Originally published in TEACH Magazine, March/April 2017 Issue
Spring is just around the corner. With the temperature rising, it’s a perfect time to step out of the classroom and into nature for some hands-on learning. Wildlife ecology, habitat analysis, and fossil examination are just of few of the curriculum-linked topics covered in the field trips below. Time for an exploration adventure!
Dinosaur Provincial Park
AB
A field trip to Dinosaur Provincial Park in southern Alberta is an experiential, curriculum-connected learning opportunity for students in Grades K–12. In Fossil Investigators, students in Grades K–3 hike to a dinosaur bone bed and have a hands-on opportunity to work with fossils. In Mystery Quarry Investigation, students take a hike through the Badlands and use observations skills to determine how the animals in the Late Cretaceous Period in Alberta lived and died, followed by related activities.
Hamilton Conservation Authority
Hamilton, ON
Environmental Education field trips offered by the Hamilton Conservation Authority are available for both elementary and secondary school students. The focus is to provide students with hands-on outdoor environmental education experiences that meet provincial learning expectations. Programs cover topics such as wildlife ecology, forest ecology, habitat analysis, and fossils, rocks, and minerals in depth. In one program, for example, students in Grades 1–5 investigate the differences between meadows and forests through examining the interdependency of plants and animals and the relationships between predator and prey, producers, consumers and decomposers.
Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre
North Vancouver, BC
The Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre offers spring programs that begin the first week of April. Programs, offered to both elementary and secondary schools, explore habitats and biodiversity. For example, Super Survivors, for Grades 1–3, teaches how animals and plants survive in the cool, wet, temperate rainforest. BC Biodiversity, for Grades 4–7, explores the concept of biodiversity with a fun indoor introduction followed by a hands-on outdoor field study.
Scales Nature Park
Oro-Medonte, ON
Scales is a nature centre that features the most complete live collection of Canadian reptile and amphibian species. Bring your class to Scales for a hands-on, fun-filled day of exploring nature and wildlife. Scales has a range of indoor and outdoor programs available and curriculum-linked activities for Grades 1–12, led by knowledgeable staff. The park has 21 hectares of forest, ponds, stream, and trails for the outdoor programs.
Sépaq
QC
Sépaq, Quebec’s governmental parks and wildlife organization, offers several activities, allowing students from 5–17 years of age to get out of the classroom and explore nature. Activities highlight the natural, cultural, and historical characteristics of each establishment. Recreational packages are available year round. One included program brings national parks inside your classroom. Invite a park warden to your junior secondary classes to give students a glimpse of the national parks and their history. Students participating in this activity will receive daily family access to the national park of their choice so they can experience the national parks up close and personal. The activity is free of charge for the 4th, 7th and 10th classes coming from your school!
TEACH is the largest national education publication in Canada. We support good teachers and teaching and believe in innovation in education.
