Red Leaf Students Visit Alberta

This summer from July 9 - 29, students from France and Spain will be visiting Calgary, Canmore, Cochrane, Strathmore and the Red Deer area.  Red Leaf Student Programs is seeking families with teens in these communities to billet these exceptional young students! Also, this fall, grade 11 students from Spain will be attending various high schools in the Red Deer area.  To find out more about hosting an international student, please contact Lisa Wood at 403-981-8013.

Calgary hosts the annual “Calgary Stampede”, which bills itself as “The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth”.  Each year, the city welcomes more than 1.2 million visitors to this event, which is the world’s largest rodeo. It features an internationally recognized rodeo competition, a midway, stage shows, concerts, agricultural competitions, Chuckwagon races, First Nations exhibitions, and pancake breakfasts around the city, among other attractions.

106km west of Calgary is the beautiful municipality of Canmore. Over 71 kilometres of multi-use trails within the town limits, World Class Canmore Nordic Centre, 5 major ski resorts, hiking, climbing, mountain biking, kayaking, canoeing, rafting, combine to provide an endless array of outdoor activity options.

Cochrane is one of Calgary’s largest towns and one of the fastest growing communities in Canada. Cochrane is situated at the base of the Big Hill in the Bow River Valley. Like many communities in Alberta, Cochrane is known for outdoor pursuits including paragliding and skydiving.

Strathmore is a town located along the Trans-Canada Highway in southern Alberta, 40 kilometres east of Calgary.  Their motto “Where Quality of Life is a Way of Life” can be easily understood as over 11,000 residents enjoy the ‘country-living’ lifestyle yet have easy access to Calgary.

Located half-way between Calgary and Edmonton is Alberta’s 3rd largest city, Red Deer.  Red Deer is located in aspen parkland, a region of rolling hills focused on oil, grain, and cattle production. The city is a centre for oil and agriculture distribution, and the surrounding region is a major centre for petrochemical production. Because of
the large herds of elk or red deer in this area, it was known as elk or red deer country by the first nations. The Cree called the district Waskasoo, while the Blackfoot called it Ponoka (their words for elk) country. The first Europeans saw that the elk of Western Canada were very similar to the red deer of Scotland.

We cannot forgot to mention “The Dinosaur Capital of the World”, Drumheller. Only a 90-minute drive from Calgary, the town of Drumheller is home to the best Badlands scenery in Canada, the world-famous Royal Tyrrell Museum, and the richest deposits of fossils and dinosaur bones in North America.