Wainfleet Wetland Conservation Area
The Wainfleet Wetlands Conservation Area was established as part of a rehabilitation project in 1978. Prior to its transformation, the site was home to a clay and limestone quarry from the late 19th century until the 1960’s. Today the quarries and clay pits have naturalized and are home to fish, birds, waterfowl, turtles, snakes, and plants. Unique alvar communities of rock loving plants also thrive here in the shallow soils, in addition to the site woodlots and meadows. This wetland is unique as it attracts a large variety of birds (over 50 different species), most commonly yellow warblers, great blue herons, egrets, gulls, terns, and sandpipers.
Location: 10638 Quarry Rd.
Wainfleet, ON, Canada L0F 1V0 Phone: (905) 788-3135 (Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority)
Visiting Hours: Open year round 8 am-8 pm.
Targeted Age Group: All ages
Visiting Costs: Visiting the site is free of charge.
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Booking a visit: Visits do not have to be booked, you are free to bring your class to the wetland at any time during operation hours.
Programs Offered: The conservation area does not offer pre-planned programs. However, this site is a great location for teaching your students about wetlands and the wildlife found there. Your trip will be a self guided one, and Ducks Unlimited Canada offers an amazing teacher resource kit with everything you need to plan a fun and educational trip, including background information, how to plan and conduct your trip, a student field notebook, field guide, games, and post-visit activities. For teachers looking for lesson plans to preface their visit, you can download some great exemplars here (from Ducks Unlimited) and here (from Toronto Region Conservation Group). (Note: the programs are designed for grades 4-5 and 6-8 respectively but can be modified by the savvy teacher for grades 1-11).
This site is also a Bronze Plaque Award winner for quarry rehabilitation and efforts to increase wetland development and habitat cover for improved diversity and function in the landscape. As such, visiting this site is a great way to illustrate for your students the process of rehabilitation and why it is necessary.
This site is also a Bronze Plaque Award winner for quarry rehabilitation and efforts to increase wetland development and habitat cover for improved diversity and function in the landscape. As such, visiting this site is a great way to illustrate for your students the process of rehabilitation and why it is necessary.
All the above information (except programs offered) was taken from the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority's website. For additional information on the park's operations please visit http://www.npca.ca/conservation-areas/wainfleet-wetlands/. Program ideas were inspired by the NPCA and Ducks Unlimited and developed by me. Resources came from Ducks Unlimited and the Toronto Region Conservation Group (see links for details).