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Baxter Outdoor and Environmental Education Programs

Baxter Conservation Area offers outdoor and environmental education programs for students and community groups from preschool to grade 12 and beyond. Join us in our outdoor classroom and give your students the opportunity to explore and connect with nature. Our education programs provide students and visitors with interactive, hands-on, curriculum-based experiences where they will learn about the natural world and their relationship with it. We also offer outdoor education programs where students will learn navigation and outdoor survival skills as well.  

Baxter can accommodate up to 60 students per day. All equipment is included in our programs and each program runs approximately 1.5 hours in length. Below please find descriptions of each of the programs we offer. Descriptions are offered as general guidelines — if there are specific objectives that you would like to accomplish, please let us know. Although grade levels are recommended for each program, these are also only guidelines. Please select any desired fields to narrow your search.

Half Day Program $200 / group * maximum 30 students, 90 minutes with an RVCA instructor
Full Day Program $275 / group * maximum 30 students, two 90 minutes with an RVCA instructor
Self-directed $2.50/person * Interested in just visiting the conservation area with your class but not booking a program? The cost is $2.50/person. This does not include the use of buildings other than access to public washrooms. To reserve facilities, contact staff. Staff must still be contacted to book a self-directed visit.
Overnight Tent Camping (accommodations only) 1-15 people - $75/night *
16-30 people - $150/night *
30+ people - contact for pricing *
Additional buildings also available for rent (link to facility rentals) 
Take you class on an overnight adventure to our group camping area! Plan your own activities or book our education staff to provide programming during your stay (see above for pricing).

* plus applicable taxes

Baxter’s Cancellation Policy: A minimum of fifteen (15) business days notice is required to cancel education programs at Baxter Conservation Area.
This policy gives schools/groups on our waiting list sufficient time to try and fill the program opening. If Baxter Conservation Area is notified of a cancellation less than 15 business days in advance of your scheduled visit, a cancellation fee of $50.00 will be charged.

In the event of severe weather conditions (i.e. thunderstorms, snowstorms, etc.), Baxter staff will make contact with your school/group by 7:00 AM the morning of your trip if we need to re-schedule or cancel the program on that day. There will be no charge for a cancellation made due to school bus cancellations or severe weather conditions on the day of your trip.

Baxter Education Program Descriptions

(WCS-LW - 4/2021) Sept. 8, 2021 —The Rideau Valley Water Response Team is maintaining a MINOR low water status for the Rideau River watershed after officials met to discuss conditions on Wed. Sept. 8. This low water status is a result of a warm and dry August. The August Weather Summary prepared by Environment and Climate Change Canada indicates that the average temperature at the Ottawa Airport was 2.4 °Celcius above normal and the monthly precipitation total was 57 percent of normal. Watershed residents and businesses are encouraged to voluntarily reduce their water usage by 10 percent. This is especially important for those who…
WOLFE LAKE, Aug. 31, 2021 – If he’s being honest, Gordon Moore is looking forward to getting back to normal.  Before the pandemic, the Wolfe Lake Association’s water quality director had a pretty good gig with the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority: about once a month, RVCA staff showed up with their equipment and he drove them around the lake in his pontoon boat so they could collect their samples.  RVCA staff did all the work, while he enjoyed a day on the water with pleasant company and some interesting conversations. These days, it’s a different story. With the spring’s COVID-19…
CROW LAKE, Sept. 7, 2021 – A new plaque at Meisel Woods Conservation Area pays homage to one of the park’s earliest and most earnest caretakers: Joe Slater.  Joe and his wife Sandi moved to the village of Crow Lake around 1999 to enjoy a quiet retirement outside the big city. They quickly became good friends with their neighbour, Dr. John Meisel, who owned 130 acres of pristine Precambrian Shield surrounding a small lake. John graciously welcomed the couple to enjoy walks on his informal trails that followed the lake (called Bass or Beaver Lake depending who you ask), which they…
Nature for All planking on $25,000 for Baxter bridge project — Plank by plank, together we can bridge the gap in accessibility at Baxter Conservation Area. Nature For All has launched its public Plank by Plank campaign to raise $25,000 for the 1,000 wooden planks required to build a new boardwalk and bridge at Baxter — read this story and more, click here. If you enjoyed this story, why not read the rest of the Around the Rideau newsletter, or better yet, subscibe and the next edition will be waiting for you in your inbox! Subscribe here. 

ATR — July-August 2021

(WCS-LW - 3/2021) August 10, 2021 – Despite recent rain, the Rideau Valley Water Response Team is maintaining a MINOR low water status for the Rideau River watershed after officials met to discuss conditions on Tuesday, August 10. Watershed residents and businesses are encouraged to continue to voluntarily reduce their water usage by 10 percent. This is especially important for those who have permits for taking water from surface or groundwater sources and all residents on private, communal or municipal wells. There is less of a concern for residents of urban Ottawa because the City of Ottawa central drinking water system draws from the…
PERTH WILDLIFE RESERVE, July 26, 2021 – “Being outside and listening to the birds, you’re working in the garden and it’s just a really healthy place to be.” That’s as peaceful as a job description can get, and volunteer gardener Karen Hunt hopes it will attract new, young volunteers just as her group’s garden has attracted all manner of birds, bees and butterflies over the past 15 years.  Karen is one of a dozen core volunteers who have been nurturing the butterfly garden at Perth Wildlife Reserve since it was installed at the conservation area in 2005. It began as an…
(WCS-LW - 2/2021) July 6, 2021 — The Rideau Valley Low Water Response Team is maintaining a MINOR low water status for the Rideau River watershed after officials met to discuss dry conditions on Tuesday, July 6. Watershed residents and businesses are encouraged to continue to voluntarily reduce their water usage by 10 percent. This is especially important for those who have permits for taking water from surface or groundwater sources and all residents on private, communal or municipal wells. There is less of a concern for residents of urban Ottawa because the City of Ottawa central drinking water system draws from…

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Contact Us

Address:
Rideau Valley Conservation Authority
3889 Rideau Valley Drive
Manotick, Ontario K4M 1A5

Phone:
613-692-3571, 1-800-267-3504

Email:

Hours:

Regular Hours: Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Member of: conservation ontario