Career Openings

The Waskasoo Environmental Education Society (our employer) is currently hiring for two positions.

1. Nature Nursery Assistant for the 2010/2011 preschool season.

2. Volunteer Coordinator

Not to send you on the endless loop of links, but you can find the postings at our website.

Click here for the Nature Nursery posting.

Click here for the Volunteer Coordinator posting.

Good luck and thanks for the interest.

Not all art shows are in a gallery...

So I promised a couple of kids last weekend that I would post their creations on our blog. Sunday was our Guerilla Nature Art Day, and though the weather was strikingly hot and sunny (a far cry from today's cloudy dreariness), the kids were still able to find inspiration from their surroundings. Here are the nature art "installations" from that event: I hope you enjoy them.

And thank you to Emily Neufeld, our Artist About Town that day, for patiently drawing the lovely pictures of the owl and fish while people watched. The lilac outline of one of our volunteers is also Emily's creation.

Incidentally, I took inspiration for this day from an English artist named Andy Goldsworthy who is world renown as an environmental sculptor, taking bits of nature and making them into fantastic, very beautiful creations. His website is well worth a look.

Until next time, happy creating!

Sometimes You Just Get Lucky

When your co-worker comes bursting through the back door and says "I just saw a fox run across the field.", and you just happen to have your good camera with you... well you run out the door (quietly) and go stalking a fox.

I had not been able to find this one. He ran when I accidentally flushed him from the grass.

If you look closely, you can see what appears to be a Richardson's Ground Squirrel in its mouth.

Rain Barrel Sale - Saturday, June 12

The rain we've been experiencing over the past few weeks has been great for the plants, the lake levels and the creeks. Take advantage of the rainwater and collect it with a rain-barrel. Use less tap water, give your plants untreated (chemical-free) rainwater.

Barrels go on sale Saturday morning, June 12, 2010 at 9:00 a.

$70 each, GST included. Cash and carry. Call the Nature Centre at 403-346-2010 x106 for more information.

Fort Fest cancelled due to weather.

Hello everyone. I regret to inform you that Fort Fest, which was to run tomorrow, May 30, at Fort Normandeau, has been cancelled due to the snow.

Sorry for any inconvenience this last minute cancellation may have caused.

Hope to see you out for our next event: the Vancouver Aquarium's AquaVan on Saturday, June 5 at the Kerry Wood Nature Centre.

Until then, stay warm.

Here comes the fun!

Hi everyone. We have lots of family-friendly things coming up shortly at the Kerry Wood Nature Centre and Historic Fort Normandeau: here's a bit of a teaser...

This Saturday, May 29, the Red Deer Garden Club will be hosting their annual (as in every year) Perennial Plant Share. It will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in front of the Nature Centre and is a great opportunity to fill your flower gardens. They do have a list of invasive, and therefore unacceptable, plants so if you want to bring something in, please call ahead for that.

Sunday, May 30 is Fort Fest 2010 out at Historic Fort Normandeau. It runs from noon to 5 p.m. and admission is $3/person or $10/family at the gate. There will be all sorts of things to see and do: from musicians to First Nations dancers, archery, crafts, games, homemade ice cream and burgers, tug-of-war...the list goes on. Come on out for some old-fashioned fun!

(I should also note that, now that the new parking lot is completed, your family shouldn't have any trouble finding a parking spot.)

On Saturday, June 5, we have a special treat: the AquaVan is coming from the Vancouver Aquarium! Come and see creatures from the ocean; this is a great afternoon out with little kids. The AquaVan displays will be out from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and admission is by suggested donation of $3/person or $10/family.

On Thursday, June 10, we will be partnering with ReThink Red Deer, RDC Green Campus and RePower Alberta to bring you three guest speakers talking on green energy and its many applications. The presentations will be from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. This event is free to attend, though donations are welcome. Hope to see you there!

And last, but not least, is Guerilla Nature Art Day. On Sunday, June 13, from 1 to 5 p.m., we will be hosting artist Emily Neufeld as she help inspire us to make nature- based art in Festival Field. Come out and see what kind of art your family makes from found materials. This event is part of the Artists About Town week leading up to the Red Deer Artwalk Festival.

So, that's about it for the next few weeks. Look for our June to August event calendar, coming out soon, for all that's going on in the summer months.

'Til next time...

Invasion... of the good kind

Excuse the fuzzy cameraphone picture, but it was the best I could do at the time.

