Wildlife Society Trip to the Biodome

Pictured Above: From left to right, back- Sarah LaLumiere, Mikayla Krahl, Ashley Hodge, Jordan Clymer, Cody Sears. Front: Sara Savoia, Weston Schloss. Taking the photo is Brian McAllister.

On April 10th, I had the pleasure of joining a group of students from the Paul Smith’s Wildlife Society on a trip to the Montreal Biodome, Botanical Garden, and Insectarium in Montreal, Quebec. We spent the morning going through the different biomes in the Biodome (formerly the Olympic center) looking at and taking photos of sloths, exotic birds, interesting fish and amphibians, some more familiar fauna such as our school mascot, and penguins. After a relaxing lunch in the Biodome cafeteria, we made our way across the street to the Insectarium, and perused various insects both alive and preserved, exotic and familiar. Jordan even got to hold a massive stick-bug! Once we’d had our fill of insects, we made our way to the indoor Botanical garden. There, our senses were in for a treat. The group wandered through rooms containing interesting trees (personal favorite: the coffee tree), massive ferns, giant pitcher plants, cacti, century-old bonzai trees, and finally the butterfly sanctuary. While crowded, it was a lot of fun, and several members of the group had close encounters with the butterflies. By then it was late afternoon, and we were all getting a little tired from the walking, so we hit the gift shop and headed home. We all had an awesome time visiting the Biodome, and getting to know those in the group we hadn’t met. A big thank you to Brian McAllister for being our driver, as well as our tour guide!