Drop in, meet new people, and have a game or two with others who enjoy games! This is a free library program!

Join Ellis Nature Centre (formerly Ellis Bird Farm) as we celebrate the beginning of our 2024 season! We officially open to the public on Monday, May 20 and would love to have as many people as possible join us. Our site will be open from 8am-6pm and our cafe open from 10am-4pm. Plus, we'll have activities for all ages such as a birding walk; Great Horned Owl Info table; bee and wetland activities for kids; and a honey bee processing demonstration. Cilantro and Chive will also be on site and starting at 12pm, will be serving Claire's burger of the month which directly supports ENC! Come on out and help us make the 1st day of our 42nd season a success!

Join Ellis Nature Centre and expert birder Ron Wapple for a walk on Monday, May 20 from 9-11am to celebrate Ellis Nature Centre's opening day! Rob will take participants around our site, giving them tips for how to spot birds and information about the birds you see. Whether you're just getting into birding or have been doing it for awhile, this event will be a joy. The cost is $10 per participant and only 15 spots are available.

Join Ellis Nature Centre and local artist Lauren Cowles for a bee art collage workshop on Ellis Nature Centre's opening day, Monday, May 20! Participants are sure to leave this workshop buzzing with excitement for the wonderful bee themed artwork they made. The class will take place from 10am-1pm and is $55 per person, which covers all required materials. Anyone aged 12+ is welcome to attend for what is sure to be a wonderful, creative filled morning. Only 20 spots are available, so don't miss out!

On May 25, AWES will be on the Ellis Nature Centre site hosting a day full of planting fruit and food shrubs. We need your help to plant as many shrubs and bushes as possible so we can create & enhance habitat for the wildlife on our site.

Join Dr. Delano Lewis's Butterfly Species Count project at Ellis Nature Centre. Dr. Lewis from Burman University is reaching out to Central Albertans to assist in this Citizen Science project. The training session will help you learn how to identify butterflies and conduct the butterfly counts. Butterfly count volunteers will conduct 1 hour butterfly counts throughout the summer at ENC, adding essential data to this multi-year project. Training sessions are free and refreshments will be served.

Join Ellis Nature Centre on Saturday, June 1 as we make hummingbird planters! The flowers and plants on hand will be selected with the purpose of attracting hummingbirds and other pollinators to your yard. The knowledgeable folks from Parkland Garden Centre will also be on hand to help with planter design. The $80 fee allows each participant to make one planter to take home with them. Pick between two times - 11am or 1pm. There are only 20 spots available in each time block and this workshop always fills fast, so don't wait to register!

Join Ellis Nature Centre on Saturday, June 1 as we make hummingbird planters! The flowers and plants on hand will be selected with the purpose of attracting hummingbirds and other pollinators to your yard. The knowledgeable folks from Parkland Garden Centre will also be on hand to help with planter design. The $80 fee allows each participant to make one planter to take home with them. Pick between two times - 11am or 1pm. There are only 20 spots available in each time block and this workshop always fills fast, so don't wait to register!

Join Ellis Nature Centre on Sunday, June 2 from 1-4pm as we host Sharon L’Hirondelle-Whiskeyjack, an Alberta Plains Cree Elder & Creator. In this workshop, she'll be sharing her knowledge of porcupines and the medicine wheel as participants learn to make their own medicine wheel quilled earrings. The fee for this class is $50 and there are only 20 spots available.

Get ready to twist and shout at the Mayor's Garden Party 50^th Anniversary, a delightful indoor event filled with nostalgia, laughter, and good ol' 50s fun!

Date: June 4, 2024
Time: 2 – 4 p.m.
Location: Harvest Centre, Westerner Park

Complimentary transportation is available between Sorensen Station and Westerner Park. Shuttle departs at 1:30 p.m. from Sorensen Station and 4 p.m. from the Harvest Centre.

Dust off your poodle skirts and slick back your hair*, as we transport ourselves back to the fabulous 1950s! Join us for an afternoon of retro delights and community camaraderie, with live music by the Memphis Mafia Band.

Expect toe-tapping tunes from the golden era, delicious refreshments straight out of a soda fountain, and live entertainment that will whisk you back in time. From jitterbugging to hula hooping, there's something for everyone to enjoy!

Mayor Ken Johnston and City Manager Tara Lodewyk will join us to kick off the festivities and mingle with guests while treats are served by members of City Council. Don't miss this opportunity to meet your local leaders in a relaxed and charming atmosphere.

This event is free of charge and open to all seniors in the community. Feel free to bring your friends along for an afternoon of vintage fun and fond memories.

Please reserve your complimentary tickets to this groovy gathering by May 30 at MayorsGardenParty.eventbrite.ca.

So, mark your calendars, put on your dancing shoes, and let's make some memories together at the 50^th Anniversary of the Mayor’s Garden Party. It’ll be swell!

*Dressing up in 1950s attire is encouraged, but not required.

