Spring Newsletter

🌿Thank you, Survey Respondents! 

A warm thank you to those of you who filled out our Forest and Nature School Survey! We have had such great interest in this program, with over 150 thoughtful responses. We are very inspired, and looking forward to expanding our offerings to meet community needs. We will be getting in touch soon with interested volunteers! 

It's been beautiful to see the community's interest in getting kids and youth outside, learning through inquiry and play, and connecting with nature. Thank you all.

If you'd still like to fill out the survey and haven't had a chance, the link is here!

Spring Forest School Program Registration Opens March 31!

We are delighted to share that registration will be opening on March 31st for our Spring Forest and Nature School program!

As you likely know, at Forest and Nature School, we spend all day outdoors, with plenty of time for imaginative free play! Forest School makes space for natural rhythms of rest and movement, co-regulating with others and the land. We always have access to an indoor space for warming up/cooling down, washrooms and lunch time.

We start each day with an opening circle, where we co-create and plan the day - where will we go? What is happening on the land today? What are you noticing? Inquiry-based learning means lots of questions and wondering! Staff may offer activities that can help guide us into imaginative social play and interactions with nature where we expand our sensory perception, learn the languages of the land, and foster resilience, curiosity and creativity.

As facilitators get to know the group, they will offer games, activities, materials and equipment to support individuals' inquiry-based, emergent learning, such as nature journals, storybooks/reference books, art materials for weaving, sculpting, painting, etc, and equipment and safe guidance for woodworking, shelter building, bushcraft skills development, and more.
Here are the details for the spring program!

Ages:     5.75 - 12
Dates:   Tuesdays, April 29th - June 24th 2025            

  Thursdays, April 24th - June 26th 2025

Times:    10:00 am - 3:00 PM

Locations:      

At Tetrault Park in La Broquerie, the "Apple Blossoms" will meet on Tuesdays

At the Weston Family Tall Grass Prairie Interpretive Centre in Stuartburn, the "Skipperlings" will meet on Thursdays

Price:  For Apple Blossoms Cohort at Tetrault Park, $373.50 for 9 sessionsFor Skipperlings Cohort at the Prairie, $415 for 10 sessions

Payment plan options will be available upon registration.
Both locations will offer rich learning opportunities and nature connection! If one cohort is full, the other may still have spaces available.

Registration will be on a first-come, first-served basis, with 12 spots available in each group. If it happens that a group is full, you will be added to the waitlist, and also notified when Fall session is registering.

For more information, and to register (link becomes available on our website March 31 and will also be sent out through this newsletter): www.gerhardcenter.org

We wanted to share these program details a little bit prior to registration opening, in case you have any questions. 

Please don't hesitate to get in touch with us ( info@gerhardcenter.org ) if you would like to explore the possibility of registering and see whether our program is right for your child(ren). We do have a limited number of financial support options available if cost is a barrier. We would be happy to answer questions over e-mail or to arrange a phone call! We will be offering an open house over summer, ahead of fall programming.

Visit our staff facilitator bios here!

Deanna

Kara

What's Next?🌿

We plan to offer programming for more age groups - preschool, teen and family programs - and potentially in more locations as well, in the future. This spring pilot program is a slow, measured start for attendees and facilitators to get acquainted with the land and the community, and we hope to grow organically from here as we expand in our capacities!

Thank You to the Land and Indigenous People of the Land, to the Manitoba Government, and Nature Conservancy of Canada!

Thank you to our community, especially to the land for the life-giving support, presence and love always, and Indigenous people of this land, for your grace and care for the land, for each other, and yourselves. Ekosi. Miigwetch. Kinanaskomitinin. We are committed to walking with you and supporting you.

This program would not have been possible without generous grant funding from the Manitoba Government's 'From the Ground Up' program - "Healthy, Safe, Connected Children and Youth" stream. Thank you for your meaningful support of opportunities for holistic well-being in our communities.

We are also deeply grateful to the Nature Conservancy of Canada and Shared Legacy for their partnership in offering programming at the incredibly biodiverse, rare and endangered Tall Grass Prairie in Southern Manitoba. This is a very special opportunity for our learners. Thank you for caring well for the land!

This Spring: Poweshiek Skipperling Release and Controlled Burns on the Prairie

We are going to get to be adjacent to some very exciting things this spring during our Skipperlings program at the Prairie, including the release of Poweshiek Skipperlings, a species at risk, by scientists from the Assiniboine Park Zoo! The Skipperling is a very small Prairie butterfly, and an indicator species for the Tall Grass Prairie. 

We will also be on the land in the weeks before and after some controlled burns, which are done to maintain the integrity of the prairie ecosystem. These events will offer such beautiful and unique learning opportunities! 

Looking forward to connecting with you soon out on the land!

Sincerely,

Kara Peters Parkinson

GEDREC Team