Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Next program - November 19th

Skulls and Skeletons!
Learn the basics of bone structure in animals and how to tell a rabbit from a wolf. Play a fun game or two to reinforce what you’ve learned. Also for this session, bring in your own ‘mystery’ object (it doesn’t have to be a skull!) and let us all help identify it!!


It sounds like it will be an interesting and informative session. I'm sorry that I'll be missing it!

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Greening the Nature Centre with Native Plants

Today we had another beautiful sunny day for our meeting. The first thing we did was head to the pond for our monthly photo. The pond photo can be seen here.


Next everyone pitched in and planted some native plants around the nature centre:


After planting, everyone had a chance to update their journals and we talked about sightings people had during the past month.

Sightings:
raccoon, Harbour Seal, Jellyfish, black bear (Vancouver)
Sturgeon
Deer
Cooper's Hawk
Skunk
Bunny, Bluebirds
Groundhog
Monarch Butterfly
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Robins
Praying Mantis

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Reminder - Program October 29th

Come and help ‘green’ the nature centre with some native plantings. Bring gloves (we will provide shovels). Learn about different seeds and spores and how plants disperse them far and wide!


We have a special opportunity that is in addition to our regular November
meeting:
On November 5, our Young Nats club will be joining the Guelph Field
Naturalists at the Guelph Lake Nature Centre as part of a joint program by
WILD Ontario to see some real live birds of prey! The program would run from
10-12. Carpooling will be arranged closer to the date if there is interest.
This is outside of our regular program offerings and there would be an extra
$10 cost for those interested families to cover our participation.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Pond study and water quality - Sept 24

What a great turnout we had on Saturday. The weather was beautiful and perfect for gathering creatures from the pond!

It was nice to meet all the new members that have joined the Young Naturalists club this year and welcome back some returning members.
During the first part of our meeting we shared the following sightings: Piping Plover, Pileated Woodpecker, coyote, deer, snake, seal and gopher.

We're going to try something new this year. Each time we meet, we'll take a photo of the same spot at the pond so that we can see how that spot changes from season to season. Each young naturalist will also have a journal where they can write down the things they did and saw during each meeting!

While we were at the pond, we collected water to measure the water quality. The results were:
Air temperature: 20 degrees, Turbidity: 40 jtu, Water temperature: 18 degrees, Dissolved Oxygen: 4, pH: 7. Because of some problems with the sampling, the results were not submitted to the water monitoring website. If you would like to read more about water sampling, here is a link to the website: http://www.worldwatermonitoringday.org/

It looked like everyone had fun collecting creatures at the pond:








List of creatures collected:
crayfish
leopard frog
water scorpion
giant water bug
tadpole
scud
dragon fly nymph
damsel fly nymph
scavenger beetle
water boatman
water mite
fisher spider
backswimmer
water strider
stickleback
caddis fly nymph
See you in October!
Kelly

Saturday, August 27, 2011


I hope you've all had a wonderful summer! The Young Naturalists will resume meetings in September.
We've got some great programmes this year!!

Information about the programs and a copy of the registration form can be found on the KWFN website (http://www.kwfn.ca/young_nats.html).

Please feel free to pass along this information to anyone else you think would be interesting in joining the Young Naturalists club.

See you September 24th!

Kelly

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Sciensational Sssnakes at rare

Hello, we've received the following information about an event this coming week:

Kids will love Sciensational Sssnakes at rare!

Join us on Wednesday, August 17th, 6:30-8:30 PM

Help us welcome Sciensational Sssnakes for an interactive presentation highlighting the wilder side of rare. This all-ages event will give you a chance to learn about, see, and touch these amazing animals. Bring your enthusiasm and your sense of adventure!

Tickets are $15 per adult and $10 for kids under 12. Register now by clicking here, or by calling Brenda Pearce at 519-650-9336 ext. 125.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Free Flying Raptors - Greenway Blooming Centre - June 26, 1 pm and 3 pm

Hello,
I received the following information and thought it might interest you:

Jim Cowan of the Canadian Raptor Conservancy will be bringing his free flying raptors to the Greenway Blooming Centre on Shantz Station Road just south of Hwy. 7. For information, call 519-648-2328. Also refer to the Canadian Raptor Conservancy website.

Here's a link to the website mentioned above http://www.canadianraptorconservancy.com/

Kelly

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Have a great summer!

Sightings from May meeting:
Turkey Vultures
Baltimore Oriole
Mallard Nest
Mourning Dove
Red-backed salamander
hummingbird
Deer
Fox
Raccoon
Cardinal
Geese
Leopard Frog
Green Frog
American Toad

Invasive species are plants that are too good at making themselves at home. They can be native or non-native. They reproduce quickly and can make it hard for other species to survive.

After our brief lesson about invasive species we went for a walk. Some of the species we were fortunate to see included:
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow Warbler
Song Sparrow
Tree Swallow
Great Blue Heron
Leopard Frogs
Turkey Vulture
American Robin

See you in September!

Friday, May 20, 2011

Saturday, May 28!

Join us for a program about Invasive Species.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Nature Olympics this Saturday!

