A bit of the birds and bees for spring...

Public Programming has been given a rare opportunity this year. No, not an early spring (at least not by all the snow I still see around), but the chance to let loose a little, get a little naughty, and host a sure-to-be-entertaining adults only planetarium and mixer! It's called "Diabolical Deities: A Night of Murder, Lust, and Mayhem" and we're having it here at the Kerry Wood Nature Centre on Saturday, April 16, 2011, from 8 to 10 p.m. Costs are $20+gst/members and $23+gst/non-members. Paid pre-registration is required (due to planetarium size). There are only 15 spots left: you can drop in to the Nature Centre or call 403-346-2010 to reserve yours today! Diabolical Deities is sure to be a great night out for you and your fun-loving friends: wine, greek-themed food to go with the uncensored Greek myth star stories, costumed hosts, and togas are encouraged! See you there!

Seedy Sunday at the Kerry Wood Nature Centre

It's officially Spring, folks, and that means it's time to start thinking about gardening and sustainable food production. If you've decided that this is the year you ramp up your green gardening practices, you're in luck! We have two events coming up this week, all about food and how to grow your own.

There's still one day left to register in our Green Gardening Workshop, running this Wednesday, March 23. Call 403-346-2010 for more details.

Sunday, March 27, is Seedy Sunday. ReThink Red Deer and the Kerry Wood Nature Centre have teemed up with Seeds of Diversity and a host of other groups and individuals interested in sustainable food production to present an event full of informative talks, seed exchanges and sales, kids' activities and more! Check it out between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. this Sunday. If you'd like more information on speaker topics, you can also check out the poster- just click this link.

http://waskasooenvironmental.homestead.com/SeedySunday2011.pdf

See you Sunday!

World's oldest banded bird a mom again

Follow this link to a neat story on Discovery News about Wisdom the Albatross, who was first banded in 1956, and her latest chick.

Amazing what a good diet and exercise can do for longevity, eh?

Owl Cam

Our friends at the Ellis Bird Farm have just turned on an Owl Cam. The webcam is trained on a pair of nesting Great Horned Owls and has infrared capabilities in order to capture the birds' nocturnal activities.

For complete information about the webcam check out the story in today's Red Deer Advocate. For more information on the Ellis Bird Farm and the important work they do, check our their website.

Celebrate Carnaval this Friday night at the Kerry Wood Nature Centre

Join us this Friday, March 11, 2011 starting at 6 p.m. for a bilingual planetarium and nature walk in celebration of Carnaval. The walk will be first with the planetarium show to follow. Please be advised that the planetarium will be first come, first served as it has a maximum capacity of 25. (We will run more shows if needed.) This event is free to attend.

Birdhouses with Bob

Dates & Times; Sunday, March 20, 2011 at 2:00pm
Location: Kerry Wood Nature Centre
Kids ages 6 to 13 can learn about the birds of Spring and build a bird house to take home.
The program is about 1.5 hours. An adult should accompany each child .

All materials and instructions are provided

Fees: $7.00 /child for KWNC members;$8/child for non members

Preregistration is advised.
Telephone 403 346 2010

Would you like to contribute to knowledge? I'm conducting research for my Masters thesis. I'm pursuing a Master of Arts in Environmental Education through Royal Roads University. The Nature Centre has agreed to assist by posting my request for assistance and link to an on-line survey. If the text below describes you, I would appreciate 15 - 20 minutes of your time to fill out the survey.

Many thanks to the Waskasoo Environmental Education Society for their assistance.

Todd

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Hello,

My name is Todd Nivens. The Waskasoo Environmental Education Society (WEES) agreed to post this request on my behalf. None of your personal information, including your name, has been forwarded to me and I have no way of collecting personal information from you.

I am a Masters of Arts (Environmental Education and Communications) student at Royal Roads University studying the relationship between peoples’ on-line environmentally-positive behaviours and their real-world environmentally-positive actions. I am investigating the effects the internet, particularly web 2.0 and social media outlets, have on a person’s environmental behaviours in the real world.

As a reader of the WEES blog, facebook groups and/or twitter feeds. you are potentially someone with views I am interested in. Particularly I am looking for people who read or write environmental blogs, belong to environmental-themed Facebook or MySpace groups, sign on-line petitions or take part in environmental email campaigns; or give to environmental charities, through on-line campaigns.

