Quick Garden Update

 The beds have been mulched, some ornamental rocks have been put in place, and the first of the perennials added in. A good start. And below, a closer look at the gazebo. For those who would like more information on the Allen Bungalow, here's a page from our website.

 

Gazebo update

Here's a look at the gazebo that the Rotary Club of Red Deer East spent the weekend putting up at the Allen Bungalow. It's still waiting for its roofing, and landscaping and painting will be done in the spring. Still, a pretty nice sign of things to come.

Allen Bungalow garden

One of the more exciting but hidden projects at the Nature Centre these days is the renewal of the Allen Bungalow gardens.

For those unfamiliar with the Allen Bungalow, it's the Edwardian house across the parking lot from the Nature Centre. While it's currently used as a private residence and a meeting space, back in its farmhouse days it was locally famous for its gardens.

 Those gardens are long gone now and can't be fully recreated, but we're hoping to bring back as much of the feeling of the gardens as we can. The first steps are underway, and over the next year or two the garden should start bringing a lot more colour back to the bungalow.

Today work was started on a new addition to the Allen Bungalow garden: a gazebo. This should provide a wonderful backdrop for the weddings that are staged there, as well as a nice break space for meeting groups using the McCullough Room.

We'll keep you posted as things progress. For more information on the Allen Bungalow, the garden, or the McCullough Room meeting space, please call us at 403-346-2010.

Christmas light exchange

It's that time of year again, everyone. In a bid to keep electricity usage down over the holidays, the City of Red Deer and the Kerry Wood Nature Centre are running the annual Christmas light exchange.

For every two strings of old-fashioned incandescent Christmas lights you bring in, you can take home one box of energy-efficient LEDs for free. The old light strings are sent to a recycler who removes the copper wire. A great way to keep a useful item out of the landfill!

Anyone needing more new strings can find them at London Drugs, which supplies the lights for the exchange.

The old lights are already starting to pile up on our loading dock, so you may not want to wait too long to bring down your strings.

Along with the exchange, we currently have a 50/50 fundraising draw at the Nature Centre. The tickets are one for $2 or three for $5, and the draw date is December 6th, 2013. All proceeds from the 50/50 go to the Nature Centre and Fort Normandeau.

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Don't forget -- if you're coming down to exchange lights (or even if you aren't), this weekend we have our swap meet in conjunction with Kick it to the Curb. Bring down your unwanted but usable household items, and take home something that might be useful to you. The swap meet runs through to Sunday. No large items, please.