Snapshots of the last week

It's been a warm week here at FortWhyte Alive.  Good weather means more visitors - and more visitors means more adventures happen!

Last week, during a "Rent-a-Naturalist" program, I did an edible wilds walk.  The idea behind Rent-a-Naturalist: for $15, a group of up to six visitors can hire one of our interpretive staff to do the program (hike, talk, tour, paddle, etc.) the group has always dreamed of!  One gentleman in my group had a keen interest in wild edible plants - so we did a customized walkabout, nibbling as we went.  Though no wild fruit is ripe yet, we found no less than ten tasty wild edibles within twenty metres of the Interpretive Centre.

Loyal followers of the blog know that though I appreciate the aspirin content of willow-bark tea, I'm not a fan of the crushed-aspirin-in-brine flavour...my guest's suggestion:  mix the tea with tomato juice to hide the taste.  I've not yet tried the idea, but it seems like a good one!

This was all happening at the same time my colleagues Dana and Melanie were busy leading a fishing experience for Grandparents and Grandkids.  The fishing line might have only been five-pound-test line, but the memories the participants walked away with are strong enough to last forever...it was great fun to watch that group as we foraged through the forest.

- A fisher, not unlike FortWhyte's!

Just in case you think the action ends with the Education Team, our accountant saw our resident fisher later in the day as she biked home.  We normally see fisher tracks in the winter, but this summer, we've had reports from all over the property, about one a week.  You can go for a lifetime in the forests of Manitoba and rarely, if ever, see a fisher...understandably, we're thrilled to have people seeing them!

We had Bison Safaris on Sunday, I had the thrill of making botany come alive to a group of older adults yesterday, and summer camp is in full swing....whew!

FortWhyte really has been alive these past few days.  Sometimes, I wonder if it sleeps!

-Barret

Go Fish - Jacks are Wild!

The fishing on Lake 3 (south of the Interpretive Centre) seems to be getting hotter faster than a July morning!

We've had AT LEAST six northern pike (aka, Jackfish, hence the snappy title of this post!) caught in the past 18 hours.

The fishing at FortWhyte can be hit and miss - this is true of fishing anywhere - but six jack in less than two days has not happened in a few years.

The best part: one angler caught three of the fish.  It works out to one fish for every thirty years of life experience for this fellow, who was nearly 90 years old!

Also of note today...wild mint is EVERYWHERE!  We had an afternoon tea in the Biodiversity Garden on Monday afternoon; I must have made at least six litres of wild mint tea.  I followed up my tea-making on Tuesday, when a fellow stopped by for a "Rent-a-Naturalist" wild edibles walk...

...but that's a story for tomorrow!

FortWhyte's Cross-Country Ski Trails - winter wonderful!

I like to think I have a good handle on what goes on around FortWhyte Alive.  These 640 acres are where I spend a good chunk of my waking hours, and I've done so for the better part of three years.

Though each day brings something new and exciting (640 acres of urban wilderness can do no other), I do not start each day expecting something wonderful and awe-inspiring.  Perhaps the setting we enjoy here has somewhat affected me=y sense of aesthetics...surrounded by beauty, one's standards for beautiful are raised.  A new bird sighting, a spring gift of morel mushrooms, or a baby bison - these are all special and unique, but not world-shaking experiences.

Last Thursday, my world shook. 

I went skiing for the first time on our new trails.

FortWhyte has developed a series of trails on the northeast part of the site for cross-country skiing.  The trails start near the sod house, and go north.

A quick, straight run past Mount Maple Leaf (one of our two hills) leads into a twisting passage navigating a willow swamp.  The willows grow up around the trail, sheltering skiiers from the wind.  With late-winter sunshine, and the embrace of the willows, this section of trail feels like a hug from Nature.

The hug ends with a straight-away run into the forest on the north part of the property.  Twice, I thought I saw great grey owls - twice, I laughed at myself as I correctly identified last summer's wasp nests!

A turn left, and I was on the "red loop" of the trail.  Brilliant white aspen trunks blend in with the white snow, creating a zebra-like streaked field of vision.  The aspen   A quick corner, and the view changes: the angle of the sun now illustrates every little track and trace left by animals in the snow around the trail.  I stop for a drink of water, and to speculate on the interactions between weasel and vole tracks.

A few minutes later, on the "green loop", I am skiing underneath old oak trees.  If the willow swamp was a hug from an affectionate Nature, these austere oak overhead feel like a firm handshake from the forest.  Welcoming, yes; respectable, of course - but also, like a good, firm handshake, a sign of strength, and fair dealings.  Look after nature, and it will look after you - and we'll shake on it!

