Our Education Season Ends and our Summer Programs Begin!
It’s a Wrap!
As I write this article, we are preparing for tomorrow’s education program, which happens to be the last one of the 2021-2022 season! We will wrap up with four Grade 1 classes at beautiful Willey West Campground. We’ve had a fantastic and busy season of facilitating environmental and outdoor education experiences in Drayton Valley as well as communities as far as Wabamum, Alder Flats, Buck Lake, Tomahawk and Wildwood. In addition, we’ve welcomed hundreds of children and youth to various locations in Eagle Point Provincial Park to experience the best that nature has to offer.
What Kids Did This Season
The Parks Council strives to immerse our participants in a positive outdoor experience while empowering them with outdoor skills and a bit of local natural history. Through our programs, children and youth have experienced the outdoors in a big way!
This season, participants discovered unusual park denizens including rat tailed maggots and water tigers, they’ve tried out binoculars, used pooters and ground sheets, hunted for geocaches, collected fingerprints, dissected owl pellets, traded beaver pelts for dry goods, petted a cougar hide, strapped on snowshoes, lit fires with flint and steel, used a kick net, tested river water for oxygen and phosphates, identified local tree species with a dichotomous key, carried their team members to safety, built shelters, learned to read compass bearings and used real knives to make feather sticks!
Grade 2 Student Showing off Polyphemus Moth during Bugology program
Grade 4 classes experiencing Metis Culture through our Metis Traditions program.
Kindergarten Kids exploring the Pembina Nordic Trails on a nature hike.
Grade 6 Class enjoying an afternoon hike after their Evidence & Investigation Program at Willey West Campground.
How Do We Pull It Off for Free?
In order to make all this free programming happen, we need a lot of help! Thank you to our many education sponsors and donors, including the Government of Alberta, Pembina Pipeline, Drayton Valley & District FCSS, Intercon Messaging and DV Community Foundation. Integral to all of our program are our awesome staff! Thank you for your outstanding work, Sandra, Erin, Rebekah, Tawnya and Bev! I also want to thank the volunteers and parents who help out at our programs and the teachers/organizers who give us the opportunities to work with their awesome kids. In addition, thank you to Pembina Nordic Club, Elevated Experience and the Town of Drayton Valley for allowing us to use their facilities with large groups of kids! Thank you to our program partners who help make our programs so much better – Metis Local 888, Drayton Valley Library and Family Resource Network!
Summer Programs Begin Next Week!
But wait, we’re not finished our season yet! We have a lot of summer programming for families starting next week! Check out our website for full details on the following fun activities and events, coming to the Drayton Valley area and Eagle Point Provincial Park this summer at www.epbrparkscouncil.org/events/
