By Nanci Wakeman
On Saturday August 18, WCA held a water festival in partnership with GBBR (Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve) at Fitzgerald Bay Beach for children ages 6 to 12. Both the eighteen children and the parents that attended the event were fully engaged in the learning and fun.
Three GBBR staff Delaina Arnold, (Education and Stewardship Co-ordinator), Katrina Krievins (Conservation Program) and Dana Stephenson (Education Program) led the children through activities focused on learning about stewardship and the ecosystem of The Bay. At the turtle station, the children learned about the natural habitat of turtles, had turns holding the turtles and learned about different types of shells and how to rescue turtles safely. Two other stations focused on learning about pollution, and the microbiological creatures that live in Georgian Bay, along with some ever-popular frog catching. The “Dripial Pursuit” station, led by Donna Tucker (WCA) was a friendly quiz about what the children had learned. While the children were involved in hands-on activities, the parents had an opportunity to meet each other.
Given the success of this inaugural event, we are planning to hold another similar children’s event next year and hope that as soon as the date is set, WCA members will put it into their calendars.
Many thanks also to WCA board members Adrian Crowe, Sheila Tierney, Bruce Davidson, Pam Wing and Bill Bialkowski for coming out to support the event and special thanks to our on-the-spot photographer Nanci Wakeman.
Download this story and the entire WCA Fall Newsletter October_3_2018 in PDF format (1.5MB).