'FEEL THE FREEDOM OF THE OUTDOORS' AT CENTRE

A group of Simcoe County naturalists with a deep love of the environment hope their nature centre might inspire others to connect with the land we all call home.

June Crinnion, Michael Elmer and award-winning naturalist and author Bob Bowles opened the Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre in 2020.

The centre aims to aid environmental education while serving as a protected green space for important regional biodiversity.

"We wanted to give people the opportunity to get outdoors and learn about all aspects of nature," Crinnion said. "We wanted people to recognize they can make a difference in helping the world to

‘The centre provides the opportunity for people to unplug from their busy worlds, and slow down enough to feel the physical and mental benefits of being in nature’

be a healthier and exceptional place to live."

Home to moose, deer, coyotes, foxes, hares and myriad other wildlife, the 100-acre plot of land, at 1296 Concession Rd. 10 in Ramara, is a protected green space, which includes 50 acres of "provincially significant wetlands."

That designation means the area is protected from motorized vehicles, roadways and harvesting.

"The wetlands were assessed and identified as provincially significant by the MNRF (the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry)," Crinnion said. "Landowners agree by signing a yearly contract to protect conservation lands... we commit to the stewardship of conservation lands by ensuring the area is left untouched."

The centre hosts seminars and programs on the land, although they're considered low impact enough to be permitted.

The programs typically cost between $25 and $40 each.

"We offer a couple programs each season, from mammal tracking on snowshoe ... to winter dendrology to how to build a pollinating garden," Elmer said. "We cannot protect

– Michael Elmer

what we don't know. But, by offering educational programs, people can learn and take away something that will benefit them, their families, their communities and ultimately protect the world we live in."

Donna Gowland is among those who've participated in the nature centre's programming.

A holistic nurse from Oro-Medonte, Gowland said spending time there helps her psychologically unwind from her private practice. "When I go there, I let down. My shoulders drop," she said. "You come back with a clear head and you make better decisions. You kind of reset."

Gowland, who has been friends with Crinnion for years, said she tries to plan her trips around when Bowles is teaching at the centre. "Bob is a great teacher," she said.

"One of his goals is to teach people what it is that's being destroyed, because often (people) don't realize that they're contributing to destroying nature. He teaches us how that river breaks back on us and how it's actually destroying ourselves in many ways when we harm animal and plant life."

Together with Bowles, a columnist for Simcoe.com and Orillia Today, the centre also participates in research into bird and butterfly populations each year.

A LIFELONG PASSION

Crinnion and Elmer have shared a lifelong passion for the environment, which carried over into their working lives.

Prior to opening the nature centre, they operated an off-grid resort in Killarney for 13 years. In 2017, they left the resort business and took over Crinnion's family property where they built the nature centre.

"We were ready to get out of the resort business," Crinnion said. "But it was extremely challenging (opening during the pandemic) ... In 2021, we began to organize events and workshops, but many of them were delayed or cancelled due to provincial restrictions."

That downtime gave Crinnion and Elmer an opportunity to better understand the land and the role they wanted the nature centre to play in the community.

"We live in a very competitive, stressful, busy world," Elmer said. "The

centre provides the opportunity for people to unplug from their busy worlds, and slow down enough to feel the physical and mental benefits of being in nature."

With the worst of the pandemic seemingly behind us, Crinnion and Elmer are planning an official open house this summer and hope to encourage community members to visit.

The group also hopes to continue to expand its programming, particularly for schoolchildren, but has not yet made any concrete agreements with local

schools.

"This is a great place for children to feel the freedom of the outdoors while learning something we hope will remain in their memories forever," Crinnion added.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Metroland Managing Editor Adam Martin-Robbins visited the Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre earlier this year and felt our readers would be interested to read about what its founders hope to impart to those who come for a visit or who participate in one of the programs being offered at the centre.