Photo: Sarah Crookall

Osoyoos Desert Centre reopens on April 26.

The Osoyoos Desert Centre is warming up to reopen Saturday, showcasing 27 hectares of Canada's rare desert ecosystem.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., visitors can once-again tour 1.5 kilometres of an accessible boardwalk, looping through the habitat.

“We’re thrilled to offer people the opportunity to connect with this remarkable natural environment,” said Jayme Friedt, ODC executive director, in a media release.

“At first glance, our desert habitat might seem like just a dry dormant place but look a little closer and you’ll discover an incredible amount of life happening.

"People are always amazed to learn about the variety of species that thrive here — amphibians like the Great Basin Spadefoot, Behr’s Hairstreak butterflies, Nuttall’s Cottontail rabbits and Western Bluebirds. And of course, our unique plant life, like the antelope-brush itself and the prickly pear cactus—Canada’s only native cactus—are also very impressive.”

The boardwalk tour has educational stations along the way to learn more about Osoyoos natural environment. Additionally, the ODC's plant garden showcases local flora, and the interpretive building features hands-on displays.

“This spring we’ve been working on upgrading our parking area and pathways to improve accessibility at ODC. We are pleased to offer [two] new accessible parking stalls and improved parking area access to our interpretive building. In addition, our native plant garden pathway has been resurfaced with crush gravel making it now completely accessible,” continues Friedt.

Workshops will soon the hosted at the centre, including a Mason Bee house building workshop on May 18. Additionally, ODC will continue its speaker series "Nature Talks" in June.

For more information about the ODC, click here.