The BRWA is excited to be partnering with Nature Alberta to bring the Nature Kids’ Program (formerly the Young Naturalists’ Club) to the Lakeland region. Nature Kids is for youth and families who like to learn about nature while having fun at the same time! Nature Kids is a nature-focused program with the goal of teaching children and their families about nature. We provide educational materials and organize field experiences that promote being outdoors, observing nature, scientific investigation, environmental stewardship, and healthy living. The Lakeland NK meets every third Saturday of the month to partake in different outdoor activities. At our last Explorer Day on April 16th we built bird houses and feeders! We have many exciting activities planned over the next year.  These events are free for families of all ages and abilities. To register contact Marianne Masters at [email protected].

At our September Explorer Day the Lakeland Nature Kids participated in the Yellow Fish Road program, which aims to raise awareness about pollution entering local waterbodies through stormdrains. Yellow fish were painted around stormdrain access points and residents were given information about protecting our local waters. We also had a special guest join us at our September Explorer Day!  Daryl Hodinsky of AltaGas presented the Lakeland Nature Kids with a cheque of $10,000 to support our programming! The LNK would like to extend a huge thank you to AltaGas for making our Explorer Days possible and for allowing us to extend these opportunities to more families and youth in the lakeland!

The Lakeland NK held our first explorer days on Saturday, Oct 5th, 2013. Attendees had the opportunity to hike Jessie Lake while trying to identify different bird species. Highlights of the day included seeing a bald eagle, climbing the viewing towers, observing woolly bear caterpillars, and getting an up close look at a garter snake. With the help of Dixie Colter from Alberta Parks, we hosted a snowshoe adventure on Feb 22nd at Moose Lake Provincial Park. Thanks to Brandon MacLeod from the Bonnyville Nouvelle for taking these great photos and even publishing an article, “Nature Calling all Young Naturalists,”  in the local newspaper!

Our introduction to Geocaching Explorer Day took place in Elk Point on Sat, Nov 15th, 2014