August 5-8 is Interpretation Week in provincial parks and natural areas  

Tom Osborne, the Minister of Environment and Conservation, today announced that the department�s Parks and Natural Areas Division will be celebrating its annual Interpretation Week in various parks and reserves throughout the province August 5 � 8.  Interpretation Week is held each season to celebrate a nature theme, such as unique flora, fauna or an interesting event or phenomenon of nature.  This year�s theme is Wild About Wildflowers.   

�Flowers tell great stories,� said Minister Osborne. �When you begin to know about the wide range of rare and common wildflowers of Newfoundland and Labrador you will discover a wonderful world of beauty and the secrets of nature.  Indeed, everything in nature, including humans and wildlife, have interesting relationships with flowers and plants.�  

The minister noted that Newfoundland has 40 species of beautiful orchids that have been identified to date.  Scientists, wildflower enthusiasts and the public are still discovering and identifying new plants in the province.  Like bird watching, Newfoundland and Labrador is increasingly becoming a wildflower enthusiast�s paradise.  

Minister Osborne said Newfoundland and Labrador has an interesting natural history of plants and wildflowers, which is shaped by glaciation, our unique coastal climate, terrain and soil. �We have several botanical ecological reserves which are protected for their unique plants,� he added. �The Burnt Cape Ecological reserve on the Great Northern Peninsula , for example, is protected for its arctic alpine plants, of which over 30 species are known to be rare. Here, interpreters give daily guided tours to visitors.�  

Interpretation Week activities this year will take place at Butter Pot, La Manche, Lockston Path, Notre Dame, Barachois Pond, and J.T. Cheeseman provincial parks and at two ecological reserves, Burnt Cape and Cape St. Mary�s.  The public can participate in a variety of environmental activities by joining the park and reserve interpreters for an informative guided wildflower hike, a campfire amphitheatre program, or for a nature craft program.  

Minister Osborne said interpretation programs play an important role in the Newfoundland and Labrador �s provincial parks and natural areas system. �The programs create an awareness, excitement, education and knowledge about our natural and cultural history. Through these programs we hope to enrich the nature experience for both our residents and visitors.�  

For interpretation program schedules, please contact each interpreter at their respective park/ reserve as listed below, or call Geoff Bailey at the Parks and Natural Areas Division at (709) 635-4531 .   

 Media contact:  Sonia Glover, Communications (709) 729-2575 , 685-6612