paul, Author at Waterloo Region Nature

WRN Kids – Snowshoeing

Saturday, March 7, 2026 by paul

Snowshoeing

Saturday, February 28, 2026

For our February outing, we went snowshoeing at rare Charitable Research Reserve. Lauren from rare led the outing and we were all excited to try snowshoeing!

We started out learning about snowshoes. The oldest known snowshoes are 3000 years old. Lauren showed us two styles of snowshoes – one that is long and pointy at the back that is used in deep snow in open areas and another that is shorter and rounder that is made for forest areas where you need to get around trees and other obstacles.

Snowshoes help you stay on top of deep snow by spreading out your weight so instead of all your weight being poked into the deep snow by your feet, it is spread out over a big snowshoe that doesn’t sink into the snow as far. The snowshoes we used had metal points on the bottom to grip the ice. It was very icy and slippery on the trail, and we would not have been able to walk in just our boots.

Walking on the icy trail was noisy, and Lauren remarked that while we might scare animals away with all the noise, if we look and listen, we can get clues about which animals live there. We spotted footprints that were made by squirrels and dogs. We decided that the prints were canine because we could see the claws. Feline claws are retractable and when they walk, the claws are not out so they don’t leave claw prints in the snow.

We passed through different tree areas and noticed the difference between a naturalized forest with different ages and stages of growth and a plantation style of forest where the trees were planted in rows. The plantation trees were all the same species and age. This results in fewer varieties of other plants and animals that can live there.

We saw a very funky looking dead tree that has a second life acting as a home for other species like woodpeckers, owls and fungus. Lauren told us that to find owls in the forest one tip is to look for holes or crevices in trees that face west as owls like to sunbathe in the afternoon sun.

By the end of the hike, we could all feel that walking in snowshoes takes more energy that walking in boots but less energy walking than walking in deep snow.

Reported by: Laura and Rachelle

WRN Kids – Bones!

Saturday, February 14, 2026 by paul

Bones!

Saturday, January 31, 2026

In January we went to RIM Park where the Eastside Library branch is. It was really really cold and snowy but we were inside for most of it this month!

We learned about bones! We built a skeleton and tried to identify skulls. Fraser taught us about animals that eat different things, and how it changes their skull and body.

Carnivores have sharp pointed teeth for tearing meat, herbivores have more flat teeth for grinding up plants. Rodents have two big teeth on the top and bottom at the front and then a space before their back teeth. Lagomorphs look a lot like rodents but they have two little teeth behind their big front teeth. Mostly rabbits and hares are lagomorphs, they aren’t rodents at all! Omnivores have both sharp and flat teeth because they eat both meat and plants, and their skulls can be tricky to identify.

It’s important to know how to identify bones you might find in the wild so you know what animals have been in your area and what predators you need to watch out for.

My favourite part was building the skeleton! It was really fun to try and figure out how all the bones connected and fit together. And I liked working in a team with my friends to do a bone puzzle.

Fraser was really nice and funny. I’m glad he came to teach us about animals bones and show us his collection. It was so cool!

Reported by: River

Afterwards a smaller group went outside to look for animal tracks in the snow. We found an extensive deer bedding area with lots of places where a deer had made their bed. We also found quite a bit of frozen deer scat.

WRN Kids – Maps at GeoTime Trail

Sunday, January 4, 2026 by paul

Maps at the GeoTime Trail

Saturday, November 29, 2025

On Saturday November 29 Nature Kids met at the GeoTime Trail in Waterloo. The weather was cold but sunny and there was lots of snow.

Nature Kids volunteer Laura talked to the group about maps and what kinds of things we might see on maps and how to orient ourselves on one. We did a short practice with a small map she had drawn of our immediate area, then Laura gave us a bigger map.

Laura had drawn a map of part of the GeoTime trail with landmarks like trees, rocks, signs and paths along with control points. The control points were cards posted on trees or stumps or rock walls and marked with different symbols.

Using the map, we headed out to find and record all twelve control points. The fresh deep snow made it more difficult to walk and the woods were beautiful. We recorded each point we found by drawing the symbol shown on posted cards.

