A $4,560.63 grant presented Aug. 30 to the Boreal Discovery Centre from the Thompson Community Foundation (TCF) and the Joe Brain Fund will help pay for the first phase of the centre’s aquarium project.
“We would like to thank the Thompson Community Foundation and its board of directors for their generous contribution to our facility,” said Thompson Zoological Society president Keith MacDonald. “We look forward to this phase of developing the Boreal Discovery Centre into a world-class facility. The Thompson Community Foundation contribution is allowing us to progress substantially on the marine portion of the Boreal Discovery Centre. We have major plumbing and electrical work to complete to allow for a full-scale sturgeon habitat, not just an aquarium. The TCF grant will help us in this first phase. The habitat is under design now.”
The Boreal Discovery Centre is currently operating as a seasonal facility, renting raised bed garden plots staring in May, offering school tours in June and summer programming for youth during July and August, when visitors can also enjoy a rabbit petting zoo and the sturgeon habitat.
“Seasonal operation is only temporary,” said MacDonald, and will continue for the next couple of years until the Boreal Discovery Centre is completed. “It allows us to operate within our means while still providing a service and value to the community. It also provides a ‘safety net’ during some of the construction that is required. Our vision is to foster connections between people and our boreal region. The focus is on interactive, hands-on education. Our summer programming is an example of the type of programming that will be in place year-round eventually. There will be a strong focus on traditional knowledge and values, but will also include modern adaptations to the boreal forest.”
