Hundreds of local children will get to learn more about water this year thanks to a $20,000 grant towards a local wetland.
Epcor handed a $20,000 cheque to Ducks Unlimited Monday to fund public education programs at the John E. Poole interpretive wetland and boardwalk. The wetland, which is next to Riel Pond and Ray Gibbon Drive, is the first major interpretive centre to be built in Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park.
“We’re a water supplier,” said Epcor spokesperson Steve Craik, and wetlands purify water. His company seeks to promote and preserve wetlands in order to protect local water supplies. “It all starts here with (youth) education.”
The million-dollar Poole wetland and interpretive trail officially opened last year. An initiative of Ducks Unlimited, it features a 400-odd-metre long boardwalk equipped with numerous dipping stations and interpretive signs, as well as yellow-headed blackbirds, gadwalls, and some really angry terns.
About 30 parents and students from Wild Rose Elementary explored the wetland Monday prior to the cheque presentation, many of them dipping nets into the water to find exotic aquatics.
“I caught a snail!” said a girl.
“I got a bug!” added another.
“I dropped my net in the water,” lamented a third.
It’s always a pleasure to see kids on the Poole boardwalk, said Dale Soetaert, spokesperson for Ducks Unlimited and the one who supervised its construction. “When we envisioned this boardwalk to be built, that’s exactly who we wanted to be on here.”
Epcor is the first major corporate sponsor to chip in to the wetland’s operations, Soetaert said. This grant will help Ducks lead 30 to 40 more classes on guided tours through the wetland a year.
“There are less and less opportunities for youths to be out in nature,” Soetaert said, “especially this close to an urban environment.” Places like the Poole wetland help students learn more about wetlands and the importance of their preservation.
Wetlands are really cool, said Grade 5 student Aryn Taciuk, as they’re full of creatures you don’t see every day. “It’s where a whole bunch of animals live, and we should protect their homes like other people protect our homes.”
Wetlands are important stores of carbon and biodiversity, said Ducks Unlimited spokesperson Al Richard, and can help prevent floods. “They’re some of the most productive ecosystems on the planet.” Canada has about a quarter of the world’s wetlands.
But those wetlands are vanishing fast, he continued, with some regions of Canada having lost about 90 per cent of them. “For systems that are thousands of years old … they’ve disappeared here in the last 150 years.”
Ducks Unlimited will use some of Epcor’s grant to promote awareness of the Poole wetland, Soetaert said. “There are a lot of people who don’t know this place even exists yet.”
While he eventually hoped to see up to a hundred student groups a year tour the site, Soetaert said there had been just four or so thus far. “Access to the site is still very difficult,” he said, particularly when the trail under Ray Gibbon Drive was flooded, which limits the amount of students Ducks can bring in.
Ducks was working with Alberta Parks to build a parking lot for the wetland. “They’re ready to go as soon as they can secure money for it.”
While a pedestrian overpass over Ray Gibbon Dr. would be nice, Soetaert said, it wasn’t financial viable. “Let’s go with what we can afford.”
Soetaert encouraged local teachers to take their kids to the Poole wetland, noting that Ducks had lots of information available on its website for educational tours.
