Programs
Community Programs
Join us for one of our various community programs. We offer a range of hands-on educational opportunities on-site in the Nature House and on the sanctuary grounds and waterways. Contribute to community-led research with either one of our drop-in Pollinator Party or Wetland Waterkeeper biomonitoring initiatives or find peace on a guided Wellness Walk. We also offer educational programming for home learners and individual youth participants throughout the school year and during summer. All of our programs highlight Garry Oak and Wetland ecosystems and how learners can support local habitats by taking action in their local communities.
If you have any questions about our programs, please fill out the inquiry form below.
Drop-In Programs
All Ages Programs
Wetland Waterkeepers
Bi-Weekly, 9 - 10 AM
Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary Society has designed a lake water quality monitoring program that will train community members as Wetland Waterkeepers. Wetlands, also referred to as “the kidneys of the Earth” because of their ability to filter out contaminants, are areas that are saturated long enough to result in anaerobic or low-oxygen soils. These bogs, swamps and open water protect us from flooding, drought and climate change. Wetlands support a remarkable degree of biodiversity, as much as rainforests and coral reefs, because they produce large volumes of food and provide ideal habitat conditions for many organisms. Swan Lake’s wetlands flourish with abundant plant and animal life, from cattails and muskrats to red osier dogwood and nesting warblers.
Volunteers will work alongside our staff team and other local community leaders in a collaborative framework to make meaningful, positive changes to the Nature Sanctuary's sensitive marshland ecosystems. We will train stewards to conduct various water quality assessments to understand the health of the lake by making measurements about the aquatic arthropod community, dissolved oxygen, and other water chemistry. Waterkeepers will also gain an understanding of their local watershed and how their actions on-site and at home can support the resilience of critical wetland habitat. The impact of this stewardship work on site will positively benefit various sensitive wetland species such as the endangered Western Painted Turtle population.
Gather on the Founder's Wharf.
Pollinator Party in a Rewilded Meadow
Bi-Weekly, 9 - 10 AM
Join us to help monitor pollinator biodiversity in a rewilded meadow on-site using iNaturalist and field-guides. For roughly 100 million years, insects and flowering plants have lived in harmony, with insects transporting nutritious (for them) pollen from plant to plant so that seeds are produces. This ancient symbiotic relationship is essential for human food security and the persistence of all wildlife. Pollinators also support healthy ecosystems that clean the air, stabilize soils, and buffer the planet from climate change. Today these relationships are at risk as pollinators and plants can respond differently to cues from a warming climate. Our community-led monitoring will help to support sensitive and threatened plant and animal species.
We will train stewards to monitor biodiversity using the iNaturalist and Seek apps, the latter is an educational tool designed to train students in species identification and nature journaling without posting to iNaturalist. Participants will learn to make research quality observations. Participants will also take a break from their screens and use field guides and journals to sketch their observations. Once participants are confident at making careful observations and have completed their modules, they can start contributing to the global community and its data repository.
Gather by the covered bike rack/information kiosk in the parking lot.
Adult Programs
Wellness Walks
Weekly, 1 - 2 PM
In this mindfulness practice, we will offer a space for participants to connect with themselves, nature, and each other. Participants will either be guided on the Summit Loop Trail (0.6km) on Christmas Hill (meeting at the Trail head by Nicholson St. and Nelthrope Rd) or the Lake Loop Trail (2.5km) (meeting in front of the Nature House). Please dress appropriately for the outdoors and any weather that may occur.
Homeschool Science
Home School Science will resume May 2022!
Ages 5 - 7
10:00 - 11:30 am
This series of four 90-Minute classes is for home-learners aged 5 to 7 years. We provide hands-on, nature themed programs with games, discovery and activities which encourage land- and science-based learning while socializing with other home learners.
These sessions will occur on May 6, 13, 20, 27.
This program will have an indoor and outdoor component with health & safety guidelines in place.
Ages 8 - 12
1:00 - 2:30 pm
This series of four 90-Minute classes is for home-learners aged 5 to 7 years. We provide hands-on, nature themed programs with games, discovery and activities which encourage land- and science-based learning while socializing with other home learners.
These sessions will occur on May 6, 13, 20, 27.
This program will have an indoor and outdoor component with health & safety guidelines in place.
Junior Stewards
½ Day Week-Long Summer Camp
July 11-15
Ages 6– 8
8:30-12:30pm
Stewardship is about creating a sense of connection, care, and responsibility for each other and the natural world that supports us.
In these outdoor, hands-on sessions, young stewards will be introduced to the Garry Oak ecosystem, and then learn and practice restoration skills.
This program will have an indoor and outdoor component with health & safety guidelines in place.
½ Day Week-Long Summer Camp
August 8-12
Ages 9-12
8:30-12:30pm
Stewardship is about creating a sense of connection, care, and responsibility for each other and the natural world that supports us.
In these outdoor, hands-on sessions, young stewards will be introduced to the Garry Oak ecosystem, and then learn and practice restoration skills.
This program will have an indoor and outdoor component with health & safety guidelines in place.
On-Site School Programs
The following programs are currently on pause:
Senior Programs
Preschool Programs
Big & Little
On-Site School Programs
Adult Programs
Community Programs
Biology Buddies