We are very pleased to announce that we had what we consider a full registration for the Saugeen Junior Naturalist program this year. Thirty-seven young people aged 7 to 12 gathered one Saturday a month to learn about the wonders of nature in various local natural areas.
This fall we were at Sulphur Spring Conservation Area investigating insects and spiders in September and back again in October to capture and look at aquatic creatures in the stream there. November took us to Kinghurst Nature Reserve to hike the trails, looking at the many different habitats there and learning about how everything is connected.
In January we were at the Elephant Thoughts/Riverstone Retreat Campus near Durham to learn and play Inuit Games and race snow snakes. February, we created works of art, using natural materials and March we examined the changing of seasons around the world with a guest speaker from the Bluewater Education Foundation’s Land Based Learning Program.
April brought us back to Sulphur Spring Conservation Area to learn about fish and finally our May program was our game day, featuring the Instincts for Survival game developed by Frank Glew back in the early 1980’s and played around the world to demonstrate the interdependence of living things and our role in stewardship.
We have two leaders running the program, Nancy Reaume and Nancy Griffin, but rely on a fair number of parents and volunteers to help where necessary during our Saturday morning programs. All participants learn about our natural environment through hands-on investigations, activities and games. Each of the eight program mornings are represented with a button on the participant’s nametags and a booklet full of activities to take their learning further and highlight our time together.
Registration for the 2025/26 season will take place September 20, 2025 at 9:00 am at Sulphur Spring Conservation Area followed by our first meeting of the new season. Watch for more details and information on Saugeen Nature’s website.