It's the Nature Olympics! Come and test your knowledge on everything
from plants, fish, mammals and, well other nature-y stuff! Mixing brains
and brawn, we'll have loads of fun squaring off at different stations
with quizzes and challenges! Looking forward to seeing you there!

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Report your sightings

We've also received the following website of interest:
Report your first barn swallow, oriole, hummingbird and monarch butterfly to the Journey North program (www.learner.org/jnorth). Over 800,000 students in Canada and U.S.A. are studying the arrival of spring across the province using sightings submitted by naturalists such as yourselves.

INCREDIBLE WORLD OF BUGS EXHIBIT - CONESTOGA MALL, WATERLOO - APRIL 19 - 21, 2011

Good morning everyone! We've receieved the following inforamtion that may be of interest to you:


"The Incredible World of
Bugs" exhibit coming to the Conestoga Mall, Waterloo on April 19 - 21, 2011.

This exhibit toured Ontario last year to great acclaim, given it's educational
and scientific value. It reflects the passion of John G. Powers, a retired
policeman, and his 50 years of insect study. Like myself, John holds a record in
the Guinness Book of Records, for owning the world's largest moth, and John will
be available to answer questions. The exhibit is co-sponsored by Orkin PCO.
.
What is most interesting is that over the years, John has been in contact with
many celebrities who have a link with butterflies (i.e. Muhammed Ali who “flies
like a butterfly and stings like a bee” to Dolly Parton who sings “Love Is Like
A Butterfly”). John has collected over 325 cards bearing a letter and photograph
of these celebrities and around these John has created amazing insect displays.
John has also received such letters and photos from recipients of his gift of
butterflies. John's latest letter and photo, on display, is one from President
Obama and family.

John is extremely articulate, passionate and gives a great interview.

This show is a must for everyone!. John can be reached at: (519) 653-2002


About John Powers and about the Exhibit:

http://www.orkincanada.ca/en-ca/news/articles/incredible-world-of-bugs

http://www.wingsofparadise.ca/Traveling_Exhibitions.htm

Newspaper Articles from the Tour:

Peterborough:
http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?archive=true&e=1629019


Dartmouth, Nova Scotia:
http://www.snapdartmouth.com/index.php?option=com_sngevents&id[]=187675





Photos used with permission.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Join the Chapion Tree Hunt

Help find the largest trees in Waterloo Region!

Start Date: May 2, 2011
Closing Date: September 30, 2011

More information can be found here:
https://sites.google.com/a/landscapeontario.com/champion-tree-hunt/

Happy Hunting!

March 26 - Meeting summary and sightings

Sightings:
Sandhill Cranes
Bald Eagle
Gull
Royal Tern
Brown and White Pelicans
White Ibis
Little Blue Heron
Wood Stork
Geckos
Common Moor Hens
Red-shouldered Hawk
Woodcock
Turkey Vultures
Hawks
Alligators
Dolphis
Turtle
Crabs
Raccoon
Chickadee
Evening Grosbeak
Common Redpoll
Blue Jay
Bunny
Junco
House Finch
Robin
Red-wing Blackbird
Killdeer
Cardinal
Frog
Screech Owl
Tundra Swan
Cedar Waxwing

Today we drew a map of the Laurel Creek Nature Centre property from memory. The Young Naturalists were very good at remembering different landmarks around the poperty and where they should go on the map. Once the map was done, we had a quick overview of the GPS units and then headed outside to use them! Finding the stations that were pre-programmed on the GPS was a fun challenge!

See you all next month!

Monday, March 21, 2011

Don't get lost in the woods!!

Come join us this Saturday from 10 to noon for a lesson in "How Not to
Get Lost in the Woods". We will explore different ways of finding our
way around the natural landscape using observational skills, compass,
map and yes, the GPS!

Have a great week, see you on Saturday!

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

February Sightings

The sightings that were shared at the February meeting:
coyote
red fox
red-tailed hawk
grey squirrel
great horned owl
deer
downy woodpecker
rough-legged hawk
merlin
kestrel
screech owl
wild turkey
turkey vulture
snow bunting
horned lark

At the meeting this month we learned about winter tree identification. In the winter, the bark, buds and branches are used to identify trees.
After the lesson on tree identification we went on a Treesure hunt. It was a great day to be out walking in nature!

Monday, February 21, 2011

Program for Feb 26th

Hi everyone!

The program for this Saturday will include a winter tree lesson and game!
We will be learning how to identify trees from their buds, branches and bark and then going on a 'Tree-sure" hunt to test our skills.

A reminder about the KWFN club meeting Monday, February 28th:
Wild Ontario will be presenting their Live Animal Presentation. We are hoping to have a significant number of young people in attendance for the presentation which has a special appeal for kids.
The following is a description of the meeting from the KWFN website:
Wild Ontario will be bringing their new, live-animal, environmental education program to the KWFN. The live-animal programs are specifically designed for naturalist groups and clubs by professional, experienced educators. They will have birds of prey on hand to help illustrate their talk on raptor identification and adaptations and human impact. This presentation should be educational for adults and fascinating for kids, so we will run it earlier in the program at 7:35 pm. and encourage members to bring out their kids and grandkids. Operating out of the University of Guelph, this program has its roots in the former Wild Bird Clinic at the Ontario Veterinary College.




See you all on Saturday!