On Sunday, I was able to enter one following the trail of deers and/or other mammals through cattails. As ice flows are slippery and can be very hazardous, I encourage you to stretch on a pair of ice claws over your boots. Snowshoes with claws would also be good, especially where the ice is occasionally thinner. If your boots aren’t waterproof, be prepared for slightly wet feet. But hopefully not! And don’t let this dissuade you. The experience is a wonderful treat, especially if you’re a non-urbanite urban-dweller like me.

While exploring, keep your eyes open for items that belong in a landfill or to be recycled. The frozen conditions make trash picking much simpler; and, depending on the wetland, safer for the often sensitive habitats and their animal species. So bring a bag and pack out some of the trash.

If you want to go an extra step, take note of any trash that’s too big to pack out at that time and contact your municipal parks department about organizing an event to remove the large items. Each municipality will handle the issue and your interest in organizing or supporting a cleanup differently. A good way to note the locations of large trash is to record the locations on a map using a GPS handheld. You might be able to develop quite a cache (to be depleted later, of course!).

And bring binoculars and a camera. But be sure to keep them separate from the trash!

An important safety note: If you’re considering exploring a wetland with a pond, do NOT walk on the ice. See the below photo I tookduring our walk on Sunday. It’s through cattails, which grow in very shallow waters. If the temperatures have been below zero for a few days, the spongey ground/pond bed should be frozen. Also, if there are ponds near where you’ll be exploring, bring a buddy (of the human species!). And if you’re a child, go with an adult or older youth. And tell your parent or guardian where you’re going and when you plan to be back.

On that note, find a nearby wetland, and enjoy yourself!

For information about World Wetlands Day 2013, go tohttp://www.ramsar.org/cda/en/ramsar-activities-wwds-wwd2013index/main/ramsar/1-63-78%5E25913_4000_0__

Friday, February 1: Six days following my visit with Leo on Sunday

We (Leo and I) took with us my daughter–and his ‘sister’– and a friend of hers. What a joy it was to have them with us!

Some of you may be familiar with a homeschooling concept called ‘unschooling.’ Judging by their laughter, questions, comments and overall explorative behaviour, I think this was unschooling at its best! If I didn’t have to get my daughter to school–she’s in junior kindergarten–the girls would have stayed into the afternoon; probably until their stomachs would have started growling (and their laughter and sharing would likely have turned to arguing, wining and…!) for lunch. How do I know? I was only during the return walk that I had to keep reminding them to keep coming. (I was largely catching up to them and Leo on the way in.) And my daughter’s friend wasn’t interested in taking my shortcut route, which was along the asphalt recreational trail (boring!). She was politely adamant that we should walk back the way we came, which was through the woods and wetland.

My daughter had to speed through lunch at her friend’s home; she was 20-minutes late for school; and I was seven minutes late for my meeting with A Rocha’s Conservation Science Team (I participated in the conference call from the parking lot at her school); but it was certainly well worth it!

In case you’re wondering: yes, I packed out some trash.