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Kerry Wood Nature Centre

Edgar Allardyce "Kerry" Wood came to Red Deer in 1918 as a youngster from New York. He spent his free moments wandering through the sanctuary, looking at and learning from the wildlife he encountered. His endless amount of questions were answered by friendly librarians, by the native people he met in his wanderings and by friends in the Alberta Natural History Society.

In his mid-teens, Kerry Wood decided to stay in Red Deer and make his own way as a writer while his parents moved to British Columbia. His first winter was a lean one, surviving upon fish he could catch in the river, animals he could snare, edible wild plants and gifts from friends. The hardships of that winter, his experiences as a scout and scout leader and his many years as the volunteer warden for the Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary provided Kerry Wood with the stories that he wrote on paper. During his career, Kerry Wood wrote 6,200 short stories, 8,000 articles, 9,000 newspaper columns and hundreds of television and radio programs.

The Waskasoo Park Interpretive Program operates the city- and district-wide interpretive and environmental education program. This includes managing the Kerry Wood Nature Centre, Historic Fort Normandeau, Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary and the Allen Bungalow - an Alberta Registered Historic Resource. The Nature Centre is located at 6300 - 45 Avenue in Red Deer. For more information on the Nature Centre and its programs you can reach them by phone (403)346-2010, fax 403 347-2550, or online through its website or via email at kwnc@telusplanet.net. The Kerry Wood Nature Centre is open year-round, closing only on Christmas day.

Kerry Wood is still a writer, conservationist and an educator. Although he and his wife Marjorie are now retired, his stories live on in 24 books and numerous children's readers. In 1990, Kerry Wood was honoured with the Order of Canada presented to him at the Kerry Wood Nature Centre in Red Deer.

To learn about other interesting areas in the Parkland region of Alberta click here.

The Kerry Wood Nature Centre

The Kerry Wood Nature Centre