The Riverbank Discovery Centre helps children better understand the special eco-system that thrives in the wetlands through their Swamp Camp program. Of course, the Riverbank is the perfect place to learn all about the critters and creatures that live right there in the middle of Brandon along the Assiniboine River.
Throughout the summer the Discovery Centre has held week-long programs with a different them each weekday, based on nature.
"We kind of start off with a day around the wetlands and then from there we branch off each day into different aspects that make up a wetland and that environment," explains nature interpreter, Emmanuelle Shakotko. "So, Mondays are wacky wetlands day, Thursdays are backyard birding, Wednesdays we do marvelous mammals, Thursdays is cold blooded creatures and then Friday our final day is Prairie pollinators."
The program is held each year over the summer months. New to this year is inviting local naturalists to come and visit with the kids, each one focusing on a different aspect of the theme.
"Usually, we do a little bit of learning with presentations and hand on experiments," shares Shakotko. "We also explore outside, we go bug catching, we do wetland bingo," she adds. "And then the kids also stay for snack time and lunch and we just kind of spend time in nature. It's the best classroom there is!"
The morning starts with the young people joining together in the multi-purpose room inside the Discovery Centre coloring pages or waking up their learning skills with worksheets while the full list of kids arrive.
"And then we kind of jump right into learning," she says, "and then we head outside for the morning, have lunch and then in the afternoon, depending if it's too hot or not. We'll kind of do our experiments and our crafts either inside or outside. And then on Fridays we also do like a water activity in the afternoon. It's pretty fun! And the last couple Fridays have been really hot, so it's worked out good for us!"
"Here at the Riverbank we have lots of different things, lots of different types of mammals to see," shares Shakotko. We've got lots of reptiles and amphibians on the grounds. We also have an abundance of birds at the beginning of the season and throughout the summer. So, we're pretty lucky here. We also have a good amount of beavers in the Assiniboine, so that's always exciting to see what they leave behind for us to observe," she adds.
Swamp Camp has one more week of educating kids between the ages of 5 and 9 about the wetlands, that being next week. There may still be spots left to register. Contact the Riverbank Discovery Centre for registration details.
Visit the Discovery Center website HERE and their Facebook page HERE!
(all photo credits to the Riverbank Discovery Center, Brandon)