See? We can be found after all!

Surprise sequel to my earlier post...

Big 105 tweeted that they were delivering Slurpees.Of course we tweeted back that we'd like some. The result?

Guess we're findable even with the construction. Thanks for the treat, folks. It's a great day for it!

Mobile Blogging

If you're trying to get in touch with any of the core interpretive staff at the Nature Centre this week, you're likely leaving messages on voice mail. Jim, Kathryn, Diane and I are at a Leadership Development conference in Kananaskis.

Through Thursday we're involved in a multitude of activities; the end goal being an action plan to keep WEES on track through the next five years.

Our first experience in K-country was dealing with the wind. Watching people from different parts of the province deal with huge winds was interesting. Those of us from central and northern Alberta were stunned by the volume and ferocity; those from the Lethbridge region were amused by the light breeze. However, when the facility manager drops by to let you know that there is an official wind warning - and has the head wound from a flying branch to prove it - everybody takes notice.

The facility at the Kananaskis Field station is located at the foot of a couple of mountains, east of Canmore. It is a stunning location that while a mere 100 metres off the highway, feels like a backcountry lodge. The food has been great, the buildings are spotless and the scenery is world class.

We're being filled with knowledge and being given the tools to take on the strategic planning needed to keep our organization fresh, viable and sustainable.

See you Friday folks.

Don't forget... Crafty Saturday runs the afternoon of the 21st at 2:00, Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour tickets are on sale and the Christmas Light Exchange is in full swing. Give the Nature Centre a call at 403-346-2010 for more information.

Thank You

CHCA (RDTV by any other name) has been pulled off the air by their parent company.

Over the past decade, the RDTV News Crew and all its variations in name, staff, format and times has been an invaluable ally for the Kerry Wood Nature Centre.

We have been sought out by videographers and reporters looking for expert opinion and/or local insights to environmental stories. For years we were given free-reign for 10 minutes, once a month on the noon-hour news broadcast. The hosts proved to be very game as we brought "things" into their studio; snakes, salamanders, meal-worms, turtles, frogs, drums and drummers, art, snowshoes and in one very memorable show, an entire hive of live bees.

The news crew came to our events, promoted our programs, answered our phone calls and requests for assistance and generally helped keep the Nature Centre and Fort Normandeau in the public mind.

On one noon hour show, Caroline Jarvis and Al Redel took a minute to do my wife a favour and surprise me by broadcasting a picture of my son and I fishing; it was one of the best birthday presents I've ever received.

And now, Chanel 11 is dark, we have no local television news and a talented group of people have been forced to leave town or find other work. Many of them we at the Nature Centre consider our friends.

So, from all of us at the Nature Centre and Fort Normandeau, thank you to all the friends we made at RDTV/CHCA. Your support over the years was amazing. You will all, always have our gratitude.

Spring on the lake

Although this photo doesn't really show it, things are starting to look like spring around here. It only takes a few steps out the back door to hear the songs of territory-setting birds (and frogs. Our Boreal Chorus Frogs are singing up a storm right now), and if you keep your eyes open you may even see signs of the start of nesting season.

The Canada Goose in the photo above has chosen an old muskrat mound as a nesting site. This particular mound is fairly close to one of the viewing decks on the West Lake, and that's already given a couple of youth groups a chance to see nest care up close.

Please remember that there may be other, more hidden nests around our viewing decks this time of year, and help us help the birds by using the decks as quietly as possible.

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Project Porchlight recently posted a feature on Kathryn on their blog. For more information on Project Porchlight, check out their site here.

Hello Hello

Hi,
I'm Katherine Blakely and I am the newest interpreter here at the Nature Centre. However since there is already a Kathryn on staff you can call me Kat (though I will respond to my full name as well).

I'm excited to be here and look forward to the crazy Kerry Wood adventures ahead of me.

Weed control

Darlene from New Brunswick has started with us as our Sanctuary Maintenance person for the summer. Her main job will be doing weed control in the Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary -- thistles, white cockle, black henbane, toadflax, etc. Smile and wave or say "bonjour!" to Darlene if you see her swinginig a scythe or lugging a weed eater when you walk the trails.

Changes: Seasonal and Staff

When I left for my vacation on September 23, the leaves were golden and red and those that had fallen were crunchy under your feet. As I traveled west, returning to the coast and my childhood home, I was reminded that not all places go through such dramatic colour change. Passing across the continental divide and driving through places like Salmon Arm, Hope and finally Vancouver, I found that fall hadn't quite arrived. Deciduous trees in my parents' neighbourhood were still green; just about to change. Lawns were still lush. There was no crunch, crunch, crunch, as the kids walked down the street to school.

When we left on the 9th of October to head home, things were just starting to change. Leaves were changing (to brown instead of orange, yellow and red) and some were starting to fall; often to form damp clumps in the ditches and gutters. Back home in Alberta I found I was happy to see a nice thick coating of brittle leaves from the paper birch in our front yard. All the trees are well on their way to becoming bare and in fact most are now looking nicely ready for winter: Naked branches contrast on bright blue skies. This is the autumn I never had as a kid. I like living in a place that has four definite seasons - even if one of them is blindingly cold.

The onset of a change in seasons has brought about a change in staff as well. Jo-Anne has obtained full-time work with a local properties management company and will be leaving her daytime interpretive work behind her. She will remain with us for weekend and evening programs and visitor services shifts. We wish Jo-Anne the best of luck in her new field. Joining us is Caroline. This transplanted American comes to us fresh from completing her degree in Environmental Policy and an internship at the Thomas Irving Dodge Nature Centre in Minnesota. Welcome aboard Carrie.

For those of you living in Central Alberta, there are still spaces available for Jo-Anne's Winter Camping program on October 22. Call the Nature Centre at 346-2010 or email us for more information.

Oh. Deer!

So long as we're introducing ourselves, hello. My name is Todd. I'm the Programs Coordinator for the Waskasoo Park Interpretive Program. It's been an exciting summer around here with day camps, summer programs, a new Executive Director and some upcoming intiatives that have been keeping us quite busy.

Some days, nature decides to be spectacular:

No sooner do I finish mentioning to a lovely couple from England, that while there has been a female White-tailed deer with fawns in the Sanctuary but they've been pretty secretive than the husband says "Is that them?"

I look over my shoulder and out the window and the mother is not ten feet from our dogwood bushes.

It was a bright moment in an otherwise grey, drizzly day.

Welcome to the Nature Centre's staff blog

Hi and welcome to the blog, everyone. We hope to use this space to keep you up to date on current sightings in the Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary as well as upcoming programs at the Kerry Wood Nature Centre and Historic Fort Normandeau.

For those who might be unfamiliar with the format of a blog (short for weblog), you'll always find the most current entry at the top of the page. Earlier entries will stay on the main page for a short while, but if you're looking for something that seems to have gone missing try using the archives links to your right.

This blog will be developing bit by bit over the next couple of weeks. Check back often for updates or new features.

I'd expect that our contributors will each introduce themselves as they come online, but since I'm first we'll start with me. I'm the Senior Interpreter for the Waskasoo Park Interpretive Program. You'll usually find me working with school and youth groups, answering natural history questions, or leading public programs. For more on my background check out the staff profile link on the Waskasoo Park home page.

I'll leave you with a look at what is likely a leftover from the Painted Lady Butterfly invasion we had earlier in the year. This little guy probably won't make it through an Alberta winter, though. Click on the picture to make it larger.

See you around the blog!