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WËM Wm pplplp ;:•>/ , I '*■ I ■-% A-, mmmmm At the Ggngraskg Forest Centre... We teach about the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees! Do you remember your first class trip to an outdoor education centre? I do. I don't know where we went, but I remember that there was a pond.. We wore big rubber boots; and we were allowed to explore the pond. I don't remember what we caught, but I enjoyed that day. I have been teaching Outdoor Education for going going on ten years now, and that day at the pond, when I was young, is never far from my mind. Memories over the past ten years come to mind easily easily when I look back through the photo albums that we keep at the Ganaraska Forest Centre - like the day that we had snowshoe races with a group of grade 8 students. The picture shows faces full of laughter and smiles, and the day was cold and clear and blue. I remember that we all ended up in a heap in the deep, fluffy snow! The day that we called the Barred Owls at the pond - and they answered us! - will be forever etched in my mind. The pair of owls flew right over our heads, landing in two separate trees. We watched and called to them until after 9:00 o'clock, and then happily returned to the centre to enjoy some hot chocolate, and to talk about the owls. We found a dragonfly at the pond one day that had just emerged from its final stages as an aquatic nymph. The hard exoskeleton split along its back, and out crawled the winged dragonfly. dragonfly. We watched it over the afternoon as it sat very still in the sun, allowing its wings to dry - and then it flew away! On the faces of the students was a mixture of awe, curiosity and disbelief, disbelief, as they watched a miracle miracle of metamorphosis. Last year a teacher visited visited us with his grade 6 class. When he looked back through the albums, he found a picture of himself - in grade 6! The lasting legacy legacy of a visit to the Ganaras ka Forest Centre can be seen in the faces of the children, and it can be heard in the letters, letters, such as the ones quoted below, that they send to us after returning home. •••••••• To the crew at Ganaraska Teresa - thank you for teaching us how to make a shelter and the steps to making making a fire. Kathy - thank you for teaching us how to read a map and a compass. Chris - thank you for the night hike and the discoveries discoveries of the animals that live in the Ganaraska Forest. Winnie - thank you for the wonderful food. I especially especially liked the veggie soup and the bran muffins. I had seven of them! Thank you all for your generosity in teaching us the skills of surviving in the wilderness. Also, I want to thank you for the survival game. It was great! Sincerely Jennilee Dear Chris and Kathy I enjoyed the camping trip a lot. My uncle told me that he enjoyed the night hike. I never saw porcupine droppings before this trip. I now know how to make an owl caller. It was so much fun. I wish we stayed longer. I didn't want to go home. My thanks to Winnie for the great food that we had and that there was enough to go around. The bunks were great and I didn't expect showers either but we did get to have nice hot showers. Well, I hope that I can go on another camping trip there because there is so much that we can leam at the Ganaraska. Ganaraska. Thank you so much for having us and don't forget forget to thank Winnie for the great food we had! Sincerely Lyndsay Since starting work at the Ganaraska Forest, I have skied through bright, cold days, hiked through the for est under a full moon, howled with coyotes, talked with owls, followed fox tracks in the snow, sat quietly quietly by the pond...and, most importantly, I have shared these experiences with almost almost 3000 visitors every year! Whether you visit us for a single day, or for two or three days, you will go home with memories that will last a lifetime. Memories of friendship and fun, of exploring exploring and learning, and of a greater awareness of the natural beauty around us. The Ganaraska Forest Centre A Walk on the Wild Side In the Ganaraska Forest The Ruffed Grouse probably never knew what hit it when the Great Homed Owl swooped down from a nearby perch. Twelve hours later, I happened upon the site with a grade 4 school group. Grouse tracks leading to a depression in the snow, painted pink with blood. A few breast feathers, and that was it. With the help of my young Naturalist Detectives, we came to the already-mentioned conclusion - Great Homed Owl: 1. Ruffed Grouse: 0. These life and death struggles are a frequent occurrence in the Ganaraska Forest, where a patient observer can see and hear a great variety of wildlife. Red-shouldered Hawks soar just above the tree tops, repeatedly crying out, "Kee- ah!", as they hunt for small mammals. The Barred Owl has a hoot of a time in the mixed hardwood forest asking, "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you alllllllll !", while the tracks of coyote, deer, hare, and porcupine can be seen crisscrossing crisscrossing the ski trails in winter. It is truly amazing the number number of animals that call the Ganaraska Forest their home! So when you visit us for a nature hike or a cross-country ski, take your time and look around - you never know what you might find in the beautiful Ganaraska Forest! G. Wakely Cartage Ltd. 373 Ward Street East Port Hope, Ontario LI A 4A4 (905) 885-2801 1-800-263-3709 Freight: Servicing all of Ontario Mixed Freight & Truck Loads ROLL OFF CONTAINERS: Industrial Commercial Residential MECHANICAL GARAGE g. wakely Three Class "A" Mechanics On duty - 16 hours per day yj\Vf Celebrating 50 years of Conservation! BEST WISHES FROM Tînt Ncttom, a) 749 William Street, Cobourg 970 Division Street, Cobourg (east of Burnham) (at Division, north of Elgin) Telephone: 905 372-5289 Telephone: 905 373-9043 159 Peter Street, Port Hope Telephone: 905 885-5658 John R. O'Toole, M.P.P. Durham East Dr. Doug la I el a - '. Northumberland Queen's Park Office: Room 118 N.W. Legislative Building Queen's Park Toronto, Ontario M7A1A8 Tel. (416) 325-6745 Fax (416) 325-6255 Constituency Office: 75 King St. E. Bowmanville, Ontario L1C1N4 Tel. (905) 697-1501 1-800-661-2433 Fax (905) 697-1506 Toronto Office: 135 St. Clair Ave. West 12th floor Toronto, Ontario M4V1P5 Tel. (416) 323-4364 Fax (416) 323-4682 Constituency Office: 1005 William St. Suite 303 Cobourg, Ontario K9A 5J4 Tel. (905) 372-4000 1-800-263-3980 Fax (905) 372-1672 W Kraft Canada KRAFT ON EVERY TABLE AT EVERY MEAL Gilmer's Home Centre Mon.-Fri. Saturday Sunday HOURS: 7:30 am - 8:00 pm 7:30 am - 5:30 pm 11 am - 4:00 pm Jocelyn St. & Hwy. #2 Port Hope 905-885-4568 Best Wishes to The Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority Compliments of WESTON BAKERIES Cobourg & Toronto