If you feel that I’ve described you in the previous paragraph I would invite you to participate in the study by clicking the link and taking the survey. Here is the survey link: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/428307/Environmental-Beliefs-and-Actions

If you have any questions about this study your participation in it or anything that concerns you, please email me at Todd.Nivens@gmail.com or phone me at 403-505-1864. This study is under the direction of Dr. Jennifer Good, Associate Professor in the Social Sciences faculty at Brock University. You are free to email her at jgood@brocku.ca. You can also link to the Royal Roads MAEEC program and to Dr. Good’s listing at Brock University.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Todd Nivens

MA(EECO) Candidate

Royal Roads University

Help Us Help Hayley Help Gorillas

I would like to tell you about a remarkable 3rd grade student, who is

passionate about creating positive change. Her name is Hayley Cartwright and

she attends Ecole Mountview School.

After attending a zoo camp in Calgary, last summer, Hayley learned, that the

habitats for gorillas were endangered because of mining for an ore called

coltan (columbite-tantalite). This ore is a source of the element tantalum

which is an essential coating for components of cell phones and is found in

the Congo in the middle of endangered gorilla and elephant habitats.

She wanted to know what could be done to help the gorillas, how she could

make a difference. Hayley started asking questions and with her mother's

help found a contact at the Calgary Zoo that provided them with the

information to get her 'project' started.

Reducing the demand for coltan will aid in the preservation of these

habitats, and this could be done by simply recycling cellular phones.

Due to their small size and rapid replacement cycle, cell phones often end

up in the waste stream contributing a mass of toxic materials in our

landfills.

Cell phones and their accessories contain a large number of hazardous

substances including heavy metals which may linger in the environment for

many years and have adverse effects on human health.

By recycling your cell phone, you are keeping toxic chemicals out of

landfills.. You may also preserve vital animal habitats by reducing the

demand for coltan. When people realize that recycling their cell phones

(most homes in North America have 2-3 lying unused in a drawer) can help

gorillas they're very enthusiastic to pitch in.

Eco-cell pays the zoo 60 cents per phone recycled. They collect the phones

at the Calgary Zoo, strip the batteries from them (to be recycled locally)

and ship the phones to Eco-cell. They will accept cords, chargers-everything

that comes with a phone. The money from the phones goes to the Zoo's

conservation fund where it is put towards gorilla conservation in the wild.

They can't assume responsibility for cleaning information off phones, so

they ask that donators do that in advance.

Hayley's drive to be successful at collecting cell phones, was more than

just setting up a collection point within her own school. She started

talking to her friends and family about how many more cell phones could be

collected if more people knew about the gorillas. Now, there are more kids,

from other schools who were more than excited to be part of Hayley's

collective project. Recycle boxes have been compiled with a poster for a

drop off box in several schools, and we have even compiled an information

newsletter to accompany the small blue boxes, for each school to send out in

their email notices and newsletter systems.

Can you help us?

Drop your old cell phone or smart phone at the Kerry Wood Nature Centre. We have a blue box set aside for this project. All the funds will go to the Calgary Zoo Cell Phone Recycling Program.

birdhouses

Now is the time to start thinking of setting out homes for the summer birds that nest in bird boxes. The Friends of the Kerry Wood Nature Centre Bookstore has a great selection of nest boxes at very reasonable prices. It will provide you with information about bird homes to make them successful this summer.

Come to the Friends of the Kerry Wood Nature Centre Bookstore for your bird homes and bat homes. For information ask for Bob or telephone him at 403 346 2010

HOME

Spend an hour or so with us and immerse yourself in HOME, a film by Yann Arthus-Bertrand.

Click this link to be taken to HOME on Youtube. Unfortunately we couldn't embed it right here.

Yann writes: "We are living in exceptional times. Scientists tell us that we have 10 years to change the way we live, avert the depletion of natural resources and the catastrophic evolution of the Earth's climate.The stakes are high for us and our children. Everyone should take part in the effort, and HOME has been conceived to take a message of mobilization out to every human being. For this purpose, HOME needs to be free. A patron, the PPR Group, made this possible. EuropaCorp, the distributor, also pledged not to make any profit because Home is a non-profit film.

HOME has been made for you : share it! And act for the planet."

We echo Yann. Share this incredible film amongst your friends and family.

kids bird feeding workshop

Kids ages 6 to 13 can learn about some of the birds of winter , how to identify and feed them and build a bird feeder to take home.
Date: Saturday, February 5
Time ; 2:00pm
Location ; Kerry Wood Nature Centre
6300 45 ave , Red Deer
Cost; $7:00 per child for KWNC members, $8:00per child for non members.
An adult must accompany the child for the program

Telephone for preregistration 403 346 2010, or register in person.

Ice-Box Galavanting

Living in Alberta, one gets used to the continual shifts in the weather. Much like a two year old in a grocery store, the moods of the weather go from mild and gentle to a tempestuous howl in moments. As Canadians, and furthermore, as Albertans, the snow is like a visit from an obnoxious relative; we curse it's coming, we roll our eyes at it's staying, we celebrate its departure, and when its all said and done, we reflect on how much fun we had complaining about it all.

