Snapping turtle at a traffic crossing

Posted May 31, 2016

I stopped in at Huron Natural Area this weekend for a walk with my daughter.  Just before pulling into the parking lot I noticed a turtle trying to cross Trillium Drive, headed in the direction of the pond.  It was a snapping turtle, probably returning from laying eggs.  Snappers will emerge from their aquatic habitats […]

Pileated Woodpecker

Posted May 29, 2016

Video of pileated woodpecker at Laurel Creek Friday morning. [wpvideo lGkRIfHZ]  

So Long Suckers

Posted May 14, 2016

Each spring white suckers migrate up Laurel Creek from the downstream reservoir in order to lay eggs. It’s pretty impressive springtime spectacle. My son Sawyer recently won a GoPro in a contest so we thought we would test it out on some unsuspecting spawners. Check it out! [wpvideo Tx6slxw2]

Lester B. Pearson Grade 7’s @ Blair

Posted May 9, 2016

Last week Ms. Kelly’s five grade 7 classes from LBP PS in Waterloo, visited the Blair Outdoor Centre to study stream ecology.  We did a stream study in the morning -Blair Creek is a Class 1 cold-water stream – and an ecology hike around the property in the afternoon as well as the use of […]

Another (or same) Blandings Turtle

Posted April 27, 2016

In 2013, I found a blandings turtle at Laurel Creek. You can read about that turtle day here: https://outdooredguys.wordpress.com/2013/05/30/blandings-turtle/ It was pretty exciting because blandings turtles are listed as “threatened” on the list of species at risk in Ontario. They are tricky to find. Last year, staff of the Grand River Conservation Authority found another, or […]

Opening Huron Natural Area for Spring programs

Posted April 24, 2016

I headed out to the Huron Natural Area this week with my co-teacher to prepare our classroom for our spring grade 2 and 3 programs.  We walked our nature trail circuit and observed several seasonal changes taking place. When we arrived we noticed that the city of Kitchener is organizing a family Earth Day event […]

Earth Day at Steckle Heritage Farm

Posted April 22, 2016

Each year on (or around) Earth Day, the outdoor education staff of the Waterloo Region District School Board organizes an event which brings together students from several different schools. This year we visited Steckle Heritage Farm where students learned about the ins and outs of food production. We weeded, composted, planted and cooked. For lunch […]

Clean out your bird houses

Posted April 20, 2016

[wpvideo 2r8A96Dm]

Monarch Migration – Good News, Bad News…

Posted March 31, 2016

Monarch Migration northwards from the wintering grounds in the mountains of central Mexico has begun.  We were heartened by the increase this year in the number of wintering butterflies… Good News from Mexico (From the Website Journey North) The number of monarchs overwintering in Mexico has increased dramatically from the record lows of the past […]

Maple Syrup Report

Posted March 31, 2016

The Laurel Creek Outdoor and Environmental Education Centre has been hosting grade 3’s for maple syrup programs the last few weeks. We were concerned that this spring was going to be a bust as far as syrup production goes, due to a string of above-seasonal temperatures. At one point in early March, the Weather Network had […]

1 … 4 5 6 … 38