1,800 rosy-cheeked students from across the Columbia Basin were doing their best snow shuffle and powder pirouettes this past winter, pleading with the snow gods for more white fluffy stuff – and it worked!
This year marks our 20th year of delivering Wildsight education programs and we’ve recently wrapped up our Winter Wonder program. Our team of winter-loving Wildsight educators connected 93 classes from Kindergarten to Grade 3 to their wild backyards to discover the magic and wonder of winter. Captain Powders and Snow Fairies were spotted in schools from Revelstoke to Kaslo with one mission – get kids outside.
Winter Wonder is a half-day, curriculum connected program geared towards bringing the magic and mystery of winter to life, in a fun and engaging way. Hands-on, place-based learning at its best, Winter Wonder connects our littlest learners to the wild spaces found right in their school yards. Students turn into snow scientists, meticulously studying the shapes of snowflakes with magnifiers, following fresh animal tracks, looking for traces of life, and of course, performing the very scientific snowflake dance.
Winter Wonder is about awakening a sense of curiosity, learning about the interconnected webs of winter ecology and instilling a love of the natural world, in all its seasons and temperatures.
“Wildsight Winter Wonder programs provide a joyful experience in, and knowledge of, our local natural environment,” says Nicole Burns, a primary teacher in Winlaw. “These programs increase our awareness of these special places, and help us make more informed and empathetic decisions around environmental stewardship and land use.”
As we welcome the longer days and the vibrancy of the spring season, we know that the quiet magic of winter will live on in the hearts of our youngest learners.
Thank you to our generous funders and donors who make these programs possible. It is because of your ongoing support that hundreds of kids get the opportunity to connect to the special wild places we call home. We gratefully recognize the support of Columbia Basin Trust, the Province of British Columbia, Consecon Foundation, Teck Coal, and Teck Trail for making Winter Wonder programs possible.