Maybe its because of our proximity to the snow that we slander it so much.Familiarity, at times, breeds contempt.

I write this because I went snowshoeing today. Oh yes, I voluntarily left the warmth to strap some criss-crossed sticks to my decorative moccasins (which aren't supposed to get wet. Ha!) and brave the trails. Well, trail. Having walked a whole kilometer using nothing but a will of iron, I came back feeling as though I'd done something to blog about.

Somehow though, I don't think the deer who packed that trail before I got there are triumphantly blogging about it. I would even go so far as to say that in passing a squirrel, they didn't even thrust out their little deer chins with unadulterated pride. Why the lack of gloating? Well, its just another day, and they take it as they come. This season has something to offer them, just as every other season does. Though it is leaner than the summer months, the bounty of winter is not lost on them. With bark to chew, twigs to nibble, and grasses hidden by the blanket of snow, the woods still have what the deer need to survive.

The seemingly unconnected moral of this story? Go outside. Tuck your long johns into your socks, throw on a sweater underneath your coat, layer on two sets of mittens, and head out into the great white yonder. It is simply fantastic. Follow some animal tracts to watch where a coyote chased a hare. Find where a herd of deer spent the night. Watch the waxwings, drunk off fermented berries, swooping and careening madly through the air.

The woods aren't dead; they aren't even sleeping. Grab a friend and go see what there is to see. Then, once you re-enter your house, exilerated, follow the great Canadian tradition of curling up with a warm cup of something and complain freely about the cold. It'll be fun, I promise!

The Great Migration of the Plastic Bag

We really enjoyed this and felt there was great value in sharing it with you. We'd like to remind everybody the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is not fictitious. It exists as a vortex of trash in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, trapped in place by the currents.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays from all of us at the Kerry Wood Nature Centre. If you're looking for something to do with the family during vacation, why not drop down for a walk? Our holiday hours are:

December 24: 10 am - 1 pm
December 25: closed
December 26 - 28: 1 - 5 pm

We're also open 1 - 5 pm on January 1 & 3. All other days will be regular business hours.

Did you know that you can access the Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary even when the Nature Centre is closed? Just use the gate to the north side of the building.

Have a great holiday. We look forward to seeing you in the new year!

Clarification on Tonight's Total Lunar Eclipse

I've had a phone call or two asking if the Kerry Wood Nature Centre is doing anything in honour of tonight's total lunar eclipse. Unfortunately, the only thing we are doing is encouraging people to get out and try to see it- it's not often that we have a clear shot at a total lunar eclipse, and especially not when it coincides with the shortest day of the year. Let me explain further...

Total lunar eclipses happen more frequently than you may think. I did a bit of research and found that there was a total lunar eclipse in 1967, 1978 and 1989; a spacing of 11 years between them. Since lunar eclipses are only visible on the night side of the Earth, we didn't see these particular eclipses when they happened. There were three total lunar eclipses within one year at the turn of the millenium: on January 21, 2000, July 16, 2000, and January 9, 2001. Only the first of these was partially visible from North America and, unfortunately for us here in Red Deer, only from the eastern parts. Australia, Africa and Asia, respectively, had the best seats for the other two, though many Canadians did travel to those countries to see them. (Coincidentally, my research also showed that Australia has the most common occurrence of total lunar eclipses altogether. North American sightings were very infrequent- one more reason to watch tonight!)

So what about tonight's eclipse?

As in Diane's previous post, the "show" doesn't start until 11:33 p.m. That would be 11:33 p.m. tonight, Monday, Dec. 20, which is a work/school night for most people (myself included). The total eclipse begins around 12:41 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 21, with totality finishing at approximately 1:53 a.m. tomorrow morning. But it doesn't end there! For all you diehard astronomers out there, the partial eclipse will go on for another hour and 8 minutes, with the partial eclipse ending around 3:01 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 21, which also happens to be winter solstice. It is the combination of a total lunar eclipse falling on winter solstice that is the once-in-400-years event the media is talking about. This, and the fact that total lunar eclipses are cool to watch, makes me think it's worth a little lost sleep.

Happy viewing!

Look waaay up...

For those interested in the night skies, remember that there is a total lunar eclipse coming up on December 21st. The forecast right now says that we're to expect a clear, if chilly, night, so hopefully we'll have some good viewing.

The eclipse lasts for about 72 minutes, with the partial eclipse starting at 11:33 pm and mid-eclipse hitting at 1:17 am. There's no special equipment needed to view a lunar eclipse; just dress warmly, find a dark spot to watch the sky from, and look for the moon.

For more information, check out NASA's eclipse page.

