The Yellowhead Flyway Birding Trail Association (YFBTA) wants to get kids outdoors and into nature. Their summer programming is designed with that goal in mind, getting kids interested in the world around them.
Sara Belontz with the YFBTA has been working with kids at different schools through the region, and during the summer she goes to as many places as possible to talk to kids about nature and the environment.
She says that the goal is to get kids engaged with their environment.
“I love that this program exists just for the sake of getting children outside, for them to learn at a young age environmental stewardship concepts so they can grow up living sustainable lives and enjoying nature and not being scared of it.”
The most recent event for Belontz was the Yorkton Public Library, bringing preserved insects and animals for kids to look at, interact with and touch, and also teach kids about the animals that used to own what was on display, such as a woodpecker skull or deer antlers.
“There are just so many exciting things that kids like to physically touch, because a lot of times kids can’t actually touch things and experience them for themselves. These are all things located in Saskatchewan.”
Getting kids interested in nature involves getting kids out into nature, and Belontz does this as well.
There will be a Nature Exploration Day, the second of the year, on August 13.
The day begins with a tour of Sarcan, so people can see what happens to recycling and compost, before moving to the Ecological Ravine for a nature scavenger hunt.
The goal of the programming is to get kids more engaged with their environment, and Belontz believes programming like this is vital
“Nowdays children are so technologically dependant and they won’t go outside into a park or onto a lawn to play... Now, this is different when it comes to kids in Saskatchewan, I’m sure that more of them are more open to being outside, but I’m from Ontario, and kids are completely different, a lot of them are so sheltered they don’t play outside.”
