Nature Centre programs server diverse groups of people from various cultural and socio-economic backgrounds across the Greater Toronto Area, including (but not limited to): elementary and secondary school groups, pre-school aged children and their parents, local day cares and community centres, home-schooling groups, local families, adult English-as-a-Second language groups, seniors, persons with special needs and persons with mental and/or physical challenges.
Since 1999, over 25,000 children have learned about the importance of protecting and restoring High Park's natural areas. A 2-hour curriculum-based program for school children in the fall, winter or spring costs $6.50 per student. Our 2-hour summer ecology programs for local day care centres and community groups cost $5.00 per participant for a group of 20+ participants (to a maximum of 30). Prices for our family-based programs, summer camps and naturalist club programs for children vary from program to program.
A typical 2-hour program , though it varies from season to season and program to program, participants in the "Charming Chickadees and Wonderful Woodpeckers" winter program are introduced to the adaptations of birds that winter in High Park and then have the opportunity to create pine cone bird feeders before heading out on the trails to hang their feeders and hand-feed chickadees. Summer programs introduce participants to the unique ecology of the Park and then focus on the group's theme of choice: Beetles, Bugs and Bees, Paws and Claws, Butterflies and Blooms, Green Giants or the Art in Nature. Participants could head out in search of bugs after dressing up like an insect or role-play the life of an urban animal in High Park after hiking the trails, searching for animal homes. Their programs are designed to engage the senses of our participants - especially their most important sense - WONDER.
The High Park Nature Centre is committed to the promotion of responsible stewardship of the natural environment. They offer year-round outdoor experiential environmental education programs that provide park visitors of all ages with the opportunity to gain an appreciation of the park's unique ecosystems and to participate in the restoration of the park’s natural areas.
The Nature Centre is operated by High Park Initiatives - the non-profit arm of the HPCAC (Charitable number 86638 9505 RR001).
To book a visit or for more information contact the Nature Centre at 416-392-1748 Ext 6 or naturecentre@highpark.org
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