Science as the inspiration for a comedy? Who knew? But it’s true on Tuesday nights starting at 7 p.m. at the Visitor Centre in Riding Mountain National Park (RMNP).

The park’s heritage presentation team has a new theatre program that brings together a journey to the bottom of Clear Lake with the comic antics of park guide Andrei Dandridge-Evancio who plays the lead role of Eco-Nerd, a hapless scientist trying to do research on Clear Lake. Throw in an audience that actually becomes part of the play with some cool black light special effects and you have a recipe for an engaging and action-packed evening of “edu-tainment”, a hybrid version of traditional interpretive style with the “wow!” factor that today’s audiences have come to expect. By the time you leave the theatre, you’ll have learned a great deal but you’ll have laughed the whole way through.

The play begins when the audience meets Eco-Nerd who is filled with focused energy and a gift for stumbling into trouble. Like many classic nerd heroes who have gone before him, he has lived in the shadow of his older brother who has a popular TV science show. This makes Eco-Nerd the biggest nerd of all. Apparently if it weren’t for bad luck, he wouldn’t have any at all: his equipment fails, his boat sinks and a storm moves in, all conspiring to ruin his field work. But fortunately he comes up with a plan “B” and the expedition resumes below the surface of Clear Lake.
“Eco-Nerd is a little known scientist who works really hard on his different projects,” explains Dandridge-Evancio. “He is overshadowed by his famous brother and he knows it. He still keeps working hard. He has a long list of phobias and fears but that doesn’t stop him from getting his important research done.”

Eco-Nerd’s adventure is a work of fiction but it was written by park interpreter Patrick McDermott to help explain the real research currently being conducted on Clear Lake. This research is part of Parks Canada’s Action on the Ground Program, a nation-wide initiative where real and tangible actions are taken on the ground that engage Canadians in a range of conservation activities and promote the ecological integrity of Canada’s national parks.

“We are hoping to add some depth to the visitors’ experience of Clear Lake,” explains McDermott. “We want it to be about having fun while also coming to a fuller understanding of the place that they are enjoying. We’d like to tell them a little bit about the chemical and physical processes going on in the lake. We’d like them to learn about the research and monitoring that we do to protect this very special place.”

Visitors to RMNP love Clear Lake which is a cold, clear, deep lake that is unique on the prairies. It is important not only as a vacation destination for a quarter of a million visitors every year, but also as an economic pillar in the parkland region. RMNP is studying factors such as fish movement and habitat, as well as water chemistry and quality in order to develop a clearer picture of the overall ecological health of Clear Lake. Parks Canada is committed to using science to help understand and protect national park ecosystems for the benefit of all Canadians, now and in the future. Presenting the results of this work to the public is an important component of this work.

During “Water: the Incredible Journey” the audience is invited to join Eco-Nerd and become part of the cast in this participatory style of theatre. Members of the audience are transformed into fellow researchers exploring the depths of the lake with Eco-Nerd. Their voyage of discovery shares many similarities with a brand new visitor experience opportunity at RMNP called citizen science.

At RMNP, visitor experience and educational programs are in place to promote community involvement and support for the park’s research and restoration activities. The public now has the opportunity to become directly involved in real research by taking part in one of several citizen science programs currently on offer. Citizen scientists work alongside professional researchers to study and protect native species, natural processes, and the integrity of ecosystems.

For more information or to sign up for programs stop in at the Visitor Centre or call 204-848-7275.