CPCC nature walk series underway as group expands in-person programming

By Rob Paul

Throughout the pandemic, Caledon Parent-Child Centre (CPCC) has been focused on helping child development through virtual programming.

Now, as things have opened up for the summer, they've been moving forward with in-person programming.

As part of the return to in-person programming, CPCC has begun hosting a rotating nature walk series in Caledon parks on Mondays in August. The first walk took place August 16 at Bolton Camp and the second walk August 23 in Southfields at Newhouse Park.

The final walk will be Monday, August 30 at Caledon East Park and CPCC Manager of Community Relations and Volunteers Shelly Ives says the walk's success is due in part to the Toronto Region Conservation Authority. 

“It's a joint project between ourselves and the TRCA, and we've been partnering with them on and off for quite some time—especially with COVID—they did a wonderful program called the forgetful elves back in December and we were one of the community organizations that worked with them,” she said. “When we started to do our outdoor programs in the park, we reached out to them and put our heads together and came up with the idea of doing these nature walks with the moms in the area.

“We picked three locations and decided we would do them on Mondays in August. We set it up so that we're sort of sharing the planning and responsibility for the event. We do the registration and anybody who registers through the TRCA site is sent to us and we do all the COVID screenings in advance. Then the families meet us there and TRCA leads the walk, and our staff accompany them. When we get back our staff does a story time and sings some songs before the end of the walk.”

With the pandemic slowing summer activities for kids, the nature walk has been able to provide them with the chance to get out of the house into new places and learn about the environment while having some fun. 

“It's been going very well,” she said. “The first walk we had a full house and we've had a lot of interest and a lot of people trying to get involved. Families who went the first week have been calling to come again. It's been a great opportunity for them to see different stuff, most of the families know the parks nearby their houses, but Bolton Camp isn't somewhere you go everyday—it's a bit of a different environment. 

“And, the TRCA staff has been wonderful. They're really good at pointing out little things that are happening in the environment and nature, so it's great from that perspective as well. It gives the little guys the chance to learn. We've been very fortunate with the weather too. We will definitely be talking with TRCA after we're finished with this series and talking with them about other ways, we can collaborate on things like this.”

Being able to get back to in-person programming has been a big boost to moral and Ives knows families have been really appreciative of the opportunity to get their kids involved in activities again.  

“The families are really enjoying it and staff is too,” she said. “We're so grateful to be back in touch with the families and to be able to actually see them in person. Every summer we usually do park programs; this year instead of the park, we have our new site in Caledon East and our new site in Southfield, so we're doing outdoor programs there. We're also doing outdoor programs at Dick's Dam once a week. We've been really enjoying seeing families there too and we hope to continue to do that as long as the weather holds into the fall.”

Although it wasn't ideal circumstances, the pivot to virtual programming has accelerated CPCC's plans to add an online option and that will continue even as they increase the in-person programming to the level it was at pre-pandemic. 

“Our biggest challenge early on—going back to last summer—was transitioning in-person programming into a virtual and online format,” she said. “Now we've got that going nicely and we'll continue with that. We always had planned to do virtual programming, just the pandemic brought it on a little sooner. We're hoping in September that we'll be able to transition back into indoor programs as well, in a very careful way. We don't have a date yet, but that's coming down the road. Virtual will keep going though for a couple reasons, because we always planned it and now that it's going, why would we stop it? It's great for families that maybe have a new baby and the schedule is tougher, they can always pop on.” 

The next step in the process of returning to normal is getting back to indoor programming, says Ives, and though there's no set date for when that will happen, she thinks it will be sooner rather than later.

“We've talked to a lot of families who are really excited to get back to indoor programming so we're really working hard to get that going again as well,” she said. “Right now, it's about balance, we all want to get back to indoor programming, but we need to make sure that everybody is safe. But we can see light at the end of that very long tunnel now.”

Now with CPCC revving up its programming, Ives encourages families in the area to connect with them and take advantage of what they have to offer.

“If families are interested in learning more about our programming and what we're doing they can always visit our website (www.cp-cc.org),” she said. “We have a calendar up there that always lets people know what's going on, or they can call the Centre and speak with someone. And if they're experiencing parenting challenges or looking for services in the community, they can always call us at the Centre (905-857-0090).”