Originally published in TEACH Magazine, September/October 2016 Issue
In the first couple months of school, the weather is perfect to get outdoors and in tune with nature. Environmental education is valuable for students since it brings them outside of the school building and into natural classrooms where hands-on, experiential learning can stimulate their minds.
Conservation Halton
Conservation Halton offers field trips for all grades at Crawford Lake and Mountsberg Conservation Areas. Various activities are offered, such as Nature Play, filled with hands-on exploration; Owl Prowl, where students learn all about owls, including their adaptations and habitats; and Instincts for Survival, a very active program in which students take the roles of herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores in a terrestrial ecosystem. Others include, Climate Change S.O.S, Archaeology: Putting the Pieces Together, and Environment and Us.
Kejimkujik National Park
Nova Scotia’s Kejimkujik National Park and Historic Site invites visitors to explore its 4000-year-old history through its forests, lakes, rivers, bogs and coastal barrens. The area is also rich with Mi’kmaq history and visiting groups can learn more through a guided tour of the park’s 500-plus petroglyphs (stone-carved stories and drawings). The park is also home to an enchanting forest of some of Nova Scotia’s oldest trees that remain untouched by human development. Students can experience the unique habitat through guided walks and activities offered by natural history interpreters.
Prince Albert National Park
You and your students are invited to adventure through Prince Albert National Park in Saskatchewan, where concepts like adaptation, web of life, and food chain can be transformed into a hands-on experience with the real world. The park also offers a Nature Centre, where you’ll find exhibits and video presentations in its theatre that explain the significance of the park within the family of national parks of Canada. The staff can answer questions and provide suggestions on trails.
Stanley Park
Vancouver’s Stanley Park offers curriculum-based field trips for Grades K–7 covering forest, beach, and wetland ecology. A variety of programs for different age groups are offered. For example, in Nature Detectives, K–3 students explore the temperate rainforest, find tiny life forms with magnifiers, feed trees, and learn all about how everything is connected. In Wetland Wildlife, Grades 4–7 explore Beaver Lake with dip nets and magnifiers, and learn all about wetland ecosystems.
Thousand Islands National Park
Thousand Islands National Park in Ontario invites students to participate in an Island Quest throughout the year. The Gananoque Boat Line ferries students to Georgina Island where they follow a series of clues to learn about the park and its place in the Thousand Islands ecosystem. Working in teams, students use a map, compass, and binoculars to solve the island’s riddles and complete the quest.
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