Whether you are a city slicker or an avid angler, the Bow Habitat Station Discovery Centre is a fun and informative attraction where the whole family can learn about Alberta’s water ecology. Centred around The Sam Livingston Fish Hatchery in Inglewood, one the largest indoor hatcheries in North America, interactive exhibits give visitors up-close views of fish species that inhabit Alberta’s rivers and lakes. The facility also gives visitors insight into the processes that can't always be directly observed, such as fish life cycles, the microbiology of Alberta's waterways and how it is we get clean water from our taps.
Visitor services and outreach co-ordinator Tamara UnRuh is one of five staff members, augmented by many volunteers, that run the Bow Habitat Station’s guided tours and interpretive programs. “It’s to get people to engage with parts of the world they may not be used to engaging with, like the outdoors, especially fish,” she explains as she leads the way between the wolf in the boreal forest exhibit and the giant trout model that overlooks the fish hatchery tanks. “It’s a provincial focus, and it all ties back to fish and aquatic habitats.”
Along with the Discovery Centre and the fish hatchery, there are two further components to the Bow Habitat Station Discovery Centre. Outside, it runs the Kids Can Catch Trout pond from mid-May until the end of October. As its name suggests, kids can rent fishing gear for a token amount and cast their lines in this trout-filled water. Adjacent to the pond, Pearce Estate Park Interpretive Wetlands features a self-guided walking tour through a simulated natural wetland. Interpretive displays explain its ecological characteristics and functions.
