Take Me Outside

We were thrilled to be a part of Colin's journey. Colin spent a day in Red Deer giving talks at Annie L. Gaetz elementary, G.W. Smith elementary and West Park Middle schools. He also did a tour of the Nature Centre and had lunch with a couple of the interpreters.

Here at the Nature Centre we have been dedicated to sharing the outdoors with children, for 25 years. With all the new initiatives in preschool and kindergarten outdoor-classes, it is worth noting that the Nature Centre's Nature Nursery program has been an outdoor program for nearly 20 years. Our kids spend 1/2 of their time, each day, exploring the Sanctuary's forests, fields and ponds. In May, June and September, when the weather is a little more forgiving, Nature Nursery is an entirely outdoor program.

Kids need to be outside. There is a growing mountain of evidence to support the idea that the 53-hours/week of screen time that North American kids are getting (outside of school hours) is doing more harm than good. We're seeing increased rates of childhood obesity, increased rates of ADD/ADHD and a increase in the psychological distance between people and nature. Our own research - conducted by Jim Roberston as part of his Masters thesis - indicates that kids who are exposed to early nature-based education develop into more environmentally-aware citizens. They exhibit more empathy for nature and for natural environments.

So to Colin: Congratulations. We are inspired by your run and I am personally, proud to call you my friend. To the nature-educators around the world: Keep doing what you do. The children of today and the natural environments of the future are depending on you.

A decorated trail

Path art courtesy of Nature Nursery.

Halloween Party Time

The Tuesday morning Nature Nursery kids had their Halloween party this week. Spooky games and snacks, costumed kids and a candy-filled, pumpkin-shaped pinata that just wouldn't break.

Nature Nursery News

Nature Nursery has started again. This is an unparented playschool program for 3-5 year olds. We have four classes running:

Tuesday mornings (2 1/2 hours per week)
Tuesday/Thursday afternoons (2 1/2 hours per afternoon - 5 hours per week)
Wednesday/Friday mornings (2 1/2 hours per morning - 5 hours per week)
Wednesday/Friday afternoons. (2 1/2 hours per afternoon - 5 hours per week)

We still have a few spaces left in all but the Tuesday morning classes.

For the week of September 12-16 our themes are "bears" and "migration." The following week we have Erin Young from Medicine River Wildlife Centre visiting the classroom. She will be sharing pictures and a story and bring a wild animal with her (we don't know yet which one she'll bring.)

Duck and Ducklings has also started for the season. This is a adult and tot program for 2-4 year olds. We offer two classes for the Duck and Ducklings, Monday and Thursday mornings. This class runs for 1 1/2 hours from 10-11:30. We will also be doing bears for the week of September 12-16 and squirrels and chipmunks the following week.

This week, the children have been lucky enough to watch mama barn swallow feeding her newly fledged babies at the front door to the Nature Centre. The 4 cuties have been parking themselves on the light outside the front door and will wait patiently for mom to drop a juicy bug into their mouth.