TWC offered several programs for area residents this spring and summer.
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Summer in the Wetlands was awesome. We had three great students who were involved in research, site maintenance and habitat enhancement. We started the summer by doing some much needed painting and habitat work. We also established a new song bird feeding station in the nursery that has attracted several species including chickadees, goldfinches, nuthatches and the occassional pheasant! This summer a great deal of wildlife survey work was done. The highlight was the breeding marsh bird surveys where we documented 2 pairs of virginia rails. We had great brood production and 6 male wood ducks hung around the marsh all summer. We examined aquatic invertebrate populations in various habitat types and began a plant collection and database. Our research on the effectiveness of Galerucella on loosestrife continued with an added component this year. In an effort to better quantify the life history of this beetle we did a controlled study measuring the timing of various stages. We had many visitors including Elderhostel groups and summer youth camps. All in all it was great summer and we had tons of fun!
Click here to check out the summer action.

This year 70-plus Tantramar students representing all grades looked after running our wetlands centre. These folks looked after everything from banding ducks to managing the number of muskrats in the marsh. Most of their time however was spent teaching others what they themselves have learned about the importance of wetlands. During this school year more than 4000 pupils and teachers from 48 different schools visited our wetland centre! Rain or shine, in French and English, these Wetheads consistently earned top marks from the visitors for their ability to make our programs both informative and entertaining.

Click here for The Wetheads’ Year in Review

On May 24th, 2005 over 100 students from Assomption College in Montreal visited TWC. As part of Gail Goodwin’s experiential tours they came to experience the marsh and its inhabitants. Our notorious Sackville wind blew hard but that didn’t discourage our Quebec vistors from having a great time!

From looking at ring-necked ducks to whirligig beetles, counting rat houses and looking at scat they learned what great places wetlands are. We enjoyed having these students visit us and experiencing all that TWC has to offer. Hope to see some more visitors from Quebec in the near future. Click here for pictures!

April 23 brought 50 wetheads, teachers and community volunteers to TWC to participate in the Centre’s annual training day activities. As a lead up to the busy Adopt-A-Class season during which TWC delivers programs in May and June to over 2000 grade 4 pupils on behalf of Ducks Unlimited Canada . Again this year, the training day particpants tested their skills in a Survivor-style competition that demonstrated the program components and concluded with annual great Survivor canoe race.

Click here for pictures of Training Day 2005.

On February 13, Samantha Richard and Jeff Bird travelled to Winnipeg to join representatives from 5 other schools from across Canada who were attending a Wetland Centres of Excellence Conference sponsored by Ducks Unlimited and Green-Street. During this event, highlighted by 3 fantastic days of wetland education activities and information exchanges, TWC and the other school projects were officially recognized by DUC as Wetland Centres of Excellence at a special award ceremony as seen above. TWC would like to thank Dr. Rick Wishart, DUC and Green-Street for their ongoing support and for including us in this truly outstanding event. Winnipeg Rocks!

Click here for pictures of the Wetheads in Winnipeg.

Thirty grade 10 teachers from across New Brunswick visited us on February 25th to explore Project Wet, an activity-based curriculum designed for teaching about water. TWC always enjoys working with our partners at “Educating for Sustainability” to introduce teachers to this excellent classroom resource. Check out some of the action….
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The winter program at TWC is now underway. Students from across New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are coming to take part in this unique program. A sing-song with the infamous Leroy and Lemar, slide show on tracking, hands-on activity, and real tracking out on the marsh are all part of a fun filled morning. So strap on some snowshoes and off we’ll go on a winter-wetland experience!

TWC was thrilled to welcome New Brunswick’s Minister of the Environment, Brenda Fowlie to the Centre on November 29th. The Minister joined students from Beaconsfield Middle School in Saint John in learning first-hand about wildlife management in New Brunswick. The students and the Minister spent a good part of the morning out on marsh studying the Centre’s very healthy muskrat population. It was a great day made even more enjoyable by Minister Fowlie’s interest and participation. For pictures of Minister Fowlie’s visit to the TWC click here.

TWC in cooperation with Learning for a Sustainable Future and the Dept. of Education provided a day long workshop for Grade 10 science teachers on December 10th. This workshop was designed to introduce participants to PROJECT WET. The day was spent demonstrating how this excellent activity-based resource can support the Sustainability of Ecosystems Unit of the grade 10 curriculum. We all had a blast! Click here for pictures!