The Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary is helping kids go wild about learning.

The sanctuary offers both on-site and in-school programs, with classes ranging from 60 to 90 minutes depending on the grade.

B次元官网网址淎ll of our school programs have set goals, and are linked to the Integrated Resource Package for the appropriate grade,B次元官网网址� said Kathleen Burton, executive director at the sanctuary.

In-school programs are designed for students in the Greater Victoria, Saanich and Sooke school districts and surrounding independent schools and held in local classrooms during the school year. The in-school programs are also available at Swan Lake, where a host of on-site programs are also available. The nature sanctuary even offers programs for preschool children.

B次元官网网址淭he preschool programs are a fun and engaging way for young children to begin forming connections between themselves and the natural world,B次元官网网址� said Burton. B次元官网网址淭hrough play and interactive activities, little ones get the chance to get up close and personal with the mysterious and wonderful creatures found in our very own Victoria backyards.B次元官网网址�

A small sample of the programs available at Swan Lake include Daring Ducks, for kindergarten and Grade 1, which explores the adaptations that help ducks live on the lake.

Frog Fables and Turtle Tales gives kids from kindergarten to Grade 3 a close look at the reptiles and amphibians that live in the sanctuaryB次元官网网址檚 nature house as well as in the neighbourhoods around us.

Wetland Discovery helps children in Grade 3 to 5 gain an understanding of wetland environments through hands-on examination of the plants, aquatic invertebrates, birds, reptiles and mammals that make Swan Lake their home.

While Microscope Discoveries lets students in Grade 5 to 7 prepare specimens from living material and learn how to properly use both dissecting and compound microscopes and record their observations.

Program manager Ren茅e Cenerini has found the students to be very enthusiastic about the subjects being covered.

B次元官网网址淲e try to make the programs as fun as possible, and the education follows,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e not about just having the students just sit at their desks and listen to us drone on. We want them engaged.B次元官网网址�

Cenerini said students are able to learn through experiments, games and fun activities like using nets to catch creatures in the lake and dissecting owl pellets. B次元官网网址淓ven within an hour we vary how we do things. Because itB次元官网网址檚 hard for anybody to focus a long time on one style of learning. We try to engage people in different ways.B次元官网网址�

Nature sanctuary staff can bring programs to the classroom, focusing on subjects such as owls, bats, spiders and snakes, and even have a portable pond they can bring in to introduce students to the creatures of the wetlands.