Sixty Wetheads and teachers gathered at TWC on Saturday, April 29th as the Centre held its annual “Survivor Wetlands” Training Day. This day of fun, sun, good food and friends serves as a tune-up for the Project Webfoot Program TWC delivers on behalf of Ducks Unlimited Canada throughout May and June.
Participants competed for points in their ‘Survivor tribes’ as they rehearsed the delivery of those Webfoot activities visiting students will participate in during their visit to TWC.
The final event of the day was the Great Survivor Canoe Race that featured even more thrills and spills than in previous years. The victorious tribe for 2006 was Canis. They were simply awesome!
Spring is here and the Tantramar Wetland Centre is gearing up for a busy couple of months. Between May 2 and June 22 we are expecting close to 2000 visitors! Over 1000 of these will be participating in the Project Webfoot program that we deliver on behalf of Ducks Unlimited Canada. So don’t delay and book right away to experience wetlands with the Wetheads of TWC. Hope to see you here.
Based on the feedback from District 10 teachers participating in workshops provided just prior to Christmas, the TWC-LSF team was invited back to St. Stephen by District Staff to work with science and social studies teachers over a two-day period. The first day was devoted to teaching about Environmental Stewardship in grades 6, 7 and 8 followed by a Project WET workshop for high school teachers. We want to thank Brenda Logan, District Supervisor, for her efforts in making these sessions possible and for her efforts on our behalf. We also appreciated greatly the enthusiasm of the teachers who attended. Thanks, folks.
Wetlands in Winter, TWC’s award-winning program for visiting schools gets underway in February. This experiential program for all grade levels teaches through hands-on experience, the importance of wetlands even in the coldest months of the year.
Visitors will head out onto the marsh by snowshoe to sample the aquatic life thriving beneath the ice and to examine a wide varitey of tracks and scat left behind by our winter residents.
The Wetheads who ‘run this show’ recently gathered on the weekend to prepare the equipment and review the key components of the program. We are all looking forward to another exciting winter in the wetlands, so call now to make arrangements to join us.
TWC in partnership with Educating For Sustainability in NB “touched down” in Woodstock in January to deliver two workshops for District 14 teachers. The first session focused on the water, soil and habitat units in the elementary curriculum and provided teachers with an opportunity to explore a variety of hands-on classroom activities and resources. The theme of the second day was Environmental Stewardship. This activity-based workshop, for middle school teachers, focused on empowering young people to become environmental stewards. We want to thank our hosts from School District 14 and the wonderful group of teachers who participated.
TWC recently joined forces again with Learning For A Sustainable Future in NB to deliver two workshops for District 10 elementary teachers. The activity-based sessions were held at the District 10 School Board office in St. Stephen, NB and focused on the water, soil and habitats units of the curriculum for grades 2, 3 & 4. We want to thank the great group of enthusiastic teachers who participated and the District 10 office staff for making us feel right at home. Plans are to return again in March, 2006.
Click here to check it out.
Mid November marks the start of TWC’s popular Population Dynamics Program. Over a two-week period, 250 New Brunswick students will work along-side trapper Dan Sears and the TWC staff to manage the muskrat populations of both the Centre and the Sackville Waterfowl Park. In addition to learning a great deal about factors related to population changes, program participants study muskrats up close and personal in this experiential program.
TWC in partnership with Learning for A Sustainable Future delivered a workshop on October 28th for Grade 2 teachers from New Brunswick Districts 2, 6, 8 and 10. The goal of this workshop was to support teachers in their efforts to teach students about water. A busy day of indoor and outdoor activities concluded in bright sunshine with each school represented receiving a number of classroom resources including the Project Wet Curriculum & Activity guide.
Click here for all of the action!
On October 21st, TWC introduced teachers from District 17 and 18 to THE GRAND LAKE MEADOWS WETLAND EDUCATION PROGRAM. With funding from MRDC and in partnership with New Brunswick’s Department of Natural Resources, this program was developed by TWC Staff Biologist, Susan Bowes to help teachers inform students about the ecological and cultural significance of the Grand Lake Meadows region. While the water in The Meadows was extremely high, teachers enjoyed both the morning classroom and afternoon field trip sessions.
Click here for some of the highlights
New Brunswick’s Minister of the Environment, Hon. Dale Graham paid a visit to TWC on October 11 to plant a tree to commemorate the Centre’s 2004 Environmental Leadership Award. Following the ceremony, Minister Graham along with Business New Brunswick Minister, Hon. Peter Mesheau took some time to join the Wetheads and band some ducks. The Province of New Brunswick has been a major supporter of TWC and its programs for students and we appreciated the opporunity to share with the Ministers some of what we are up to.
