Field Trips | Beepeg

Brokenhead

Important Dates

Conference Field Trips, June 11, 2023

Seven field trips are planned for Sunday June 11. Click on the following for a description of the trip, photos, price, and time. We also include a few options to explore on your own.

Outside Winnipeg

Within Winnipeg

History of The Forks
Exploring on your own

Day trips out of Winnipeg

Brokenhead Wetland Interpretive trail

The Brokenhead Interpretive trail is located about 90 km north of Winnipeg. This wheelchair accessible boardwalk is 2 km in length, and winds through a calcareous fen and cedar swamp. The boardwalk was created by the Brokenhead Nation and Native Orchid Conservation Inc. The area is a provincial Ecological Reserve and is part of the Brokenhead Ojibway Nation. There are 28 species of native orchid species in the area, many of which should be in flower at the time of the trip. There are numerous species indicative of nutrient-poor wetlands, including eight species of carnivorous plants. We will meet with Knowledge Keepers from the Brokenhead Nation, who will provide us with male, female, and 2S teachings on the importance of the land. Field trip participants will be broken into groups and we will conduct a bio-blitz of the plants in the area, compiling a species list, including Anishinaabemowin names and uses of the species. Data from the field trip will be archived on iNaturalist. To make your excursion as enjoyable as possible, remember to bring proper walking shoes (be prepared for damp conditions), hat, and a small daypack with sunscreen and water. Also, note that spring is tick and mosquito season, and poison ivy occurs along some trail sections. Please make sure that you protect yourself accordingly. A box lunch will be provided.

Time: 9:00AM to 5:00PM

Cost: $60

Pickup: A bus will start to pick people up at the conference hotels in the following order: Fort Garry (9:00), Humphry Inn (~9:10), and McFeetors Hall (~9:20). If you are not staying at one of those three places, please ensure that you are either at Fort Garry Hotel (by 9:00) or McFeetors Hall (by 9:15) to meet the bus. A member of the local organizing committee will provide more details by email in late May.

Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve (Full)

The Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve (TGPP) is one of Manitoba’s most significant natural areas protecting over 5,000 hectares of tallgrass prairie, aspen woodland, oak savannah, and sedge and shrub wetlands. Over 1,000 species have been recorded within this area including a number of species at risk. We will begin our trip at the Weston Family Tallgrass Prairie Interpretive Centre, where we will receive an overview of the ecological significance of the region that is now the TGPP, as well as the organizations that help protect and manage this unique natural area. From there, we will head to the Prairie Shore and Agassiz interpretive trails where we will experience the Preserve’s many diverse habitats. Small white lady’s slippers should be in full flower at this time of year. Sedge Wren, LeConte’s Sparrow, Bobolink, and Sandhill Crane, amongst a number of bird species, are also possibilities to see on this trip. To make your excursion as enjoyable as possible, remember to bring proper walking shoes (be prepared for damp conditions), hat, and a small daypack with sunscreen and water. Also, note that spring is tick and mosquito season, and poison ivy occurs along some trail sections. Please make sure that you protect yourself accordingly. A box lunch will be provided.

Time: 8:30AM to 5:00PM

Cost: $70

Pickup: A bus will start to pick people up at the conference hotels in the following order: Fort Garry (8:30), Humphry Inn (~8:40), and McFeetors Hall (~8:50). If you are not staying at one of those three places, please ensure that you are either at Fort Garry Hotel (by 8:30) or McFeetors Hall (by 8:45) to meet the bus. A member of the local organizing committee will provide more details by email in late May.

Spruce Woods Provincial Park and the Spirit Sands Trail (FULL)

Located ca. 200km SW of Winnipeg, Spruce Woods Provincial Park is one of Manitoba’s most spectacular and eclectic landscapes, characterized by open and stabilized sand dunes, mixed

grass prairies, wetlands, and spruce and deciduous forests. We will begin our trip by walking a scenic portion of the Spirit Sands trail. Dune ladders will help us traverse the steepest sections of the trail and will lead us to an observation platform offering spectacular views of the desert-like landscape. The rolling dunes along the trail are home to a unique assemblage of plants and animals, including species at risk such as hairy prairie clover, pincushion cactus, blowout tiger beetle, and northern prairie skink. A diverse late spring flora, and a variety of breeding birds, will be seen along the trail. If time permits, we will explore the varied landscape along the Isputinaw Trail. Over its short distance, this trail passes through wetlands, deciduous forest, and mixed grass prairie and offers great views of the Park’s rolling landscape.

To make your trip as enjoyable as possible, remember to bring proper walking shoes, hat, and a daypack with sunscreen, water, and dust and sand protective cases/lens covers for your camera and binoculars. Also, note that spring is tick season, and poison ivy occurs along some trail sections. Make sure that you protect yourself accordingly. A box lunch will be provided. Finally, please keep in mind that this is a full day trip so we may not be back in Winnipeg until after 6:00PM.