Laura wasn’t sure if we would be able to hike to find all the points as the deep snow made walking more difficult and tiring, but we were up for the challenge. We found all 12 points! Many people were tired by the end.

This was a fun and challenging activity, and we learned about following a map.

Reported by: Rachelle

WRN Kids – Trail Trimming at SpruceHaven

Saturday, December 13, 2025 by paul

Trail Trimming at SpruceHaven

Saturday, December 13, 2025

WRN Teens had invited WRN Kids to join them in trimming trails at SpruceHaven. The day was overcast and the wind was cold out in the open spaces, but in the forest it was almost cozy. The snow was quite deep and Teens coordinator Anita definitely got her exercise while breaking trail at the head of our line.

At a couple of places Anita mounted a trail camera, to later see which animals might go by during the winter. She explained that animals like to use trails just like humans do, in order to conserve their energy.

Adults, Kids, and Teens all worked at trimming branches. It was hazardous work, because snow could get dumped down your neck at any time. Finally, when we were tired and had all the branches that we could carry, we headed back out from the woods.

Thanks go to Anita and the Teens group for inviting us. There will be houses with some attractive greenery displays during this holiday season.

Reported by: Paul

Mill Race Trail – Nov 22, 2025

Thursday, November 27, 2025 by paul

On Saturday, November 22, 2025, David Gascoigne led a group along the Mill Race Trail in St Jacobs. They had a number of birds eating out of their hands.

Here are a few birds (and mammals) from that walk.

For the full report on the outing with many more photos, see David’s blog at WRN Outing to the Mill Race, St. Jacobs, ON.

WRN Kids – Squirrels at Breithaupt Park

Tuesday, November 25, 2025 by paul

Squirrels at Breithaupt Park

Saturday, October 25, 2025

Our October outing took place at Breithaupt Park in Kitchener. We learned about red squirrels and grey squirrels. Grey squirrels can be either grey or black in colour. Both grey and red squirrels gather food to hide to eat in the winter, but grey squirrels hide their food in many different places while red squirrels hide their food all in one place. This might be why red squirrels are more aggressive in defending their food hiding spot. If something finds the red squirrels food hiding spot, they could eat all the squirrel’s food, and the squirrel would have none for the wintertime.

We also played a game in which we were either a grey squirrel, or a red squirrel and we had to find and hide food. Then, we could steal each other’s food just like real squirrels do.

When a fox was added to the game, it became even more challenging to gather food and store it while trying to not get eaten by the fox. There were a lot of tired squirrels by the time the game ended!

Finally, we divided into two groups and went walking in different directions to tally up how many squirrels we could find. One group noticed many squirrels across a field and headed there. It became obvious why so many squirrels were there – oak trees with many acorns!!

In total the two groups observed 80 squirrels!

It is fun to learn more about an animal that we see so often in our daily lives.

Reported by: Rachelle

Long Point – Oct 25, 2025

Sunday, November 2, 2025Sunday, November 2, 2025 by paul

On Saturday, October 25, 2025, David Gascoigne and Miriam Bauman led a group to Long Point in search of birds. Some of the places they visited had a disappointing number of birds, but their luck improved towards the end.

Here are a few photos from that trip.

For the full report on the outing with many more photos, see David’s blog at WRN Outing to Long Point, Norfolk County, ON.

BFCK – Lakeside Bird Walk and Junco Sketch Sesh – October 13, 2025

Tuesday, October 21, 2025Tuesday, October 21, 2025 by paul

Lakeside Bird Walk and Junco Sketch Sesh

Saturday, October 11 was World Migratory Bird Day. To mark the event, Meredith Blunt (local artist, bird enthusiast, and co-chair of Bird Friendly City Kitchener) led 15 participants on a sauntering stroll along the paved trail at Lakeside Park. Following that, we sat for a guided ‘no-judgement’ sketch session of the recently announced official bird of the City of Kitchener – the Dark-eyed Junco.