I was at McKenzie Trail watching a pond study today, and couldn't help but notice that the picnic shelter was being invaded.  Many, many (it will probably be hundreds, by the end of it) dragonfly nymphs were crawling out of the pond and up the shelter.  The students doing the pond study were lucky enough to see several of them split their skins and begin to emerge as adult dragonflies.  Pretty cool demonstration of metamorphosis there, don't you think?

If you happen to be down at McKenzie pond in the next week or so, be sure to keep your eye open for the emerging dragonfly nymphs.  They may be hard to spot at first since they blend in so well with the wooden deck, but once you first see them you'll start finding them all over the place.

Battery Exchange Results

The table shows the results from the 2010 Red Deer Schools Battery Drive. Our thanks to all the schools who participated and to The City of Red Deer, Waste Management Division for funding the project.

Students in Red Deer collected 600kg more batteries this year than in 2009. Well done everybody.

Also, in support of the 20th anniversary of Earth Day (yesterday, April 22), the International League of Conservation Photographers posted the Top 40 nature photographs from the past 100 years. You can see them at Flikr by clicking here.

Tomorrow Would be a Good Day to Visit

Why would tomorrow be a good day to visit us here at the Nature Centre? Tomorrow morning, the hoarding and barriers around the bird blind entrance will be removed and you can go for your first walk on the new structure. The benches are in place, the second story deck is secured and telescope is sitting atop its new perch. For, now though you'll have to make do with this teaser shot, taken from the deck, looking south down West lake.

April, 2010

Some news from the Friends of the Kerry Wood Nature Bookstore


1.Bird Homes
Now is the time to put out the homes for birds. Our bookstore has a good selection of bird houses for wrens/chickadees and for bluebirds /tree swallows. Our staff will also give advice on how to successfully place your nest box.



2. Bug Boxes

Spring and summer are here and children are
learning and caring about bugs.
See our bookstore for a good selection of bug boxes.




3.New Books of Interest

a.For Children
1. Alphabet of Insects
Weevils,katydids, ladybugs & fireflies are just a few of the
insects featured in this book that has an accompanying sound CD.
Price 11.95, Grades 2-6
2. Alphabet of Earth
This book is illustrated and has an accompanying read along CD. It promotes the earth as a cleaner greener place to live and discusses deserts, jungles and forests. Price $11.95, Grades 2-6
3. For the young ones :Baby Polar Bear Learns to Swim.
A great board book about a young polar who is taught how to swim by his mother .Price $8.50

For Adults
1.The Owl and the Woodpecker

Based on thousands of hours in the field , this book showcases all 41 North American Species . A CD is included that has pictures and the sounds of the birds Price $32.95


Members of the Friends of the Kerry Wood Nature Centre receive a 10% discount on purchases.
For information call KWNC 403 346 2010 and ask for Bob

Thursday update

Here are the pictures from this morning (Thursday, April 15). The crew has made amazing progress over the day. Tomorrow morning, we should be walking on the finished product!

Wednesday's Bird Blind Update

It's Wednesday, April 14. The uprights on the blind are in place and the deck appears to be largely laid down. The crews have a busy day and a 1/2 ahead of them.

Stay tuned to this space and the local media outlets for info on completion dates and the official opening of the new blind and deck.

Until then, here are the newest pictures.

Brown Bears of Alaska talk this weekend!

Hello everyone! We've had a last minute, but welcome, addition to our schedule of events. On this coming Sunday, April 18, special guest Bryan Nelson will be here to present stories and pictures from his recent trip to Brooks Falls, Alaska. While in Alaska, Bryan spent many days observing Brown Bears (a.k.a. Grizzlies) and their antics during the annual Sockeye Salmon run.

The talk begins at 2:00 p.m. and admission is free, so come to the Nature Centre for what I'm sure will be an informative and entertaining afternoon!

(On a side note: Discovery Sunday for that day will be about bears, so if you've never touched a bear but would like to, check it out!)

See you Sunday!

Bird Blind Update

Here is the 9:00 am, Monday morning picture. As you can see the build crew made good progress over the weekend. The long curved catwalk that leads to the blind is largely decked and the framers were out creating the structure that ties all the screw piles together. The latter will form the base and subfloor for the blind.

Keep watching this space. We'll be madly updating as the next three days progress.

Todd

Bird blind work moves ahead

After (finally!) getting all their back-ordered materials delivered, the contractors are moving ahead on our new bird blind and viewing deck. The screw piles are in the ground, and the first woodwork is in place. Work is supposed to be complete by the 15th of April, so the contractors are going to have to work quickly.

