Cambridge Things to Do

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Park first opened the gates to the public in 1969 with 40 lions in 3 reserves; today the park houses in excess of 1000 animals of over 100 species. After 35 years they have been successful with breeding 30 species that are considered endangered, and 20 or more species that are considered threatened. The original idea of "maintaining self-sustaining populations of species in decline" is still their priority.

MY favourite thing about Cambridge, Ontario is it's beauty. Old stone and cobbled buildings, the Grand River and friendly downtown shops. With many walking trails and parks to choose from - Churchill Park is among the charm.

Located on Hwy 24 as you begin to leave Cambridge, towards the town of Paris and the City of Brantford - Churchill Park offers family fun with a large playground equiptment area,a quaint pond with year-round Mallard Ducks and the occasional deer sighting.

The cities second largest park, Churchill also has washrooms, sports fields, picnic facilites and limited camping. 2004 will also welcome the Cambridge Highland Games on July 17th.

The Cambridge Highland Games are a combination of pipe bands, heavy events, highland dancing, Scottish cuisine, a marketplace for you to purchase Scottish items and so much more. Other events range from clan tents, musical events, food, and tug-of-war competitions. Follow the website for more, detailed info.

The Paris-Cambridge rail trail is located just accross the highway, so bring your bike,water and picnic lunch to make a day of it. There is no fee to get into the park (there may be on July 17th) and hours are usually sun up to sun down. Most public parks in Ontario have these hours, with a maximum 10pm boot-out time.

After you've visited the butterflies it's nice to take a walk on this nature trail that starts right beside the greenhouse. I didn't do the hike because it is still so early in the season and there isn't so much to see there now. But next time I'll certainly will! It looks like a lovely trail to walk on a nice sunny day!

Like I already said, it's not allowed to touch the butterflies, but sometimes they do like to land on your hand. This girl showed the butterflies on her hands to me.
Hahaha, one butterfly landed on me as well, but not on such an elegant part, LOL. I was sitting on my knees trying to take a picture of the quail as all of a sudden a butterfly landed on my backside. Hahaha, of course that was a hilarious moment for the ones surrounding me, LOL.

Butterflies roost for about 14 hours each day, usually upside down and often on the underside of leaves. Some species roost on grass stems. They roost overnight and in bad weather.
I spotted this owl butterfly hanging underneath a leaf.

The greenhouse is wonderful, as you can see in the picture it isn't big, but it is lush green with all the plants overhanging the pathway. In the middle of the conservatory is a little stream and even a waterfall.

The Conservatory is over 10,000 square feet in size and the temperature ranges from 24°C(75°F) to 28°C(82°F) year round.
In the distance you can see one of the employees walking towards me. They are so very friendly and helpfull. If you have any question about the butterflies when you are there, don't hesitate to ask them, they love to tell you all about the butterflies and the conservatory.

Besides the greenhouse there are two exhibition rooms as well. I won't show any of that in my travelpage, but I do want to mention them.
The Flying Jewels exhibit room contains one of the most renowned collections of butterflies and moths in Canada.
The Incredible World of Bugs exhibit room is full of exotic species from the insect world.

I love the details in the colours on the wings of the butterflies. Isn't it just amazing!

The wings of butterflies are actually transparent. The iridescent scales, which overlap like shingles on a roof, give the wings the colors that we see.
Unlike what everyone thinks, you can hold most butterflies gently by the wings without harming the butterfly. Of course, some are more fragile than others, and are easily damaged if not handled very gently. So it's not allowed to touch the butterflies in the Butterfly Conservatory.

Butterflies are cold-blooded insects which means they take the temperature from the air around them. In order to fly, their body temperature needs to be between 30-35°C (85-100°F)

Butterflies heat up by basking in the sun with their wings open, and they also absorb heat from warm rocks and bare ground. In the conservatory I could find the most butterflies in the sunny areas and only a few in the shady part of the garden. Hahaha, it meant that I got boiling hot, but they seem to enjoy this tropical heat a lot. Butterflies control how much warmth they're getting by slowly opening and closing their wings.