Home > Heritage Educational Programs > CARMN Guide > KerryWood Nature Centre

The Kerry Wood Nature Centre is located at the entrance to the Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary, 1.5 km north of 55 Street on 45 Avenue on the South Bank bike trail, Red Deer. The Centre is open year-round. From the Victoria Day weekend to Labour Day it is open from 10 to 8 daily, 10 to 5 daily the rest of the year and from 1 on statutory holidays. The governing authority is the Normandeau Cultural and Natural History Society. There is no admission fee though donations are gratefully accepted.

The collection at the Centre includes permanent exhibits illustrating the formation of the Red Deer Valley and the life and habitats within it today. There is a travelling exhibit gallery that features local, regional, national and international displays of wildlife art, and a theatre with audio-visual presentations. There is a hands-on Discovery Room for children and a wildflower demonstration garden. The Nature Centre has a seniors' film festival on the last Monday of every month and there are several preschool programs including "Babes in the Woods" (0 - 2 years), "Ducks and Ducklings" (2 - 4 years) and Nature Nursery for 3 to 5 year old children. There are public programs and courses on special events running on most weekends. There is also a Hallowe'en event, "Fire and Earth" celebrates the return of spring, and an Easter Sunday event. Special group programs are offered by reservation.

The Kerry Wood Nature Centre has an extensive natural history and environmental education reference library that teachers are invited to use free of charge, to deliver their own educational program, though reservations are required. Activity packs are available for students to use at no charge. Each student can use a backpack equipped with a rain poncho, clipboard and magnifying box as well as activity package. There are class sets of activity packs for bird watching, snow study, animal tracking, pond sampling, and tree and flower study. The Centre offers snowshoes for use, as well, when there is enough snow. These items need to be booked prior to the visit.

There is an extensive collection of curriculum-related and general interest school programs, badge programs for youth groups, day camps and sleep-overs. Many of the programs at the Kerry Wood Nature Centre can be presented in natural areas near schools. Contact the Centre for further information.

Educational Programs:

• Be a Super Snoop

• Circles of Life: Animal Life Cycles

• Creeping, Crawling, Flying

• Forestry Sampling Techniques

• Forestry Survey Techniques

• Introduction to Rocks and Minerals

• Landforms: Earth Sculptures

• Nature Discovery Walks

• Pond Ecosystem Study

• Ready for Winter

• Sky World: Mobile Planetarium Programs

• Spring Forests

• Wild Things in Spring/Summer

• Winter/Spring Discovery Walks

• Winter Wilds!

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