It's That Time of the Year Again

The Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour is coming back to Red Deer. January 13 & 14, 2011.

Tickets are $20 +GST per night or $36 + GST for both nights. This is the Nature Centre's biggest fundraiser of the year. Get you tickets early for the best mountain-nature, mountain-culture and mountain-sport films from around the world.

Many thanks to our local sponsors - who are selling tickets at their shops: Valhalla Pure Outfitters and Purearth Organics.

Here's a taste of this year's show. Turn your speakers up to eleven!

Christmas at the Nature Centre

Just a reminder to anyone looking for something a little different for Christmas gifts this year that tickets for the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour (January 13th & 14th at the Memorial Centre) are now available at the Nature Centre, Valhalla Pure Outfitters, or Purearth Organics. Tickets are $20+GST for each night, or $36+GST for both nights.

As well, the Nature Centre Bookstore is a great source of local nature books, bird feeders and seed, and a wide array of unusual stocking stuffers. Looking for planispheres? Pocket Naturalist Guides? Chocolate-covered Insects? We've got them here!

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If you're looking for Christmas/winter activities, consider participating in the Christmas Bird Count on December 19th. Potluck supper to follow at the Nature Centre. Please call the Red Deer River Naturalists at 403-347-8200 for more information.

For some old-fashioned Christmas fun, come out to Fort Normandeau and join us for Christmas at the Fort (Sunday, December 19th from 1 - 4 pm). There'll be snowshoeing, crafts, activities and a bonfire. It's a great afternoon of fun with the family. $3/person or $10/family at the gate.

For more information on any of our winter programming, please call us at 403-346-2010.

Consider Not Driving

There has been a lot of coverage and complaining in the Red Deer media lately about the poor state of the roads and about winter driving conditions in general. While this is not the forum to air or give credence to those complaints, it is the place to perhaps offer some ideas that can take the stress out of winter driving.

The biggest step you can take is to simply not drive. Hear me out.

Most neighbourhoods in Red Deer have a strip-mall/shopping centre attached to them. Therefore most of us live within walking distance of a corner-store. While this won't cover the major grocery shopping needs, it does put you in close proximity of the essentials like milk and bread.

Many kids in Red Deer are fortunate enough to live reasonably close to their schools; close enough that they can walk most days. Those who don't live close enough, qualify for busing. Bundle them up in their snow pants, jackets, boots, toques, mitts and scarves (and do the same for you) and walk them to their school. And, for those of you who drop-off your kids on the way to work; is there a friend in the neighbourhood they can walk with? While we do get cold winter days, there aren't many that are too cold to walk to school in the morning. Use the -20 guideline that the schools use. If the temperature (real or windchill) is above -20 degrees Celsius, your kids will be playing outside at recess and lunch. If it's warm enough to play outside, it's warm enough to walk to school.

For commuters, rather than complain about the "traffic problem" or state of the roads on your morning drive to work, consider getting out of your car. On my way to work, as I cycle up 40th Ave, I notice that most vehicles have one person in them. Surely many of you are going to and from similar locations, leave your cars in parking stalls all day and could carpool with a friend or neighbour. This would solve two issues. One, you personally wouldn't be fighting with "traffic" everyday and two, we'd clear up some of the so-called "congestion" on the major arteries.

The other extremely viable option for commuters, is Red Deer Transit. The buses in Red Deer head into downtown and exchange at the depot. For most downtown-workers living in Red Deer, transit can be a cost-effective, efficient and non-driving means of getting to and from work. Let someone else do the driving (and stressing out) for you.

Now, the big challenge. Consider being a winter cyclist. A couple of studded tires, some warm clothes, a helmet and helmet liner and you're all set. Keep to the sidewalks to avoid the sliding cars and get a light so pedestrians can see you coming. There is a group of people in Red Deer who bicycle commute year-round (me included). While the temperature is an issue, the freedom of being away from traffic (especially if you use the Waskasoo Park Trail system) is well worth the temporary discomfort of a cold day. Winter cycling not only reduces the traffic load on our roads and the pollution in the air, it goes a long way to keeping you in shape for all the fun stuff you like to do in the spring/summer.

So, rather than complain about the state of our roads, try taking action toward a more sustainable and healthy commute, and leave the driving to others.

Shed Some Light -- November 12th

Just a reminder that our Shed Some Light fundraiser for new lighting for the Marjorie Wood Gallery is November 12th, 7 - 10 pm. There will be food, wine, a silent auction, and a variety of local art for sale. Each art piece goes for $25. This is a fantastic way to pick up some original art just in time for the holidays.

Tickets are $20 + GST and are available at the Nature Centre. Call 403-346-2010 for more information, or visit the Gallery's web page.