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.

The psychology of climate change denial

I thought the Conservation Magazine article linked below was an interesting take on why some people find it easy or perhaps even necessary to deny the possibility of man-made climate change.

Why is Climate Change Denial So Seductive?

What are your thoughts?

The missing bird blind

Visitors to the Dr. George Trail will notice that the side trail to the bird blind has been temporarily blocked off. That's because we no longer have a bird blind.

The old bird blind has been taken down and a new and improved version will be completed before spring thaw to minimise habitat disruption.

Watch for information on this, building improvements, ways to keep unwanted squirrels from your house, and much more in our spring newsletter. It'll be coming out soon!

Hot off the camera

No, it's not really a two-headed moose. This pair is currently browsing the poplars not too far from the Nature Centre's back door.


Just as a reminder: The animals in the Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary aren't tame, and should always be given respect and space. Please don't approach them... at least not any closer than I did with the zoom lens.

As always, click on the photos for larger versions.

Seen in the Sanctuary

Frosty trees in last week's ice fog

Did you Know, Moose Frolic

Friend of the Kerry Wood Nature Centre, Scott Hoyland, shot this video in the Sanctuary on January 11, 2010. Three moose, one of them an adult, seem to be taking full advantage of the spring-like break in the weather.

Easy Ways to Conserve Power

With the current cold weather, holiday baking, Christmas lights, and so on, power consumption is spiking. Save yourself some money and help delay the construction of new power plants and transmission lines by doing your part in reducing electricity consumption:

• Run appliances such as washers, dishwashers, and clothes driers later in the evening or on weekends, during times of low power demand
• Use timers on your vehicule's block heater, and only heat the engine for a couple of hours before you need to use it: heating it overnight wastes energy and costs you money!
• Turn off electric (space- and baseboard heaters) except when needed.
• Convert to energy-efficient lighting: compact fluorescents or LED bulbs use MUCH less power than traditional incandescent lights. Outdoor holiday light displays are wonderful, but can use $27 of power in a month, at 6 hours/day. By comparison, inexpensive LED Christmas lights will cost you 47¢.
• Unplug any "beer fridges" that are not in use.
• Use the smallest burner you can get away with on your range, and use a microwave instead of the full-size oven when possible.
• Unplug "vampire" electronics: cell phone chargers, instant-on televisions, and unused little power adaptors. They all draw power even when not on, costing you money!

None of these tips should decrease anyone's quality of life. Better scheduling and smart choices means saving money and ensuring that Alberta doesn't build more coal or nuclear power plants.

Our Apologies

We have temporarily removed the Twitter Feed window from the right side of the blog. The window is supposed to feed in tweets only from our Twitter site (follow us here). Either Twitter or the feed widget has a glitch in it and we (and others) are feeding tweets from multiple accounts; many of them extremely offensive.

So, until the feed widget is fixed we will not be syndicating our Twitter posts to the blog. Our apologies to anybody who was exposed to offensive/inappropriate content. If you are interested in following us on Twitter, simply click the link above and sign up.

The Nature Centre team.