There ain’t no party like an Earth Day Party – especially one that takes place at the city’s brilliant urban nature reserve, FortWhyte Alive!
This stunning area – composed of forest, five lakes, prairie, wetlands and a farm – stretches out over 640 acres and is home to the world’s largest urban bison herd.
On the grounds you’ll also find the Alloway Reception Centre, which houses The Nature Shop gift store and the Buffalo Stone Café, where you can dine on farm-to-table fare (much of it grown/raised right on FortWhyte Farms) while overlooking Lake Devonian.
Just down the path from Alloway Reception Centre is FortWhyte’s 10,000 sq. ft. Interpretive Centre, which is full of cool things like the Aquarium of the Prairies – where you can see catfish and sturgeon swim, along with some really amazing exhibits that shed light on wildlife in this part of the world.
Kids love looking at bison, it's a fact (Kristin McPherson)
With such an excellent facility, it only makes sense that the staff – who are composed of scientists, naturalists and environmental educators – regularly put on events for the whole family. And spring is no exception!
Earth Day
Sunday, April 23rd is one of the biggest days of the year for FortWhyte Alive. First off, their annual Earth Day celebration is FREE and features some of the best children’s entertainers and family events that you can name.
This year, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., they have more activities than you can throw an atlatl at – which is of course in the cards!
For starters, there will be live performances on the CBC Manitoba Entertainment Stage in the Alloway Reception Centre hosted by everyone’s favourite broadcast meteorologist, John Sauder. You can catch the likes of Al Simmons, CBC Kids Scout – that crafty little TV mouse who is always solving cases, students of Manitoba Theatre for Young People who will be performing improv and storytelling by Rob Malo.
For adults, there will be numerous exhibitors including the Lake Winnipeg Foundation and Manitoba Master Gardener Association, while you can also do your part to create a cleaner, greener Winnipeg by bringing in your old car batteries, tires and home electronics to be recycled for free.
Alloway Reception Centre (Jan Ketonen)
At FortWhyte Farms (located right on site) there will be no shortage of available tours, so you and the fam can see all the cute new animals while learning about urban agriculture. There will be tons of hands-on events that will keep the kids busy all day including geocaching, a bannock roast, voyageur games, archery, atlatl tossing, canoeing (weather permitting), guided bison hikes and so much more!
This being FortWhyte's Earth Day, there will be a bike valet on site for families coming out by pedal power, while there will be buses heading to FortWhyte Alive from CF Polo Park and Kildonan Place mall and returning for free (buses depart the malls at 11 p.m. and leave FortWhyte Alive at 3 p.m.).
For the full itinerary click here.
Birding and Breakfast returns!
April 19 marks the start of FortWhyte Alive’s popular spring migration breakfasts, where you can join experienced birding guides in welcoming, spotting, and learning about the winged wonders who call the area home for the better part of a year.
This program runs every Wednesday from April 19 to May 31 and Fridays from May 5 to 26, all starting at 7 a.m.
Yoga in nature
Join yoga (and stand up paddle board) instructor Ash Bourgeois on this invigorating experience that combines nature, meditation and yoga within FortWhyte’s stunning surroundings.
The next session is on April 16 at 10:30 a.m., and you can register online here.
Birding and spotting all the animals that call FortWhyte Alive home is always a hoot (Dan Harper)
Boozy Bees
Between pollinating and producing honey you’d think bees are awesome enough, but did you know you can make wine with their sweet stuff? This weekend, on Sunday April 9 from 1 to 3 p.m. you can learn to make honey mead with Beeproject Apiaries right on FortWhyte Farm. (You can register here, 18+ only.)
And so much more!
This is just a sampling of what is happening at FortWhyte Alive this month, as we haven’t even touched upon Historica Canada Heritage Minute Evening (April 12) – where you can spend a night watching all 86 Canadian Heritage Minutes back-to-back-to-back while sipping beer; nor the weekend science club’s “Discover the Earth Series,” or the Spring Scavenger Hunt on April 22!
So check out FortWhyte Alive’s online calendar and book your outdoor excursion today!
FortWhyte Alive is located at 1961 McCreary Road. For visitor information call 204.989.8355.