Local artist Erin Boake will be joining Ellis Nature Centre on Saturday, June 8 from 1-3pm for what's sure to be an amazing art workshop! She'll teach participants how to make their own lino cut outline of a bird, to then create a unique print from their lino cut. The fee for the workshop is $40. The age for the workshop is 8+ so while it is kid focused, adults are welcome too!

Join Dr. Delano Lewis's Butterfly Species Count project at Ellis Nature Centre. Dr. Lewis from Burman University is reaching out to Central Albertans to assist in this Citizen Science project. The training session will help you learn how to identify butterflies and conduct the butterfly counts. Butterfly count volunteers will conduct 1 hour butterfly counts throughout the summer at ENC, adding essential data to this multi-year project. Training sessions are free and refreshments will be served.

Presented by Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB).

This tech help program is for anyone using assistive technology or anyone with questions on using this technology such as Daisy Readers, Smart Keyboards and more.

Registration is required for these programs.

Register online at rdpl.org or phone 403-346-4576 to reserve your spot.

We all have one or two, or more life choices we have made that we regret. Some people have written about their life choices for our entertainment. So join us for another Adult Storytime, because why should children have all the fun?

Registration required at rdpl.org/events or by phone at 403-346-4576

Join Ellis Nature Centre and Sharon Wiebe on Saturday, June 15 from 1-2pm for a FREE intro to gardening workshop! In this workshop, Sharon will cover gardening basics such as no-till gardening, feeding insects in the garden, natural fertilizers, raised beds, starting plants inside, remediating tilled soil, the importance of pollinators, gardening hacks, barriers for pests, and handy tools. If you're just starting your gardening journey or looking to refresh your skills, this is the workshop for you! While the event is free, we encourage pre-registration to ensure the workshop will run.

Drop in, meet new people, and have a game or two with others who enjoy games! This is a free library program!

Join Ellis Nature Centre for a pollinator walk & talk in celebration of pollinator week! Charity Briere will be on our site on June 23 from 1-2pm to teach participants about various native pollinators & talk them on a walk to search for them. This event is free, but pre-registration is strongly encouraged and appreciated to ensure we have enough people in attendance!

Ellis Nature Centre is very excited to be hosting expert birder Gavin McKinnon from Meadowlark Tours for another birding walk! Join Gavin on June 29 from 7:30-9am where he'll share birding tips with participants and then lead a birding tour on the ENC site. This event is always popular! $10 per person, only 15 spots available.

Unsure how to navigate eBird but want to use it in your birding adventures? Join Ellis Nature Centre for a training session! Gavin McKinnon will lead participants through how to use this free birding app to identify and track bird sightings! eBird is a free app and as such, this workshop will be free to participants too. Only 30 spots available so pre-registration is strongly encouraged.

Ellis Nature Centre is thankful to host Clare Butterfly, an Indigenous knowledge keeper, on Saturday, July 6 for a medicine walks on our site from 9am-12pm. These walks will focus on medicinal plants in Central Alberta, how to harvest them, and their various uses. There will be walking involved in this workshop, as you will move around our site to look for plants.

Ellis Nature Centre is thankful to host Clare Butterfly, an Indigenous knowledge keeper, on Saturday, July 6 for a medicine walks on our site from 1:30-4:30pm. These walks will focus on medicinal plants in Central Alberta, how to harvest them, and their various uses. There will be walking involved in this workshop, as you will move around our site to look for plants.

Join Ellis Nature Centre for their annual Bluuebird Festival on July 13th from 8am-6pm! We'll have activities and bird demonstrations for all ages such as bird banding, an update on our bluebird research, a bird collage art workshop, nature documentaries, kids games, and much more. This event is free to attend! Come on out to celebrate the wonderful birds that call Central Alberta home. 

Join Ellis Nature Centre and local artist Lauren Cowles to celebrate Bluebird Festival through art! This event will take place on Saturday, July 13 from 10am-1pm. Participants will be guided through the creation of their own bird collage. Ages 12+ are welcome, so you can even make this a family outing! The cost of this workshop is $55 per person.

Ellis Nature Centre is thrilled to be hosting Susan Nielsen of Eliza Jane Studios for a soap making workshop! Many will recognize her lovely soaps from our gift shop, so this is the perfect opportunity to make your own unique soap bars. Susan will guide people through the soap making process at every step. This workshop is open to adults only and is $80 per person. Only 12 spots available!

Ellis Nature Centre's ever popular Bat N' Beers night is back for another season! Join us on Saturday, July 20 from 8-11:30pm to learn all about bats from Cory Olsen from Alberta Bats. He'll start the evening with a presentation about bats in Alberta and may even have a bat that's currently being rehabilitated to show attendees. Then, you'll head outside to view bats using different devices such as infrared cameras. Beer as well as other beverages and light snacks will be available from the Ellis Nature Centre Cafe. Adult tickets are $10 each. Family Tickets are $15 each and include admission for 2 adults and 2 children. Please email us at info@ellisnaturecentre.ca if you require additional children tickets.