The birds present that day included:

Red-bellied and Downy Woodpeckers
a skein of flying Mallards overhead
a Golden-crowned Kinglet
a pair of Turkey Vultures
American Robin
Northern Cardinal
a Pied-billed Grebe dunking and diving in the pond
and the sharp calls of Blue Jays and Red-winged Blackbirds

It seemed the juncos hadn’t yet arrived at Lakeside. We didn’t see any. But, we set about to sketch them anyway. We made ourselves comfortable on chairs or blankets or at the park’s picnic tables, and art supplies were distributed.

Meredith guided us step-by-step…

“It starts with a circle.”
“And then another one.”

And, here’s what we came up with.

Comments made at the end of the session

“What an experience, sketching outside ‘in plein aire’ while hearing birds all around.”
“I really enjoyed it.”
“I’m so proud of my bird!”
“Junco is a sign winter’s coming.”
“Juncos are all round and fluffy.”
“Every junco should be described as magnificent.”
“What does a junco look like? Each of us has our own interpretation.”
“It’s really hard to describe how to draw but you, Meredith, achieved it.”
“I believe it’s the first ‘art’ outing we’ve had at Lakeside. It was so casual, relaxing, and enjoyable. And the weather was perfect.”
“I learned a lot. Start by using simple basic familiar shapes.”
“What a lovely way to start a holiday Monday. The walk and the art were terrific. I hope we can do more of these in Lakeside Park.”

Mary Ann Vanden Elzen

WRN Kids – Insects at Bechtel Park

Tuesday, October 7, 2025 by paul

Insects at Bechtel Park

Saturday, September 27, 2025

We went to Bechtel Park to learn about insects. The weather was cool but warm as well, and it was pretty sunny out.

We looked for insects and named the ones we found.

Owen from Nature Teen Club came and he showed us all the different kinds of insects around.

There were lots of Hickory tussock moth caterpillars, an inch worm, some spiders and some beetles.

We also looked for other cool stuff like curled leaves that were made by spiders.

We saw some damage made by Emerald Ash Borers inside a dead ash tree, it looked cool but it was sad to see our native trees dying.

We also learned about why insects are important. If we don’t know where bugs are or what we’re doing to them we might hurt them, and we need insects! My favourite part was finding moss and mould growing on fungus, and a cute little brown inch worm.

Reported by: River

North Shore of Lake Ontario – September 2025

Saturday, October 4, 2025 by paul

On Saturday, September 27, 2025, David Gascoigne and Miriam Bauman led a group along the shore of Lake Ontario. They stopped off at DesJardins Canal, Urquart Butterfly Gardens, Grindstone Creek, LaSalle Park, Paletta Park, and Bronte Harbour. Here is a small sampling of photos from that outing.

For the full report on the outing with many more photos, see David’s blog at WRN Outing to the North Shore of Lake Ontario.

BFCK – Bird Collision Deterrent Markers Installed At Kitchener Library

Wednesday, October 1, 2025Wednesday, October 1, 2025 by paul

Bird Collision Deterrent Marker Installation
at Kitchener Central Library

September 20, 2025

Over the course of two Saturdays, Bird Friendly City Kitchener (BFCK) volunteers gathered at the Central Kitchener Public Library for a brand-new bird-friendly experience! BFCK, a subcommittee of Waterloo Region Nature, seeks to make the region bird friendlier by committing to bird-friendly actions. A bird-friendly city is one that mitigates key threats to birds, restores nature for native birds, engages residents in admiring and monitoring local bird populations, creates events that protect birds, and helps create and lead municipal policy to protect urban birds.

BFCK volunteers worked with City of Kitchener lead, Rachel Voros, to identify a downtown building that would most benefit from the application of bird-friendly window collision decals. With the generous donation of over $2200 in materials by Paul Groleau, Vice President of Feather Friendly Bird Collision Deterrent Markers, and the cooperation and coordination of Kitchener Public Libraries, BFCK volunteers installed Feather Friendly markers on the external side of the Sheriff John Motz Courtyard windows. Come check them out!

BFCK thanks all of the volunteers who were able to help at the install, helping mitigate a key threat to our birds: window collisions, especially during peak migration, kill up to 42 million birds per year in Canada. BFCK also has an active collision monitoring program during migration season in downtown Kitchener. If you would like to volunteer for this, or other programs, shoot us an email at birdfriendlykitchener@gmail.com.