WILDED PROGRAM
Crowsnest Conservation’s WildED Program focuses on engaging and educating current and future stewards of our local wildlife resources and wild landscapes.
Horace Allen Outdoor Classroom:
The Horace Allen School Outdoor Classroom is a project to create a new outdoor learning space adjacent to the school for Kindergarten to Grade 3 students. The planned space will include a shelterbelt of trees and shrubs, a nature-infused meeting place, representative zones from mountain alpine to wetland riparian ecosystems, a butterfly garden, a rain exchange water conservation system, and raised garden beds for classes to grow food. The opportunity to incorporate regular outdoor nature experiences into daily learning will build responsibility, resilience, inquiry, and respect for nature in young students.
Crowsnest Conservation is partnering on this project by providing ecological expertise, proposal development and grant writing assistance, and volunteer labour. We also envision using this space in future programming.
Nature Nearby:
Adding an educational twist to the traditional year-end field trip, Crowsnest Conservation hosts Grade 1 classes at a local natural area to learn about plants and animals in their native environment, their needs, their adaptations, their benefits for humans, etc. Each class participates in a nature scavenger hunt on their guided hike as well as three learning stations during this annual field day.
Apple Round-up:
The fall Apple Round-up is a long-standing initiative that provides a valued connection between local Grade 4/5 students and community volunteerism as well as removing attractants to benefit local wildlife. Apple picking typically occurs at residences with a history of bear issues or where residents have mobility issues.
Horace Allen Outdoor Classroom:
The Horace Allen School Outdoor Classroom is a project to create a new outdoor learning space adjacent to the school for Kindergarten to Grade 3 students. The planned space will include a shelterbelt of trees and shrubs, a nature-infused meeting place, representative zones from mountain alpine to wetland riparian ecosystems, a butterfly garden, a rain exchange water conservation system, and raised garden beds for classes to grow food. The opportunity to incorporate regular outdoor nature experiences into daily learning will build responsibility, resilience, inquiry, and respect for nature in young students.
Crowsnest Conservation is partnering on this project by providing ecological expertise, proposal development and grant writing assistance, and volunteer labour. We also envision using this space in future programming.
Nature Nearby:
Adding an educational twist to the traditional year-end field trip, Crowsnest Conservation hosts Grade 1 classes at a local natural area to learn about plants and animals in their native environment, their needs, their adaptations, their benefits for humans, etc. Each class participates in a nature scavenger hunt on their guided hike as well as three learning stations during this annual field day.
Apple Round-up:
The fall Apple Round-up is a long-standing initiative that provides a valued connection between local Grade 4/5 students and community volunteerism as well as removing attractants to benefit local wildlife. Apple picking typically occurs at residences with a history of bear issues or where residents have mobility issues.
Speaker Series:
Crowsnest Conservation hosts occasional presentations on conservation-related topics of interest to the community. For example, following the 2017 Kenow Fire in Waterton, invited speakers discussed how fire and other disturbance influenced our forested landscape in the past and may shape it into the future, how wildlife is affected by wildfires and fire behaviour/management lessons learned from the Lost Creek & Kenow wildfires.
Our most recent speaker series investigated the issues around human-wolf interactions, particularly as related to nearby protected areas. Our speaker addressed wolf and people management in Banff National Park, followed by the award-winning 'The Trouble with Wolves' documentary that examined the implications of wolf reintroduction into Yellowstone National Park.
Classroom with Outdoors:
In the Fall Grade 4-6 students from Isabelle Sellon School participate in Wildsight's Classroom with Outdoors program. Crowsnest Conservation Society helps fund this curriculum-based program that encourages students to experience the science of nature while exploring various ecosystems in the region. Grade 4 students explore grasslands, Grade 5 students discover wetland ecosystems, and Grade 6 students investigate forests. Led by engaging naturalists, the all-day outdoor program provides an amazing opportunity for students to experience the place they call home in a whole new way.
Crowsnest Conservation hosts occasional presentations on conservation-related topics of interest to the community. For example, following the 2017 Kenow Fire in Waterton, invited speakers discussed how fire and other disturbance influenced our forested landscape in the past and may shape it into the future, how wildlife is affected by wildfires and fire behaviour/management lessons learned from the Lost Creek & Kenow wildfires.
Our most recent speaker series investigated the issues around human-wolf interactions, particularly as related to nearby protected areas. Our speaker addressed wolf and people management in Banff National Park, followed by the award-winning 'The Trouble with Wolves' documentary that examined the implications of wolf reintroduction into Yellowstone National Park.
Classroom with Outdoors:
In the Fall Grade 4-6 students from Isabelle Sellon School participate in Wildsight's Classroom with Outdoors program. Crowsnest Conservation Society helps fund this curriculum-based program that encourages students to experience the science of nature while exploring various ecosystems in the region. Grade 4 students explore grasslands, Grade 5 students discover wetland ecosystems, and Grade 6 students investigate forests. Led by engaging naturalists, the all-day outdoor program provides an amazing opportunity for students to experience the place they call home in a whole new way.
