Nature Saskatchewan’s Spring Meet
June 3 – 5, 2011
Kathy Morrell
Focus on Youth
It’s new. It’s innovative. It’s exciting, too. For the first time, Nature Saskatchewan will include a three day Youth Rally as a part of its Spring Meet, an event hosted by the Yellowhead Flyway Birding Trail Association. The goal for the teenagers (ages13 to 17) is to increase their awareness of the natural environment. It is just possible they might have a little fun, too.
The Youth Rally begins Friday evening with registration at the Saltcoats Community Hall and the opportunity for visiting and meeting the others in their group. Activities at the camp site that evening include star gazing with expert Jim Huziak and sleeping overnight in tents. (The word sleeping is chosen optimistically!) Saturday morning, the young people will have opportunities to participate in birding, archery and geo-caching. At 11:30, they will join the adult group for lunch at the Western Development Museum and for their choice of tour on the regular afternoon schedule.
During the social hour before Saturday’s banquet, adult registrants are encouraged to talk with the teenagers about their day and their favourite activities. Immediately following, the youth registrants will meet for dinner separate from the adults. The meal is meant to give the group a chance to form bonds that will foster an interest and commitment to nature. Sunday morning, the youth participants will have two activity oriented sessions. The first is canoeing; the second a hands-on study of the fascinating world of invertebrates. YFBTA is counting on Mom nature to provide suitable weather as the youth activities are much more active in nature than the adult programs.
The Youth Rally, with its exciting menu of activities, is a new venture for Nature Saskatchewan. The event represents a determination to capture the interest of youth in nature.
The fee for youth registrants to attend the event is only $40, an amount that comes no where close to paying for food, accommodation, equipment and transportation for the Youth Rally. Needless to say, the YFBTA is subsidizing the costs of the event.
To help offset the costs, the YFBTA is inviting organizations, families and clubs to sponsor a youth as a participant. The sponsoring group will identify a teenager interested in nature and provide the financial assistance to attend the event. The youth component of Spring Meet promises quality programs and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet people of similar interests, whether they be adult or youth. For more information about this sponsorship initiative or youth registration information, please contact a member of the YFBTA .
Open Invitation to the Public
“Spring Meets give people with common interests the opportunity to gather in fellowship,” explained Lauretta Ritchie-McInnes, president of the YFBTA. “It offers participants the chance to reject the computer connection in favour of the warmth and friendliness of human interaction.” It is, in part at least, that interaction that is the focus of Nature Saskatchewan’s Spring Meet and the attraction for the general public to attend the event.
This newsletter is offering this abbreviated schedule of events. It is meant to entice interest rather than to detail all the relevant information. That information is available in Nature Views, the newsletter of Nature Saskatchewan, on the YFBTA website, or from members of the YFBTA.
Friday, June 3
1:00 PM Registration begins at the Saltcoats and District Community Hall
Aboriginal art display and sale.
Evening Reception and presentation about Saturday’s tours.
Saturday, June 4
Transportation is provided to the morning tours, lunch at the Western Development Museum, and the afternoon tours.
Morning Tour Options
8:30 – 11:30 Tours depart from Saltcoats Hall.
Bradford farms/Chesney Farm: an exploration of aspen bluffs, unbroken prairie, the water habitat of Crescent Lake and other natural environments.
Isabel Priestly Trail and York Lake (York Lake Regional Park): an excellent location for the sighting and study of various plant and bird species.
Rokeby Marsh (Ducks Unlimited) exploration of the wetland and its birds.
11:30 Lunch at the Yorkton Branch of the Western Development Museum.
Afternoon Tour Options
1:30 – 4:30 Tours depart from the Saltcoats Hall. The Youth Rally participants will join the tours.
Harris Conservation Project and Richardson International Sustainable Land Use Centre :
The site of the Harris Conservation Project located behind the offices of Ducks Unlimited in Yorkton includes an interpretive trail, observation areas, a boardwalk that extends into the marsh, and a zero entry dock for those who might want to launch a canoe.
The tour of the Richardson International Sustainable Land Use Centre, a partnership project of Richardson International and Ducks Unlimited, will highlight landscape issues and best practices for agriculture and the environment.
The Ravine Ecological Preserve and the Warren Hjertaas Nature Trail:
This area, contained within the city of Yorkton, includes three natural habitats: wetlands, grassland, and forest. The visit includes the opportunity to view birds, aquatic life, mammals, amphibians and reptiles as well as a wide variety of shrubs and plants.
Barvas Marsh (Ducks Unlimited):
The area is a naturalist’s delight. It features a variety of plant species: native grasses, forbs, shrubs, trees and some ninety flowers. The area is alive with 72 species of birds.
Evening Activities
4:30 Participants will be dropped off at the Comfort Inn in Yorkton or at the Saltcoats Community Hall. Those leaving the bus at the hotel will be responsible for their own transportation to the banquet in Saltcoats.
5:00 Time to socialize with adult and youth participants.
6::30 Banquet and program.
Sunday, June 5
6:30 AM Walk the Leflay Trail at Saltcoats.
8:00 Breakfast at the Saltcoats Hall.
9:00 AGM – Nature Saskatchewan.
The fee for early adult registration (prior to May 16) is $115. After May 15 and up to May 31, the registration deadline, the fee rises to $125.
In addition to the events listed in the schedule above, YFBTA has arranged for additional tours in East Central Saskatchewan on Sunday. All three tours demand participants hike some distance over hilly, uneven, wet terrain. The first option is a walk with Barb Elsasser along the south facing slope of the Assiniboine River, an area close to Togo, Saskatchewan. The tour promises an abundance of wildflowers and spectacular views of the Assiniboine River and the Lake of the Prairies. The second is an exploration of the natural beauty of the Duck Mountains and/or Little Boggy Creek with Don and Marlene Brock, hosts of the Border Mountain Bed and Breakfast. The third is a hike with Anne Stupak in the sand dunes of Good Spirit Lake, an area that contains some unique vegetation and a variety of woodland birds.
Participation in these events requires registration by May 27 in order to determine if numbers warrant offering the tour.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Lauretta Ritchie- McInness Phone: (306) 782- 0057
Email: laurmer@sasktel.net
Rob Wilson Phone: (306) 744 - 8140 Email: rjwilson@sasktel.net
Martha Karau Phone: (306) 896 - 2660 marwal@sasktel.net