March 2020 Note: this project was formerly known as "Biodiversity Conservation Outreach".
How Do We Get from Here to There?
This two-year outreach and education initiative started as a collaboration between the Allan Brooks Nature Centre, the Okanagan Similkameen Stewardship Society, and OCCP. The goal was to raise awareness about local ecosystems and the Biodiversity Conservation Strategy for the Okanagan Region and to engage community members in habitat restoration.
As the project developed, many other partners joined the initiative and developed two travelling public outreach exhibits and coordinated six community stewardship events to restore natural habitat. Over 74,000 people in the Okanagan region saw the exhibit promoting ways to work together for “Protecting Habitat Connectivity and Promoting Stewardship”.
‘Right of Way’ and ‘Keeping Connectivity in Our Future’
Digital Interactive Exhibits Through collaboration with the Centre for Culture and Technology at UBC Okanagan and Border Free Bees, OCCP supported work on a digital interactive 3D installation for the Social Life of Water exhibit, hosted at the Okanagan Heritage Museum and the Penticton and Kelowna Museums.
The 3D Okanagan watershed wildlife installation showcased local conservation initiatives for species, a digital interactive exhibit highlighting issues for connectivity from the point of view of a bee, an artistic felted-hassock bee flower calendar, bee costumes, and native seeds and resources for visitors to take home and plant a bee-friendly garden.
The Allan Brooks Nature Centre Nature Trailer
A travelling public outreach exhibit was created by retrofitting a trailer with interactive displays focused on local conservation issues and information on grasslands, wetlands, and habitat connectivity. The Nature Trailer displays continue to provide walk-through experiences of interactive activities to educate and engage the public about Okanagan ecosystems, water conservation, and habitat connectivity.
The Nature Trailer visits schools and classes, and in the summer the trailer can be found at community events and festivals.
If you would like to book the trailer, or would like more info, please see: the Allan Brooks Nature Centre website or send an email to: