Funds flowing at Ecomuseum

More and more visitors each year

Close to 98,000 people visited the Ecomuseum during the past year, 40,000 of which were school children who came to learn about animal and plant species they may encounter in their own backyards.

More than 115 of Quebec’s indigenous animal groups can be spotted at the park.

Strolling along well maintained, dirt covered walkways visitors can watch a porcupine as it looks right back at them from a lofty branch perched in an open air pen. There are playful otters cavorting between rocky terrain and a natural pool; there are wild turkeys, coyotes, wolves, foxes, bears and owls, to name just a few.

Many of the animals that live at the Ecomuseum have been orphaned or injured and can’t be released, noted Rodrigue, adding that the wild creatures are “ambassadors for their species.”

All animal pens and enclosures resemble natural settings as much as possible and as a result a visit to the park feels something like taking a walk in the woods.

Many families extend the feeling by picnicking in an area provided just outside of the main entrance.

Forward thinking founders

When it was first opened in 1988 by the St. Lawrence Valley Natural History Society, the Ecomuseum’s primary purpose was to teach kids how to preserve and conserve the natural world around them.

It was hoped the outreach would affect generations to come.

Visitors are not only able to watch animals, but in may cases, to interact with them as well.

School groups participate in bilingual education programs where they can touch or hold various critters, and many times entire groups spend the night at the Ecomuseum.

Public groups and seniors can also participate in the same programs.

The Ecomuseum is located at 21125 Ste. Marie Rd, in Ste. Anne de Bellevue. For information call 514-457-9449, or go to www.ecomuseum.ca