Take Me Outside Day

Posted October 7, 2024

Oct. 23, 2024 is Take Me Outside Day. Take Me Outside Day helps raise awareness about outdoor learning and encourages educators and students to explore beyond the four walls of the classroom. Educators are encouraged to take their students outside for learning. Spend more time outside, be active and connect with nature. Try and spend […]

Field Note: Collecting wildflower seeds in Monarch Waystations

Posted September 9, 2024

Over the summer Outdoor Education Department staff visited almost all 84 of the WRDSB Monarch Waystations.  While some are still dominated by tall grass, most have a mix of local and introduced wildflower species that significantly boosted schoolyard biodiversity and added a splash of colour to the site! All of these wildflowers have been grown […]

Field Note: Site Inspection at Golden Pond

Posted August 30, 2024

Field Note: As we prepare for another year of Outdoor and Environmental Education one of our tasks is to inspect all our sites to ensure they are suitable for another year of exploration. Today I visited Golden Pond (where students at the Wrigley Corners Nature Center go to study aquatic habitats). I was pleased to […]

Birds are everywhere!

Posted December 1, 2020

Check out the latest music video by Sean McCammon! Join us for our Winter Bird Count, December 16th to 23rd.

First annual WRDSB Winter Bird Count!!!

Posted December 1, 2020

Today we announce the launch of the WRDSB’s first annual Winter Bird Count!!! For details check out the project page. Our Winter Bird Count is modelled after the Christmas Bird Count, an annual event that has been organized for over 100 years. The Christmas Bird Count runs in late December and early January, sponsored by the […]

WINTER BIRD COUNT

Posted November 17, 2020

Throughout December, WRDSB students and families are invited to learn about the variety of birds that call Waterloo Region home in winter.  Whether it is through observing birds at feeders or noticing birds in your daily routine, these amazing animals have a lot to teach us. Our winter bird event will include a Youtube Live […]

MONSTER TREES

Posted November 3, 2020

During the Month of October (2020) we challenged WRDSB students to find and document the biggest trees in their neighborhood.  We wanted to know the circumference of the biggest individual for each species in our leaf key. The largest tree with a single trunk above 1.4 meters was an Elm Tree reported by students from Woodland […]

POND LIVE!

Posted October 19, 2020

Join our Outdoor and Environmental Education Specialists, Al Woodhouse, Sean McCammon, Nathan Mantey, Levi Moore and special guest, Joe Bell, as they get muddy exploring the hidden depths of Heidelberg Pond. If you have a question about the pond ask.  We will answer as many questions as possible during the live broadcast. For more details […]

Great Horned Owl

Posted March 15, 2018

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Owl by the stream

Posted February 15, 2018

Today, with a class from Sandhills PS, we encountered a very unique situation – an Eastern Screech Owl fishing in the stream!
Earlier, we had seen a Mink come out of the forest and slip into a small, open section of the pond, and we decided to investigate. We took a good look at the tracks, but could not locate the weasel, despite our best efforts. During this time, we heard a male Pileated Woodpecker drumming in the distance and decided to try to track it down. As we came around the corner, some movement caught my eye down the by stream. I was shocked to see an Eastern Screech Owl flying from a low perch, landing in the stream belly-deep, then flying back up. It was only about 15m away! We watched it fishing several times. What a wonderful sighting for everyone! It certainly is not something I will forget, and to be able to share that experience with students was really incredible.

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