we have this batch of birds outside and why are they inside on this batch and it's just learning the different needs of every animal and being able to directly have that open communication so that you understand why something's done the way it is.
And for me, it was totally different than the vet clinic because the vet clinic they were all owned animals that were in as patients. The owners had their own specific requirements for these animals so you know even if, and that's one thing that's really difficult about being a veterinarian is knowing that there's one way that might be the best way, but it's always up to the owner of the animal and it's hard. You have to kind of almost, when I was talking about reading people, you have to put it in a way that you know that you're going to be able to do what's best for that animal without the owner intervening. Whereas with the wildlife, we're just doing what's best for them, right? It's not a matter of someone saying no I don't want that for my dog, or no this is something that we don't believe in. It's just this animal needs care. What is the best way to go about it? And I think that's really important and it was a way for me to kind of understand the needs of each individual animal and what to do in that situation.
13:54
Kathy
And how long did you end up being a volunteer at Salthaven for?
13:58
Amber Marshall
I was there a couple years and then shortly after I graduated from high school I was given the opportunity to film a show in Alberta. And so that took me across the country and I ended up falling in love with this place. And now for 18 years I have lived in Alberta and it just, it felt like home to me right away. And I know Brian you have some children here so you understand the draw, right? And it's just something I think that when you feel connected to a place, when you feel that you're truly at home somewhere, there's no guessing. It just, it just felt like an instant relax right? I got out here I was just like this is where I'm supposed to be.
14:46
Kathy
And then so you said you were drawn out there initially for an acting role. Was that another passion of yours that kind of went alongside the animals as you were growing up or how did that come about?
15:01
Amber Marshall
Yeah. Since I was just a little girl, as young as I can remember, my two great passions were acting and animals and there's even a recording somewhere out there of me when I was about three years old and I'm singing this song that I’m going to be farmer and I'm going to live out in the country. And so right from the beginning, not only was I expressing that I wanted to be around animals but I was doing it in the most theatrical way and so my parents recognized this and when I was around eight years old they put me in the Original Kids Theatre Company.
And that was probably the best thing they could have done to channel all of my inner theatrical being into something that I could perform, and I could actually perform for someone other than my poor parents that would have to sit there and watch these shows that would go on forever. [KM4] And so I think at that point, that's when I really realized how much I enjoyed being able to present to you know to present my craft or however you want to say it. And shortly after that I auditioned for Lester B. Pearson School for the Arts which is in London. And I was accepted to that, so I went there from grade 4 to grade 8 and that really just kind of harnessed all of that energy inside me and put it towards something where I actually had an outlet. And so then when I was twelve years old I went to Toronto, well my mom took me to Toronto. I didn't go by myself.
And I ended up getting an agent for the acting side of things. So, for television we mostly just focused on television series and movies because driving from London to Toronto was you know, not just an everyday thing you wanted to do. And then shortly after that I got a role on a kids’ show called Super Rupert and that was when I was 12 years old and that was my first kind of intro into the world of film and television. And, I loved it. I loved every minute of it. And I continued to pursue different jobs over the years.
But then I was in high school and I really did want to focus on my schooling as well because at that time I was destined to be a veterinarian. That's what I thought. I was like I'm going to be a vet. I'd never thought of acting as an actual job. I thought it was something I did for fun. It was something that, it was a nice hobby, but I was going to be a vet. And when I was 14 I started working in a veterinary clinic and I loved it. I really did. But it started to change the way I looked at things because I said, I can still have animals in my life. I can still help animals. But I don't have to be a veterinarian to do this and I think that I looked at things a little differently because it wasn't just about helping the animals. It was about pleasing the owners and that was one thing where I became a little bit jaded because I was like wait a minute here, I thought I was going to become a vet so that I could help animals.
But now there's this whole other political side to things where you have to manage that balance of keeping the owners happy, keeping the animals happy and healthy, and I kind of had a little bit of a shift. I was like this is interesting, but I still enjoyed it, so I continued working there all through high school and then when I was 18 I auditioned for a show called Heartland, and again this was not something that I thought of as a career by any means. This was something that I was still doing on the side, for fun. You know I would do a movie once a year maybe, or a role on a television series just something that only took up 2 or 3 weeks of my time.
So, I ended up getting this role and coming out to film the pilot of Heartland and that was in 2007 I believe. And I just I've instantly as I said before, fell in love with Alberta. However, pilots usually never get picked up. The chances of a pilot going are like one in 50, maybe not quite that much, but it was something that I was like, okay that was fun, I've done pilots in the past never seen anything from them. So, it was just one of those things where I was like that was a really cool experience. I got to see Alberta. Goodbye. And went back to London. And I didn't think about it because that's how I, that's how I kind of maintained normalcy in this world of film and television because if you think about something too much, you're disappointed when it doesn't go through.
So, my whole idea when I was involved in acting and auditioning, because sometimes you're auditioning 2, 3, 4 times a week and you might never hear. So, if you think about it too much then it's just going to become all consuming and it's going to drive you crazy. So, my whole outlook when I was auditioning or acting was, I'm going to do it and I'm going to do the best I can and then I'm going to wipe it from my mind and just kind of make it as, oh that was a really fun experience. It was a vacation. I'm done the vacation. I'm back to real life. And so then, I guess around March or April, I got a call for my agent and he said yeah they're looking at picking up Heartland for a season, so they want you to go back out to Alberta for the summer and film season one. I was like how cool is this? You know usually pilots don't get picked up. This is really exciting. I get to go back out to Alberta. So, I went out to Alberta for that first season of Heartland. We filmed from July until close to November and so I got a good taste of most of the seasons out here in the bitter cold and really, really enjoyed my experience. But again, I didn't think it was going to go any further than that. It was one of those things where I said, wow that was really cool. I met a lot of great people. I had a really great time but that chapter's closed and we're done because we had no mention of going for season 2. Well, the first season of Heartland was so well received by so many people that they decided to renew again.
So, at this point now we're going into season 2 and I'm thinking, okay this is really cool, and I love Alberta and if I can have a job out there, I want to live out there. So that's when I started looking for more of a permanent place to stay and it was, there was really no question to it. And the cool thing about it was, I had already made so many great friends and contacts out here. So, I didn't feel like I was this, because I was 19 I guess at the time. I didn't feel like I was just picking up and moving my life across the country without knowing anyone. I had a job to come to. I had friends. I knew a bunch of ranchers in the area that let me ride their horses and go out and gather cows and just do things that I'd always sort of dreamed of doing and it just felt like the right fit. And so then flash forward. We just completed season 17 this last year so it's the show that never ends.
21:48
Kathy
That’s Part 1 of our conversation with former Salthaven volunteer Amber Marshall.
In Part 2, we explore how life mimics art for Amber, being on set of the CBC show Heartland, and the challenges of working with animals that don’t always want to adhere to a schedule set by humans.
Part 2 of In Conversation with Amber Marshall will be out in mid-July.
In the meantime, if you liked this episode, don’t forget to share it. And make sure to subscribe so you never miss out on future episodes of Wild About Wildlife.