Thank you to everyone who participated in the Wild Thing educational program with SSJI. If you have any questions, please direct them to our outdoor educator, Cheryl Chapman. Stay tuned for more Wild Thing activities and events. Check our Facebook or Instagram for updates, and subscribe to our mailing list to get notifications here.

Past activities

Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area

Thanks to a grant from the Canadian Wildlife Service, we were able to offer FREE half-day guided tours of Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area (PEP NWA). 

The half-day tour included:

• small group experience - min 4 max 6 people per tour,
• free return transportation to the Wildlife Area by County Tasting Tours van, a licensed tour company,
• 1 1/2 hour guided, easy walk on well-prepared trails.

Thank you so very much for the wonderful walking tour of the Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area. Your knowledge and patience have given us the confidence to begin hiking again and explore all the natural beauty that Prince Edward County has to offer. 

(December 2023 Wild Thing Tour participant)

Since 2018, the South Shore Joint Initiative (SSJI) has been working to educate and inform the public about the ecology, natural history, and heritage of the South Shore through South Shore Strolls, webinars, and annual clean-up events. SSJI has held two Monarch Day events at the Hudgin House on Ostrander Point Road near the Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area (NWA). In 2022 SSJI held Create the Future of our South Shore, a conference to engage the public in our work. Our Wild Thing projects in 2022 and 2023 have introduced school children and  the public to wetland creatures and Monarch butterflies. We worked with Nature Canada and the Local Recreation Outreach Centre to prepare art for the Nature Bus project associated with COP 15 in Montreal.

The National Wildlife Area (NWA)  is located at the eastern end of the Long Point peninsula, about a 30-minute drive from Picton. It consists of 546 hectares (ha) of forest, grassland, and wetland habitats. Most of the lands within the NWA are undergoing natural succession from former pasture to a mix of shrublands and successional woodlands. Well-developed walking trails are accessible from Long Point Road.

SSJI is partnering with the Canadian Wildlife Service to introduce the NWA to a new group of visitors. Our new Wild Thing program aims to introduce new people to the NWA who would not normally visit the NWA due to lack of transportation, funds, information, or accessibility issues.