Youth in Action @ the BioBlitz Festival!

Youth in Action spent an amazing Saturday at the BioBlitz Festival at Rouge Urban National Park. The purpose of this festival is to bring together taxonomic experts, citizen scientists and the general public to inventory all species (plants, animals, fungi and more) in a particular area over a  24 hour period. Participants record all the organisms they find, then experts verify their identity. This means that we get a better understanding of the native species in our Canadian wild and are better equipped to protect our local wildlife. 

 Opening ceremonies and tattoos!

Then, we headed over to do some rock-climbing!

 

 It was a long day and our phones were dying, but no worries, there was a bike-powered charging station!

 We visited all the educational booths and learned about local wildlife and how to protect our native species.

 We learned about birds of prey and even got to play with snakes and other reptiles!

Last, but not least, we went on a beautiful nature hike lead by Jacqueline, our Parks Canada guide. Who knew there was such a beautiful National park hidden in our urban home. 

Thanks #ParksCanada and #CanadianWildlifeFederation for making this event possible. And thanks to #ParkBus and #NatureLink for including the #YOUTHinACTION team. We had such a great time and learned so much about Canadian and Torontonian wildlife!

Youth in Action and Sankofa Youth go Canoeing at Humber River!

On June 3rd, a group of 16 youth along with Youth Workers Zarina and Rachel took part in an adventurous canoe paddling trip on Humber River. The staff at Project Canoe gave the youth some tips on how to paddle properly and we headed out down the river!

 Practicing our new skills!

 And, we're off! 

"This was my first time ever being in a canoe. I was a little nervous but the staff made me feel really comfortable. I'm really happy I gave it a try. I saw so many animals and birds close up. And staff took the time to explain to us everything we were seeing. I had a very nice time." Sakurako Ito, 21 years

We even got to see some river creatures! 

Painted Turtles and Cormorant birds. 

Thanks to the Toronto Adventures Inc. Team for telling us all about local wildlife!

Thanks to our Sankofa and YOUTHinACTION teams for coming out on such a great adventure.

We are all very grateful of MEC Outdoor Nation and Project Canoe for making this happen! 

For more info on our next adventure, contact: 

Rachel at rbennett@culturelink.ca or 416-588-6288 x 238

Zarina at zbutt@culturelink.ca or 416-588-6288 x 240