On my return south towards the sod house (and the end of my lunchtime ski), I disturb a jackrabbit.  It takes off at high speed.  I am humbled - I had been exceptionally happy with how quickly I had been skiing - but the rabbit puts my time to shame.

Reminded by the rabbit I am not the fastest in the forest, I pick up my pace.  The straight-away allows for skate-skiing, and I switch to the faster technique.

I arrive back at the sod-house.  I pop my skis off, and head back to work.

I went for a ski looking for a work-out.

I found my sense of wonder and awe.

I still have time for a sandwich (it is my lunch break, after all) - but it is only my stomach that is hungry.  My mind and soul have been fed already.

There's skiing this weekend at FortWhyte Alive.  Intro workshops ($5) will help you explore the sport.  Families, there are children's lessons and adult lessons side-by-side...the perfect intro for everyone!  Want to try skiing, but do not have a pair of skis?  We've got rental skis.

Physical activity in an outdoor setting?  The ski trails are perfect for that.

Looking to re-discover the child-like sense of excitement around every corner?  I cannot promise you will, but I would be very surprised if you don't.

The Inaugural Spears and 'Shoes Biathlon - A huge success!

"Ready....five seconds...set....GO!!!!!!!"

I've been told Vancouver is hosting some sort of major sporting event right now...all I know for sure, is this past Sunday afternoon, I had the privilege of shaking hands with a world champion!

The Inaugural Spears and 'Shoes Biathlon - a multi-sport event featuring atlatl accuracy competition (spears) combined with a 2.4km snowshoe race ('shoes) - saw 14 hearty racers have a blast, test out some traditional technologies, and compete in a fun new race.

The winner of the event was Lane Coulter, of Virden, MB, who posted a score of 9 minutes, 21 seconds, to claim first place.  Scoring was simple:  each racer's snowshoe race time had 90 seconds shaved off for each successful atlatl hit on the range - four shots each, for a combined possible bonus of 6 minutes.

Lane, a young man who came to the race with his Cadet group, ran a solid snowshoe race, and was the most successful atlathlete (officially a word now!) of all the racers.  Lane was quite a bit younger than most racers, and had never seen an atlatl before the race.

Pre-race practice throw by J. Harms, currently ranked 3rd in the world with a personal best score of 12:09.

When asked about his performance, the world's first champion said, "I mess around with a bow and arrow a little bit, but this is new...I guess I'm good!"  the young Mr. Coulter will have a good chance to get even better, as his prize is a hand-made atlatl set!

Another racer came up to me after the race, smiling.  "I thought I was the only one who would be interested in this type of event - now, I see there are more like me!"  She added, "When's the next one?"

The next one is in the works!  No date, or details...yet...but the next, similarly-inspired race/challenge is in the first stages of planning.  It's still a long way off, but early indications are Spears and 'Shoes will happen again next winter, as well - 9:21 is the score to beat!

As with all FortWhyte Alive programs, a big thank-you goes to the volunteers who helped with this race.  Another HUGE thank-you goes to all participants, spectators, and well-wishers.  A few months ago, this race was an off-beat idea.  Now, it is in the history books as an awesome event - mixing fun, fitness, cultural education, and...FUN.

No big TV contracts.  No performance-enhancers.  No multi-million sponsorship deals.  Just good, old-fashioned (like paleolithic-fashioned!) fun.  This event, for me, reflected human spirit at its best!

The final racers coming toward the finish line

(A big thank-you to all who contributed photos to this post!)

FortWhyte Niversity...what's missing?

"U" are!!!

In September 2009, FortWhyte Alive launched a new idea in volunteer and staff development.  We found experts from various fields, and brought them to FortWhyte to share thier knowledge.  The idea was to develop a better background understanding of the environmental and cultural issues we work with here, and for people's general interest.  The program was called FortWhyte University.

The program worked well.  It worked really, REALLY well.  We started another session in December - and realized, "hey, this is working REALLY well...if our staff and volunteers like this stuff, other people will too!"

I am pleased to be one of the first to announce that we have an upcoming series of FortWhyte University  programs open to everyone!

Saturday, January 23rd, we have two dynamic presenters back-to-back....

10-11:30am:  Dr. Gordon Goldsborough - "Lakes as Ecosystems":  Gord is an expert on Manitoba's "other lake"...we all know about Lake Winnipeg, but what about Lake Manitoba?  Come out and learn more about how the living community in this magnificent lake interact to form something grander than its parts.

Incidentally, Gord (who also teaches at that "other" university, the U of M) knows a lot about our lakes here at FortWhyte Alive.  One of the tasks I have the honour of performing is ongoing water quality assessment during the winter.  How does a camp director- turned interpreter learn to do water quality sampling and analysis?  Gordon Goldsborough teaches him, and in the process, becomes one of this interpreter's heroes.

