Area was dubbed "Fort Whyte" after a top Canadian Pacific Railway official who battled to take control of the site from a rival railway.
The story of FortWhyte Alive spans generations. Situated on a reclaimed clay mine and cement factory, it's an example of how we can change the landscape of our planet through sustainable development.
FortWhyte Alive takes its name from the surrounding neighbourhood. Our evolution continues upon the shoulders of many visionaries who led the way and our growing community who propel us into the future.
Area was dubbed "Fort Whyte" after a top Canadian Pacific Railway official who battled to take control of the site from a rival railway.
Canada Cement Company (later known as Lafarge) began mining the land for clay used to manufacture cement. Winnipeg residents used the area for picnicking and swimming before the company fenced the area off.
Canada Cement employees formed the Lucky 13 Rod & Gun Club to develop the Fort Whyte Waterfowl Sanctuary and introduce Canada Geese and mallard ducks to the site.
The Wildlife Foundation of Manitoba is incorporated by an act of the Province with a mission "to provide facilities and financing for education in the science and art of conservation of wildlife and its habitat.
The Foundation developed the Fort Whyte Nature Centre consisting of the Kiwanis Reception Building and a waterfowl building with an incubator room.
The new Fort Whyte Centre for Environmental Education opened an expanded 200-acre site at 1961 McCreary Road.
Floating boardwalks were added to provide a close-up view of the wetlands and their inhabitants.
The Kiwanis Touch Museum and beehive interpretive exhibits were added.
Aquarium of the Prairies interpretive exhibit was added.
The Alloway Reception Centre, Buffalo Stone Café, and bison prairie were developed. Land base expands from 200 to 640 acres
Richardson Rrrrun toboggan slide was opened and Fort Whyte's volunteer base grew to 350 individuals.
FortWhyte Farms social enterprise was born with a focus on employment building for youth through beekeeping and local food production.
The FortWhyte Farms headquarters building is constructed to accommodate the needs of this growing program.
Fort Whyte Centre is rebranded as FortWhyte Alive.
A passive solar greenhouse is constructed at FortWhyte Farms to allow year round growing and expansion of the Farms agricultural activities.
The Bison Butte multi-use recreational trails are built on the north portion of FortWhyte property (south of IKEA) and play host to the mountain biking events of the Canada Summer Games.
Bill Elliott, FortWhyte's first and only President & CEO, retires. Liz Wilson is appointed as his replacement.
The original Interpretive Centre building from 1983 undergoes a deep-energy retrofit and interior renovation to bring it up to new standards of sustainability, adjust to changing programming needs and accommodate a growing staff team.
The Ben and Rose Puchniak Woodworking Studio opens at FortWhyte Farms.
Starting in 1907, The Canada Cement Company (now Lafarge Inc.) used much of what is now FortWhyte Alive to mine clay and gravel to make cement. By the 1950s, floods and other sources of clay made the Fort Whyte site obsolete. Our predecessor, the Wildlife Foundation of Manitoba, saw the old industrial site as a potential habitat and started reclamation work here. Learn more about our history on our blog.
By the 1980s, our focus shifted from wildlife conservation to environmental education, and we established the Fort Whyte Foundation. We opened our trails and Interpretive Centre in 1983.
The last 30 years have seen growth to the north, adding prairie grassland to our forests and wetlands, and growth of our environmental education programs.
Today, we continue to deepen our impact by expanding our volunteer base, our educational resources, and our own sustainability measures. We are looking ahead to the construction of a new facility, Buffalo Crossing – an 18,000 square foot multi-purpose building that will serve as a hub for more creative outdoor recreation and education.