FortWhyte Alive

Studies have shown that contact with nature can be as important to a child as eating well and getting enough sleep. It nurtures traits that will serve our children for a lifetime:

+ Enthusiasm for learning
+ Physical  tness
+ Creativity
+ Self-motivation
+ Social skills
+ Self con dence
+ Ability to focus
+ Resistance to criminal activity
+ Problem solving

We are proud to share these pillars that help the Other FortWhyte nurture those traits:

• 37 Volunteer Interpreters who contribute over 2,000 hours each year leading school  field trips
• “FortWhyte U”— a capacity building guest-lecture series offered primarily to our 330-strong volunteer corps, and attracting 576 “students” in 2011
• A major funding agreement with Manitoba Education & Training that includes: core funding assistance for 35 curriculum-based field trip programs; seed funding for
a new outdoor education training program for teachers (“Leave No Teacher Inside”); and, funding for a pilot Arctic Science & Culture Program
• Additional partnerships with Polar Bears International and the U. of M. Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources to further enhance the Arctic Science & Culture Program
• Early steps to establish FortWhyte as a University Field Research Station for undergraduate and graduate students from the Universities of Manitoba and Winnipeg
• A major 5-year agreement with Manitoba Hydro to bring leading edge sustainable development and energy conservation programming to our school and public audiences
• Award winning FortWhyte Farms’ ongoing expansion in the production of vegetables, honey, eggs, pastured poultry and pigs while using small scale sustainable agriculture to grow the potential of its most important crop - at risk, inner city youth.
• And finally, the many individuals and companies who clearly appreciate and generously support the Other FortWhyte and its environmental education programming.

Despite all that these FortWhyte pillars accomplish Monday through Friday on the educational front, and all the valued donors that those important programs attract, the need for additional support from individuals like you remains. Never before has there been such urgency to equip and empower our youth for the environmental challenges ahead. That is why FortWhyte was created four decades ago, and why our environmental education programming needs your support today.

Thank You, and Best Wishes in the New Year from all of us at FortWhyte Alive!