Joe McWilliams
Lakeside Leader

Braidi Locke of Kinuso recently launched a business that aims to provide educational programming in campgrounds, beginning in the 2022 season. She calls it ‘Wild Boreal Environmental Educators,’ and she’d like to bring her programs to “eventually schools, hopefully.”

But first things, first, and Locke says she’s already made progress with Spruce Point Park and a few other campgrounds to do programs this year. She says she got her company registered in December and now has a website up and running (wildboreal.ca).

Visitors to the website will see programs on aquatic organisms, Alberta birds and carnivores. Others are in the works. Locke says the idea is to arrange participation through the participating campgrounds. People will pay a fee and the presentations will be mainly outdoors.

Each program consists of three parts, Locke says – educational, activities and “take-home stuff.”

Born in High Prairie, Locke grew up and went to school in Kinuso. After high school she took a diploma course in wildlife conservation at Lakeland College in Vermilion, finishing last year.

“There wasn’t anybody doing what I wanted to do,” she says, “so I figured I’d do it myself.”

Species recognition and identification will be part of the Wild Boreal course experience. Wetland function and climate change are two other topics Locke mentions in the course of the interview. Gathering materials continues as she develops other courses in preparation for the May long weekend launch.

As for getting into school classrooms, Locke says she hasn’t made the approach yet.

“I’m waiting for more information on curriculum updates,” she says.