NEWS & UPDATES - November 2022
Thank you for a GREAT season...
Thank you for a great season at the Discovery Centre!

We hosted 4,000 people inside the Centre...

We delivered school programs to 1,873 students...

We hosted 89 kids in our summer camps...

We paddled 409 people on our guided canoe tours...

Your support and interest in our programs is greatly appreciated, whether you can enjoy in person or view from afar, we are in this together!
The Season of Giving is Coming!
At KCDCS, we are busy applying for grants to help us cover the costs of operating and maintaining the Discovery Centre and developing and delivering environmental education programs for students, families and adults for the 2023 season.

We have wrapped up our 5 year funding agreement with Columbia Basin Trust (CBT) and they unfortunately are not funding environmental education in 2023 (many organizations across the basin are feeling this loss as CBT was a large funder for this sector in the past). That leaves us with a deficit that we are trying to fill with other grants. We hope that you can help too with a donation. Any amount helps! We have one time or monthly options. Click here to donate!

We have had great success over the last 5 years and want to make sure these programs continue!
Jr Naturalist Camp - Parent Survey
Another wonderful season of Jr Naturalist summer camps completed!

We hosted 89 kids this summer in our week long nature/science based camps.

Thank you to the parents and kids that participated. If you have not already filled out our survey, please do so that we can learn about your experience and make sure we are offering you the best possible program. Also, your comments help us when we apply for grants to help cover the costs of the program.

You could win a free canoe tour for your family and friends (up to 10 people) for 2023 by filling out the survey!
Thank you to the Seasonal Staff
A huge thank you to our seasonal staff in 2022. Miranda, Noelle and Elliana (pictured at right in that order) were a great addition to the team and we had lots of fun delivering school programs, summer camps, canoeing and bird and butterfly watching. The "fun" times with the beavers was maybe not so fun as they continued to dam our canoe path all season...this resulted in a lot of "playing" in chest waders with rakes!
KCDCS AGM - November 29th, 2022
KCDCS's Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 29th, 2022

Where: Virtually (via Zoom)

When: Tuesday November 29th at 7pm

How to Attend: Sign-up here and receive the link to the event via email

We are sorry that we will not be meeting in person this year. We feel that meeting virtually is in the best interest of our Board Members and Public Members at this time. We hope that you can join us!
Want to Be a Board Member?
We will be hosting our Annual General Meeting at the end of November. If you are interested in being on the KCDCS Board, we would love to hear from you!

We are looking for keen and enthusiastic individuals who will bring insight and passion to our commitment to environmental education and the development of a new Centre.
A commitment of one meeting per month (with a summer break) as well as some committee work based on your interest and experience is what can be expected. If you have time to offer and are willing to help, we would love to have you on our team.

An application form (easy and quick) can be found here.

Please apply by November 20th.
C2C Conference in Revelstoke
KCDCS's Senior Manger, Carla Ahern, attended the Classroom to Communities (C2C) Annual Provincial Conference in Revelstoke this fall.

The C2C Education Network is a made-in-B.C. collaborative of partners providing place-based educational leadership and support to teachers, school districts and community partners through local, regional and provincial initiatives, events and activities across B.C.

The conference allowed us to connect with fellow colleagues, friends and community leaders across the province through a variety of workshops and field trips. KCDCS hosted a booth that allowed us to share our programs and chat with educators. It was a rewarding experience to see all the positive initiatives, programs and people who are bringing environmental education to the classrooms and beyond in our province. We learned a lot and made some great connections.
Burdock is Killing Bats
We knew we didn't like this plant!

Mandy Kellner, Bat Conservation Coordinator with the Ministry of Land, Water and Resource Stewardship, is a wildlife biologist with an MSc studying bats in forests. She shared photos with the Invasive Species Council of BC of bats entrapped in burdock to help raise awareness of the impact of this invasive plant.

“The bat community has been aware of the potential for bats to be snagged on burdock for many years. We always get intermittent reports and photos, but numerous reports have come in this year already,” said Mandy. “Of course, these incidents are just the ones that people see and report – we don’t really know the full scope of this problem.”
Fun Resources for Teachers and Parents
KAST (Kootenay Association for Science and Technology) Youth is excited to announce their 2022 Kootenay Contraption Contest!
 
Their FREE annual contest challenges K-8 Kootenay kids & educators to get creative and design a contraption that solves our problem, for a chance to win COOL prizes!
 
The Contest goes live Nov 1; the deadline to submit your contraption is Nov 30 at 4pm PT.

To register and for more information, go here.
Falling leaves, brave butterflies, rutting bucks and colour changing fish...fall is in the air and the plants and animals are changing their behaviour...

Resources for Rethinking (R4R) has some great articles, resources and activities for the classroom and parents.

Check out this fall themed article that has some interesting facts and resources for fall learning.

Developed by Learning for a Sustainable Future, R4R, connects teachers to lesson plans, books, videos and other materials that explore the environmental, social and economic dimensions of important issues and events unfolding in our world today. R4R resources have been reviewed by experienced classroom teachers and matched to relevant curriculum outcomes for each province and territory. 
Get Your FREE Membership now to show support for our programs!
To increase support and awareness for KCDCS' mission, we are offering free Memberships! Join the over 1,200 Members and show support for environmental education in our region! This helps us to obtain grants and sponsorships to move us forward!
Join us on social media for fun and interesting information on the wetland, wildlife, programs and progress at KCDCS!