Jodi Goerzen with Hanover staff and trustees

The Tourond Creek Discovery Centre is taking shape. It is located at the former Kleefeld landfill site along Highway #52.

Jodi Goerzen, project manager with the Seine/Rat River Conservation District says they are working together with the RM of Hanover and the Hanover School

Division to develop an outdoor classroom. She explains, "They (RM of Hanover) have this land that they can't really do much with because it's an old landfill site and it's been capped. So, they approached the Seine/Rat River Conservation District in partnership with the Hanover School Division. And what we're all working together on is putting together a discovery centre where teachers can bring their students to learn about outdoor education in a real life setting." Goerzen adds the site includes ecosystems such as wetlands, prairie bluffs, aspen forests and grasslands which are good for the study of things like biodiversity and habitats.

Hanover school superintendent Ken Klassen, along with principals and trustees, spent time at the site this week to help develop walking trails. He is excited about the facility noting, "We've all banded together in order to share a vision here for reclaiming a site. Our division is very interested right now in education for a sustainable future and this fits right into that."

Klassen says details of the curriculum are being worked out and the Tourond Creek Discovery Centre promises to be a tremendous educational asset for the division. He adds, "We don't know the details yet. The site is in the very early stages. But, by working together and by getting out on the site together and getting feedback, I think the vision will be developed and will become a reality."