​Knee High Nature Programs Continue
Claudia Lipski led three very well-received Knee High Nature Beaver programs yesterday at the site. We are pleased to be able to offer these popular programs to local families, who are grateful to be able to participate in engaging, nature-based outdoor activities with their children. 

We have adapted our programs to ensure safety (e.g., smaller groups, each cohort is socially distanced from the others, each cohort receives their own sanitized tub with craft materials, the participants have their own bathrooms for use during the program, and all facilities and supplies are sanitized after each program). 

We are offering many more programs in August - check out our website for details! 

EBF was pleased to co-host a very successful Writing Retreat on Sunday, July 26. The retreat, led by Dr. Jane Ross, was a series of reflective meditations on place, landscape and symbols. 

At the end of the workshop, the participants agreed to produce a chapbook in the fall, a summary of the words and wisdom of those who gathered to contemplate - and share through prose and poetry - the beauty of Central Alberta (especially Ellis Bird Farm!)  

​Tree Fort! 
Wayne Froese of Top Peg Timber Frame Construction is busy at the site finishing up the new tree fort in the Nature Play Area. This tree fort is being constructed from lumber milled from Charlie Ellis's trees. What a wonderful way to ensure that the legacy of these beautiful trees continues! 

​EBF Hosts a Special Visitor

Ellis Bird Farm (EBF) was honoured on July 21 to have a special visit by Her Honour, The Honourable Lois E. Mitchell, CM, AOE, LLD, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta.  

The visit was arranged at Her Honour's request after she read an article about Ellis Bird Farm written by Rod Trentham in The Historical Society of Alberta's History Now newsletter. 

Staff as well as past and current board members were on hand to welcome Her Honour. She was given a tour of the site, and EBF was pleased to be able to share details about the history of the organization, tell some of the stories that have made EBF so unique and successful, and highlight some of our research projects. 
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All photos by Leo de Groot.

​Unique Nesting Site
Although EBF has over 300 different nestboxes placed around the site, each year a pair of House Wrens choose the gate pipe to nest in. The swinging of the gate, the heat and the traffic does not seem to bother them! 

​Nature Play Area Plantings
​Work continues on the Nature Play Area. Linda Sommers and Carter McLenahan have been busy clearing areas for the planting of edible shrubs.