Sunday, 26 June 2016, 8:45 AM to 5:30 PM
Led by Dr. John Lehr
Cost: $72 per person for MHS members and $78 per person for non-members.
Tour includes: travel by washroom-equipped, air-conditioned bus, lunch, guided tour of the Tall Grass Prairie Reserve, admission to the Gardenton Ukrainian Museum and St. Michael’s Church National Historic Site and all taxes and gratuities.
This one-day tour will first visit the largest surviving remnant of the tall grass prairie – of which barely 0.5% still survives. A botanist will lead the group on an easy one mile stroll through the reserve and explain its fascinating ecology and history. For those who prefer a shorter walk a second group will explore the area closer to the bus. The rare Western Prairie Fringed Orchid usually blooms in late June and early July so there is a good chance we will able to see this beautiful plant. After leaving the Reserve, a short drive takes us to the Ukrainian Museum in Gardenton, where a lunch of traditional Ukrainian food will be served. After lunch there will be a guided tour of the Museum’s outdoor and indoor exhibits, followed by visits to St. Michael’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church National Historic Site (1899); the more modern (1935) St. Michael’s Orthodox Church in Gardenton, and the nearby Gardenton pony-truss timber bridge, the last of its type in Manitoba and a municipal historic site. The tour will return to Grant Park Shopping Centre by 5:30 PM.
To reserve your place please contact the MHS office at (204) 947-0559, email info@mhs.mb.ca or mail Manitoba Historical Society, 710A Richardson Building, 1 Lombard Ave., Winnipeg MB R3B 0X3.
John is a retired Professor of Historical Geography at the University of Winnipeg, specializing in Ukrainian settlement in western Canada and South America, communal settlements in Canada and Israel, and provincial parks in Manitoba.
He was President of the Manitoba Historical Society from 1998 to 2000, and he has organized numerous popular and informative field trips for the society.
Ed is a retired Municipal Heritage Consultant, formerly employed with the Historic Resources Branch of the Manitoba Department of Tourism, Culture, Heritage, Sport, and Consumer Protection. He has done historical research on a wide range of subjects, including settlement in the Interlake region of Manitoba. He served as a consultant on a recent television documentary about steamboats on the Red River during the 19th century.
Page revised: 8 January 2016
