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AWARE launches Kid’s Nature Club

Farm trip planned for adults to learn more about challenges of getting food to tables
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The first monthly Kid’s Nature Club meeting will take place on Saturday, July 28 with an impressive line-up for participants.

Sponsored by the Association of Whistler Area Residents for the Environment (AWARE), the club will meet on the last Saturday of every month and is open to kids aged 6-12. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Kids will meet at Meadow Park Sports Centre at 10 a.m., and the camp runs until noon.

The first camp will start with a short 20-minute nature walk with AWARE environmental educational coordinator Cara Richard that brings them to the Edgewater Outdoor Centre. Once there kids will spend half an hour with falconist Dan Johnson, who is rehabilitating several birds of prey on the shores of Green Lake.

After that presentation, kids will take part in a 45-minute guided canoe trip on Green Lake to learn about local geology, glaciers, and why Green Lake is green.

Whistler Outdoor Experience and the Edgewater Outdoor Centre have donated the use of their canoes, while Johnson is donating his time for a presentation on raptors.

Participation in the club is free, although parents will be asked to donate supplies for art projects, games, presentations and performances as the club moves indoors for the winter months.

Meanwhile, AWARE is also coordinating a visit to two Pemberton farms on Wednesday, Aug. 1 to help people learn more about sustainable and organic farming techniques and the challenges of getting food from the farm to the shelf.

The farm tour, which is geared toward adults, is a warm up event for the Slow Food Cycle, which takes place on Sunday, Aug. 19.

The trip will be done in an environmentally sound way and will contribute no extra carbon dioxide emissions. Whistlerites will grab their bikes and cycle on over to the Greyhound bus depot in Whistler village for an early bus to Pemberton. Bikes will be loaded onto the bus and once in Pemberton the group will cycle to the first farm of the day, Across the Creek Organics. Attendees will tour the certified organic farm, learn about their techniques and their challenges before heading over to a smaller farm using natural farming techniques, The Rainbow Farm.

At Rainbow Farm the group will experience first hand the difficulties in starting up a new farm and will see some of the techniques used in growing food in an environmentally friendly way.

This tour is not all about looking and listening though; participants will also be put to work — picking raspberries, weeding, putting up fences and building compost sites.

This is a full day event and the group will be cycling back to Pemberton to take the 3:30 p.m. bus back to Whistler.

There is limited space available for the AWARE Farm Tour. RSVP by calling Sara Jennings at 604-932-2664.

In the evening you can also join AWARE for their monthly meeting starting at 6 p.m. at the Westin Resort and Spa. At 7:30, Cara Richard will lead the group in the Sustainability Game, a giant board game about environmental sustainability where you get to be the game piece and roll giant dice.