Well, summer is officially at an end.  It hit me when I arrived to an empty Visitor Centre and was cleaning turtle tanks all by myself.  All of our summer staff have left us again and are back at their respective universities – we wish them all a very successful year.

 That leaves Brady and I to prepare for a few large events that are coming up later this month.  The first is our annual Monarch Migration Festival on September 16th.  If you’ve been to this event in the past, you know that it is a beautiful way to spend a late summer day.  We will have events for the whole family including guided butterfly hikes, monarch tagging demonstrations, a children’s craft, face painting, a BBQ lunch, art show and a native plant sale.  This year we are excited to have guest speaker Dr. Scott Taylor at the festival to provide a special program focusing on the fall migration and how these tiny insects make such an incredible journey.  This presentation begins at 2:30pm in the Visitor Centre and will be followed by a guided hike, so bring your walking shoes! 

 On September 22nd,RondeauPark will be hosting its first annual Shoreline Cleanup!  This program calls for volunteers to head to their local shorelines with one main goal—to rid shorelines and waterways of harmful litter.  This program has humble beginnings, starting with a few dedicated staff from the Vancouver Aquarium and has since grown to span the entire country and now engages tens of thousands of volunteers…and you could be one of them!  If you are interested in the program contact Brady at the Visitor Centre at 519-674-1768.  You can learn more about the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup at ShorelineCleanup.ca.

 Those are some exciting programs, but we also have some great guided hikes and another Owl Prowl coming to you this month.  So check out the activity sheet and keep your weekends clear so you can come out and join us in beautiful Rondeau!

 Hope to see you all soon