Activity in The Sanctuary

Jim and Diane wrote a month or so ago, about the upcoming improvements to the bird blind in the Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary. The old structure is gone, having been removed in four very large sections and then dissambled in the staff parking lot - temporarily converted to a worksite.

Yesterday there were a number of screw piles placed in the ground at the site of the new blind. They were placed so that the construction company could conduct a test on whether or not they would be acceptable.

A note on the screw piles. Because the bird blind is heavy and sitting out over a wetland (surrounded by water and resting on soft mud) the decision was made to have the structure raised up. This ensures minimal disturbance to the substrate and minimal interference with the plants and animals that call the Sanctuary home. Traditionally piles are pounded into place by a pile driver; a big, heavy piece of equipment that we certainly do not want crawling around in and destroying the wetland. They also create tremendous vibration in the ground and lots of noise pollution from all the pounding.

By contrast, screw piles are screwed into the ground by what essentially is a power auger mounted to the front of a small skid-steer or similar rubber-tracked vehicle, like a micro-excavator. So, the structure gets the supporting piles it needs to keep it from sinking and the Sanctuary - and all the critters that live there - experience significantly less disturbance to both themselves and their habitat.

So, now we wait a little bit longer. There are some brackets to come in from galvanizing that will be welded to the top of the screw piles and then things can get going in earnest. Just as the old structure came out in four big pieces, we expect that the new one will be built in large sections that will then be moved into place and bolted together. Our contractors should be commended for their willingness to work within the restrictions that such a fragile habitat places on them.

Keep visiting the Sanctuary over the next few weeks. The progress from now until the middle of April should be, shall we say, rapid.

The Red Deer river canyon

Hey-O to everyone out there in Blog land! It's time I introduce myself and finally blog. I am Avery, one of the interpreters for W.E.E.S. I have had the pleasure of working with them for almost a year now and that's how long it takes me to Blog I guess!

The Red Deer river canyon is an often overlooked asset to our landscape! Formed millions of years ago, this amazing canyon gives us a direct look into the past. The different rock and silt layers are clearly visible in parts and show us what is really under our feet! (all the way down to the Paleocene era Paskapoo sandstone, our bedrock)

The canyon is also home to diverse wildlife like Eagles, Osprey, White Tail and Mule deer as well as coyotes and other scavengers! Both winter and summer the canyon offers amazing vistas (and learning opportunities).

Accessing the canyon can be difficult as trails are hard to come-by and the walls can get quite steep, but there is a better way to see it than by foot:

By Raft!

W.E.E.S will once again be offering raft trips down the Red Deer river during the summer months and would love to accommodate you and/or your group! Float down the river and enjoy the sights and sounds with an Interpreter guiding the way. Please call for more information and prices!



In other wonderful nature news, spring once again provided a surprise to the Rocky Mountains in the last few days, over 60cms dropped all over Rockies and Columbia's with more in the forecast! With this exciting news it is certain that many will head out to enjoy this new snow by ski's, snowshoes and snow-machine but please update yourself with the Avalanche conditions! It is very dangerous with all this new storm snow so please check the Canadian Avalanche Association page for condition updates before you head out into the uncontrolled areas.

Adventure Safely!

Avery

Take a Survey - Help us Out

The Nature Centre staff is looking to overhaul the programs offered both onsite at the Nature Centre and offsite in th community and surrounding area.

Please take a moment to hit the link and fill out our on-line survey. It will take less than 10 minutes.

Thanks.

Click here to take survey

First Critters of Spring

As I was leaving work on Friday I saw a sight that would warm the heart of all those who yearn for the end of winter: A Richardson's Ground Squirrel (commonly and mistakenly known around here as gophers) ran across the parking lot.

Ground squirrels spend most of their year underground hibernating. They pop up in early spring to mate, fight with each other (males), rear their young and store food. This is a reasonably short, yet exceptionally busy period of time. By the end of July the adults will be heading back underground. The juveniles will remain active until around the end of September.

While we spent the first part of February dicussing the pros and cons of the various groundhogs seeing, or not seeing, their shadows the humble Richardson's Ground Squirrel may give us a better indication of when our spring may arrive and what it may look like.

Also, and I think I tweeted this on our Twitter Feed, while enjoying a brisk, late-winter snowshoe with my family on Sunday morning, my daughter said "Listen Daddy, geese." Sure enough, I looked up to see the first V of returning geese this year. Spring must be on its way.