By Erika Rolling

Outdoor Learning

Wetlands Centre of Excellence launches at Evergreen Park

Sep 28, 2023 | 2:54 PM

The second Wetlands Centre of Excellence in Alberta has officially launched in the County of Grande Prairie, at Evergreen Park, inside the Ducks Unlimited’s Boreal Wetlands Centre.

The initiative was kickstarted by Ducks Unlimited Canada in partnership with the Peace Wapiti Academy.

WCE’s are outdoor learning spaces across the country for youth to become stewards of their local wetlands; there are now 27 in Canada with this new addition.

DUC provides schools with resources, funding on an annual basis, and support so PWA students can complete student-led conservation projects, and lead local elementary school students on wetlands field trips.

DUC’s Rick Murray

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Conservation Program Specialist for DUC’s Boreal Conservation Program Rick Murray, says the projects the students do can be anything from restoration, trail building, and educational projects.

“They also pay it forward; talking to students in junior high or K-6 to mentor them on what they’ve learned.”

PWA students in the outdoor education program toured the area on Thursday morning (September 28) with a self-guided field trip sheet to follow and find different points of interest at the site.

PWA students learning about wetlands soil

PWA students find a location of interest on the self-guided field trip to learn more about local species

Murray says the Boral Wetlands Centre itself is a collaborative space for groups to come together.

“Whether it be industry, government, and now youth… to talk about how we minimize our environmental impacts from development, more specifically when it comes to valuable wetlands and assets we have here in the Peace region.”

Murray says the launch of this outdoor education initiative sparks an interest in the general population and is something to get excited about.

“There’s been a big push to get outside and start doing their learning outside, and we are here to help facilitate that whether it be through the WCE program or the Boreal Wetlands Centre, there’s lots of opportunities for students.”

PWA students walking on boardwalk at Boreal Wetland Centre in Evergreen Park

Murray says it’s an exciting time for boreal wetland conservation in the region, “not only at the Boreal Wetlands Centre in Evergreen Park, in the County of Grande Prairie with their wetlands restoration initiatives, or even in the City of Grande Prairie with their floating wetland pilot project in stormwater pond.”

PWA students have not picked what they want as their project to be yet this year, but may be involved in pulling invasive species, sign building, or other things at the WCE.