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Has Your Child Been Signed-Up For The Great Outdoors Adventure Camp Yet?
**This is an overnight camp Tuesday to Friday with a one-day Preparation Day camp on the Monday**
Children can't wait to spend an entire week playing outside at the GRCA's newest camp week for older campers, The Great Outdoors Adventure Camp. The first day is an orientation for all the campers to get to know each other through a variety of icebreaker activities and team-building games. Campers will have a presentation on what to expect for the four-day, overnight portion of the week as staff explains packing, schedules, activities, dorm wing assignments, etc., to ensure everyone is comfortable and ready.
On Tuesday morning, campers will board the bus to the Ganaraska Forest Centre, where they will eat, sleep and play, while under the continuous supervision of the conservation authority's certified teaching staff.
Mountain biking (campers to supply), Outdoor Survival Skills, Treetop Trekking and the Survival Game are just some of the activities in which campers will be involved. Each night there will be a fun and entertaining evening program such as a themed campfire and organized games. Campers will feast on the delicious meals provided by the authority's amazing kitchen staff. To cap off this awesome week, campers will set up tents in a group camping site on the GFC grounds and spend a night cooking, singing and socializing around the campfire. This is the ultimate outdoor lovers' overnight camp!
Sign-up for this, or one of our other Nature Nuts Summer Camps, by calling 905.885.8173 or visiting our website.
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Fun for the Whole Family! Annual Fishing Derby: July 10th
Through the sponsorship of Kids, Cops and Canadian Tire, the Municipality of Port Hope and the GRCA, are hosting the annual
Fishing Derby on July 10.
The event will be held during
Ontario Family Fishing Week - permitting license free fishing for all members of the family - just north of Port Hope's Marina near the Fish cleaning station along the Ganaraska River.
Children aged 17 & under will be included in three categories: Longest Fish, Widest Fish and most fish caught - catch and release, of course.
Join us, members of the Port Hope Police Services, and municipal staff for this fun-filled event from 9am - 1pm. Learn about fishing techniques, how to make a fly, important information regarding invasive species and much more!
The Port Hope Public Library Mary J. Benson Branch is hosting a "Go Fish!" day, as well. Derby participants are invited to the library to record their "Best Fishing Tale" which will be displayed throughout the summer.
Also, don't forget about our
colouring contest! Prizes to be won - entries to be judged next week, with winners being contacted by us.
Participant are encouraged to bring:
* Fishing equipment
* Life jacket
* Sunscreen
* Sense of adventure
See you there!
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We're At It Again In The New School Year
More students across Ontario are getting an outdoor experience unlike any other. The
Ganaraska Forest Centre, joins five other outdoor education centres across the province in delivering the Weston Family Environmental Leaders of Tomorrow Program. With generous support from The W. Garfield Weston Foundation, over the past three years more than 4,500 students from low socio-economic, urban communities have been provided with the field trip of a lifetime - a three-day, subsidized residential stay at a field centre, where they are immersed in a natural setting and inspired to become the next generation of environmental leaders in their home communities.
The Weston Family Environmental Leaders of Tomorrow Program utilizes an integrated approach to environmental learning, where field centre lessons and experiences for the students are combined with in-school classroom learning. This maximizes the potential for student success both in the classroom and in the community. This model has also shown to inspire students to take action by applying lessons learned, directly on local school or community projects.
The Ganaraska Forest Centre has welcomed over 30 grade 6 classes - almost 1,000 individual children - to the centre since the project's inception in 2012. We'll leave it to one of the participants to sum up the experience:
"Absolutely outstanding. It honestly couldn't have been more enjoyable for the students and teachers. We were all super impressed with your gorgeous facility. AWESOME! We've never experienced a trip like this before. Fantastico!"
Graeme, teacher, Immaculate Conception School, November, 2014
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St. Francis of Assisi CES Students Get a Lesson In Search & Rescue
(PVNCCDSB School Board Website) - St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Elementary School Grade 7 students participated in an elaborate search and rescue scenario during an experiential learning project at Ganaraska Forest Centre in late May.
The school was awarded a provincial grant for the three-day, scenari0-based program at the not-for-profit centre. The school was one of only 45 schools province-wide (out of 168 proposals) that was successful in its grant application.
The grade 7s engaged in a collaborative, simulated natural disaster scenario depicting the flooding of the Ganaraska River. Students acted as search and rescue workers from the local area in determining the effects of flooding on the physical terrain. Starting with maps and compasses, students surveyed the terrain, and then by using Global Positioning System (GPS) units and a complete Geographical Information Systems (GIS) lab, students further studied the physical terrain and the effects of the flood and mapped the area.
The exercise was designed to foster 21st century skills such as: critical thinking, leadership, creativity, innovative and social responsibility designed to promote student reflection and the application of learning in new contexts completed individually and in groups.
"Our collaboration with St. Francis of Assisi was so successful because the school was very open-minded to our involvement as partners, and permitted our teaching staff to design an engaging and adventurous summative experience for the students. The attentiveness of teachers and volunteers was essential to ensuring that this was also a safe program for all students. Overall, our collaboration with St. Francis was a very positive experience that permitted the Forest Centre to design and test a new and innovative program that joins the Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority's mandate with the classroom curriculum." - Aaron Staples, Ganaraska Forest Centre Outdoor Education Instructor; Program Designer
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A Reminder to Motorized Users of the Ganaraska Forest
As indicated around the Wilcox Road parking lot (P4) in the
west section of the Ganaraska Forest, there are to be no motorized vehicles, with the exception of the vehicle used to tow ATVs, dirtbikes, etc to the lot, to be driven along the road leading into P4.
Please respect the many neighbours who reside near the forest.
We thank you in advance for your cooperation.
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Have You Been to Our Water Conservation Garden Before?
Well now's the time! Built in partnership with the Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority,
Lakefront Utility Services Inc., the
Town of Cobourg and the community, the Town of Cobourg
Water Conservation Garden showcases and demonstrates techniques, products and plant materials that help to conserve water. All aspects of the garden can be easily incorporated into residential, commercial, or public setting.
So why focus a garden on water conservation? Because water is one of our most precious resources, and often taken for granted. The Town of Cobourg relies on treated water from Lake Ontario for drinking. In order to protect this important source of water, we must consider our everyday actions and how those actions affect water quality and quantity.
Visit the garden today, located at the corner of Ewart and Division Street in Cobourg.
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Thank You!
The
Credit River Anglers Association has graciously offered to support the Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority's Fisheries Program, by paying for $1,000.00 of scale aging work to help assess fish population health and habitat usage across our jurisdiction.
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Congratulations Town of Cobourg!
The federal, provincial and Town of Cobourg governments are each putting in up to $416,666 to build a flood retention pond on property on the edge of Midtown Creek.
The pond will hold back water, securing properties both upstream and downstream to the once flooded Kerr Street area.
The Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority has done the pre-engineering, and details are available upon request.
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