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WATCH: Ellis Bird Farm open for summer

There is something magical about the Ellis Bird Farm located outside of Red Deer.

There is something magical about the Ellis Bird Farm located outside of Red Deer.

That’s why people like Theresa Campbell from Red Deer keep coming back every summer. On opening day Sunday, Campbell was at the sanctuary with her two daughters: Grace and Jordan.

“We were just saying you can’t help but feel happy when you’re here,” said Theresa, recalling a conversation with her daughters.

“We just come here and feel like we’re out of the city for a little while, and you feel like you’re part of nature when you’re out here.”

Dozens came out to the farm’s opening day and enjoyed a day outdoors – some with their cameras.

Myrna Pearman, biologist and site services manager at Ellis Bird Farm, said about 15,000 visitors stopped at the bird farm last summer – a record number for the sanctuary.

She said people visit because the site is “beautiful, peaceful, serene, authentic and has elements of history and modern technology.”

The gardens, for example, are designed for biodiversity – without use of any pesticides or chemicals.

“We don’t have to go to Africa to see amazing things. We have beauty right in our own backyard.”

Infrastructure additions to the sanctuary this summer include installation of two new benches made from trees on the farm.

“We had a huge windstorm on May 25, (2017), and several of the beautiful old trees planted in the 1950s blew over, so we saved the trees and transformed them into these benches,” she said.

Pearman said the picnic area at the farm will have a new arbour to allow visitors to relax in the shade. The circle deck, which was built last year, will have a cover over it. The deck was built to honour Indigenous history.

New programs this summer include a speaker series with scientists, who will talk to the public about birds nesting in the area such as tree swallows and purple martins.

The biologist said most visitors who come to the Ellis Bird Farm are from Central Alberta and others from Edmonton and Calgary areas. She said local residents also bring in friends and family visiting from other provinces.

She said the sanctuary is popular among all ages including children who like to explore nature and can do so in a safe environment.

Ellis Bird Farm is open for the summer season between 11 to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday and holiday Mondays.



mamta.lulla@reddeeradvocate.com

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Photo by MAMTA LULLA/Advocate staff Theresa Campbell, and her daughters, Jordan (middle) and Grace, from Red Deer were at the Ellis Bird Farm on opening day Sunday. The family visits the sanctuary every summer.
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Photo by Mamta Lulla/Advocate staff Queenie Wai, a Calgary resident, was at the Ellis Bird Farm on opening day, Sunday.
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Myrna Pearman, biologist and site services manager at Ellis Bird Farm, said about 15,000 visitors stopped at the bird farm last summer – a record number for the sanctuary. The site opened Sunday for summer this year. Photo by Mamta Lulla/Advocate staff
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Debbie (left) and Lyle (right) Skogberg along with Shirley Lievers (middle) were at the Ellis Bird Farm on opening day Sunday. The trio was visiting the sanctuary from Lacombe. Photo by Mamta Lulla/Advocate staff