Time: 8:30AM to 6:00PM

Cost: $90

Tours within Winnipeg

History of The Forks

Participants will learn about the rich history of The Forks through a Parks Canada Interpretive Tour "Where Our Stories Meet" that recounts the histories of the First Nations who traded at The Forks for millennia, details the arrival of outsiders who charted this territory for Europe, and tells the story of the Métis Nation, which shaped what would ultimately become Manitoba during the fur trade era. Participants will then engage in a Parks Canada-led "Stories and Legends" workshop, designed to provide insight into Indigenous worldviews, history and community values.

Designed to offer a low-cost, local and flexible alternative to our other field-trip offerings, registrants will be expected to make their own way to The Forks and back to their place of accommodation by walking, cycling or using transit, and will be responsible for providing their own lunch and snacks. Our meeting place is within 800 m of The Fort Garry Hotel and the Humphry Inn, where many delegates will stay.

Time: 10:00AM to 12:00PM, and as long as you wish to explore afterward

Cost: $15

Meeting Place: A Parks Canada guide will meet you at Travel Manitoba, which is easy to find because it has a door facing outside in the cluster of buildings at the Forks market. The guide will meet you outside, but there will be staff inside if you need assistance.

Lunch at the Forks: Drop In (12 to 2 pm)

People who take the morning Forks field trip and other interested conference attendees are invited to meet at The Common at The Forks, a relaxing venue at the Junction of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, where you can find many inexpensive and tasty food options to purchase for lunch (many beverage options too). This is a great place to meet other people attending the conference.

A few CSEE-CBA volunteers will be waiting for you by 12 noon at tables that will be readily identifiable (e.g., a CSEE-CBA 2023 or #beepeg2023 sign or random biological paraphernalia). We will try to save tables outdoors on the Market Plaza (west) side of the Forks, weather permitting, indoors if not.

Following lunch, you may want to explore the Forks including a visit to the Manitoba Children's Museum, shopping in the boutique retail stores or the antique market that populate The Forks Market and Johnston Terminal, taking a Parks Canada self-guided tour that focuses further on Indigenous connections to The Forks, visiting the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, or the nearby Saint Boniface Museum, or simply enjoying a Manitoba summer's day at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine rivers the way Winnipegers do! Alternatively, you can wander over to the Historic Exchange District or to the Winnipeg Art Gallery / Quamajuq Inuit Gallery, which has a “free second Sunday” admission on June 11.

Exploring on your own

Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) / Qaumajuq

Time: Anytime between 11:00AM to 5:00PM (gallery’s open hours)

Cost: Free (“Canada Life Free Second Sundays”)

On Sunday June 11, everyone can enter the WAG / Qaumajuq Inuit Art Gallery during the daytime for free (“Canada Life Free Second Sundays”). This provides a tremendous opportunity to explore both the WAG and Qaumajuq galleries before the evening conference opening reception in the foyer. The WAG is a short walk (500-1000 m) from all conference lodging and the Convention Centre.

As per the website, “WAG-Qaumajuq features an impressive collection of over 27,000 artworks spanning centuries, cultures, and media, including the largest public collection of contemporary Inuit art in the world”. Qamajuq is a new (2021) architectural landmark in Winnipeg that connects to the WAG. During your visit, Qaumajuq will feature the Sanaugangit (“art by Inuit”) Exhibition, which will celebrate Inuit art from approximately 200 BCE until the present day. By focusing on highlights from many regions and communities.

Want to visit later in the week? Conference attendees can enter the WAG / Qaumajuq anytime between June 9th and June 16th for $10 at the door, using a link you will receive when registering for the conference to obtain this conference-specific discount (although Sunday will be free!). Indigenous persons can enter WAG / Qaumajuq at no charge whenever these are open. All people between 18-25 in age who are residents of Manitoba can enter the WAG / Qaumajuq for free if they apply for membership at the front desk.

Canadian Museum for Human Rights

Time: Anytime between 10:00AM to 5:00PM (Museum’s opening hours)

Cost: $10 with conference specific discount; Indigenous persons enter at no charge.

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) is another new (2014) architectural landmark and “must see” in Winnipeg. It is worth a short visit simply to see the interior of the building, although we strongly recommend that you make time to explore the contents. CMHR has a combination of permanent and temporary exhibits that focus on human rights in Canada and worldwide. One can spend several hours in the CMHR, but even two hours is worthwhile to see the interior with its 800 metres of criss-crossing alabaster ramps, the 100 m high glass Tower of Hope, and a few Exhibits.

Conference attendees can enter the CMHR anytime between June 9th and June 16th for $10 at the door, using a link you will receive when registering for the conference to obtain this conference-specific discount. Indigenous persons can enter WAG / Qaumajuq and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights at no charge whenever these are open. We will hold the Public Plenary at CMHR on June 12 evening, but you will not be able to enter the galleries that evening.

CMHR is a short walk from The Forks market (<500 m), from the Fort Garry Hotel, and from the Humphry Inn (<650 m).

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15 novembre au 15 janvier

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16 février au 10 avril

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16 février au 10 avril

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11 au 14 juin 2023

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