Like lakes?  Like stories about people working in the wilds of Manitoba?  Want to see science in action,  exciting and accessible?  Three words..."Come See Gord!!!!!"


1:30-3:00 – Most people know that getting outside is good for them but not many people are fully aware of the many health benefits from stress reduction to enhanced spirituality.  Come learn the secrets from Laurie McPherson, of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority -  you’ll be inspired to get outside and get healthy, even in winter!

For more info on either of these presentations, call us at (204) 989-8355.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 24TH

FortWhyte University continues the next day, with Roadside Ready at 1:30pm.  I'll be sharing tips and tricks for keeping yourself comfortable should you become stuck in your vehicle away from the comforts of home.  We'll be making car kits, full of essentials to keep you, friends, and family safe and happy if you find yourself in a spot.  I'm excited about the presentation - making it doubly interesting is the fact I'll have run the Ice Donkey adventure race that morning.  Come, learn to survive, and see if I survived the race!

(Please note:  I'm buying supplies for the car kits.  Thus, there is both a small fee, and the need to pre-register - either check our website, or email me for details!)

Be an Eco-Driver follows at 2:30pm.  For most of us, motor vehicles are a necessity. We've all heard that when it comes to carbon emissions, vehicles = bad. The picture is not entirely grim, though- this workshop will present ideas to help lighten the impact of driving a car.  Oh, and you'll learn to save money.  That's always a good thing.

See "U" all very soon!

-Barret

The Inaugural FortWhyte Alive Biathlon

January 9th, 2010 - Registration Noon, event starts 1 pm

I am proud to officially announce an unofficial FortWhyte Alive event!

Join us on January 9th, 2010, for the first-ever FortWhyte Alive Biathlon - an event combining the disciplines of snowshoeing and atlatl!

The snowshoe course is approximately 3.5 km long.  We will use a standard archery target for the atlatl throwing, from a distance of 10 metres.  Every "hit" of the target shaves two full minutes off a participants' time in the race.  Each partipant will throw four darts.

This is a "just-for-fun" event, but...the participant with the best time will win the Grand Prize for the day - a handmade atlatl set!

The event is open to anyone who feels they would like to spend some time on a Saturday afternoon snowshoeing and throwing atlatl darts. As the organizer, I ask you email me (click here to do so!) and let me know you are interested - I may have to limit numbers to fifteen racers, to ensure atlatl availability for all.

Though this is an inaugural, "just-for-fun" event, there is a Grand Prize:  the participant with the best time, and most accurate atlatl performance

There is no cost to particpate - standard admission to FortWhyte Alive is required, though.

To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time atlatl and snowshoeing have been combined into a modern sport - though, given the ancient heritage of both technologies, it's likely the two were used in combination sometime in the past.  This event will be a fun way to honour human history, get some outdoor winter exercise, and meet others with similar interests.

The challenge is open - see you at FortWhyte Alive on January 9th!

-Barret

Forage Day!!!

Hello, Readers!

Today, I will be going for a walk in the woods, and foraging for my lunch.  It's Manitoba, in November.  Even with our warm fall, there is not a whole lot growing anymore...it's going to be a challenge!

I can hear the question forming in your heads..."WHY!?!?!?!  Why not enjoy something nice from the cafe?  Why not bring lunch from home?"

Today is "Buy Nothing Day", an annual protest against the rampant consumerism of the developed world.  The observance, founded by the folks at Adbusters Magazine in the 1980's, encourages people to take a day, and opt out of our consumer society by attempting to do exactly what the name implies, and buy nothing.

For me, Buy Nothing Day is an annual reminder of how our consumer society touches everything we do.  If you are reading my blog, you've bought power to run a computer, for example.  Also, I find it somewhat ironic that Buy Nothing Day was founded and is promoted by a magazine...granted, a magazine that stands against advertising and wanton consumerism, but still a somewhat commercial concern.

I'm not writing today to start a debate about Buy Nothing Day.  Again, the fact that I'm writing means I've already "bought in" and purchased power (I realize that hardcore Buy Nothing observers could point out that this is not a conscious act of consumerism, and so does not technically violate the spirit of Buy Nothing Day).  I'm a big believer in honouring an observance in a way that is personally meaningful - hence, Foraging For Lunch Day.

So, I will be foraging - I cannot get much more into the "Buy Nothing Day" spirit than by channeling
our collective hunter-gatherer past..  I will post later to let everyone out in Blogland know how my foraging excursion goes.