BWC Spring Recap
/Inside education (throughout the spring): Inside Education delivered educational programing at the Boreal Wetland Centre, utilizing the natural ecosystem and on-site installations to provide real world examples for local school curriculum.
Trailhead entrance sign (April): The BWC now has a beautiful entrance sign thanks to the hard work and collaboration of Men’s Shed Grande Prairie.
Walk Through the Forest (May 7-9): This 3-day event, organized by GPESES, toured Grade 6 six students through the BWC to learn about sustainable forest management practices, air and watersheds, and invasive species. We welcomed approximately 1,000 students and teachers to the site and had a great time talking about wetlands.
Forestry summer student maintenance day (May 14 and 31): Workers from Canfor, Weyerhaeuser, and West Fraser joined BWC staff on site to help with maintenance. Tasks included pulling out old materials, removing sand from past demonstrations, cleaning up signage around site, and cutting a new trail for a future silviculture exhibit.
High School Spring Tour (May 16): Hosted by the County of Grande Prairie, this wetland tour was given to high school kids and included presentations by Ducks Unlimited Canada, the Alberta Conservation Association, Matrix Solutions, NAIT Centre for Boreal Research, the Agroforestry and Woodlot Extension Society, and PAZA. Topics covered in these presentations involved soils, forestry, aquatic ecology, wetland vegetation, and more.
International Museum Day (May 18): This event was hosted by the Grande Prairie Museum, and included stops at the Boreal Wetland Centre, Philip, J. Currie Dinosaur Museum, and Veteran’s Memorial Gardens & Interpretive Centre. Each location contained special exhibits and activities for participants to enjoy, with a free scheduled bus traveling between sites.
Boreal team wetland workshop (May 27-30): Ducks Unlimited Canada staff came from across the province to the BWC for Introduction to Wetlands Training, which involved a wetland and soil classification workshop, hydrology training using on-site water wells, and knowledge exchange between the Boreal Team and Alberta Operations staff.
BioBlitz Week (June 17-20): Ducks Unlimited Canada hosted the annual BioBlitz Week at the Boreal Wetland Centre. Families were able to get out in nature and observe the different plants found in the BWC, learn about our hydrology monitoring volunteer opportunities, and discover the impact aquatic organisms have on wetland health.
Junior Forest Rangers maintenance day (July 22): The Junior Forest Ranger team came out to the Boreal Wetland Centre to help with site maintenance. Tasks included removing sand from past demonstrations, removing concern and downed trees, and installation of new interpretive signage at various locations around the site.
