Birding 101 

Hi , 

We took a break from activities last week for Canada Day, but we are back this week with an activity that is fun for the whole family- birding! Today's Birding 101 video is brought to you by Vanessa from the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society - Southern Alberta Chapter (CPAWS).

CPAWS is a non-profit environmental organization working to protect half of Canada’s public land and water. Since 1967, CPAWS Southern Alberta Chapter has led conservation efforts to protect areas in Banff National Park, Kananaskis, the Whaleback and the Castle. The Southern Alberta Chapter is also a leader in environmental education, offering award-winning programs to help build the next generation of environmental stewards.

Please share this with any teachers and parents that you think may find this useful. To be the first to receive this content, click here to subscribe to our parent newsletter. If you are an organization that would like to submit a video, please contact maria@abcee.org.
 
Watch the video
 
Materials and Instructions

Materials:

 Activity Description

For this activity, you will want to head outside to your favourite park or natural area. 

  • Take your binoculars and size them to your eyes so that when you look through them, you see one circle. You may need to adjust the right eyepiece and central knob (diopter and center focus) of your binoculars until the object you are looking at is in focus.
  • Start looking for birds with your naked eye and then bring the binoculars up to your eye to get a clearer view.
  • You can identify a bird by size, colour, location and behaviour.  Write down your observations or draw what you see in your notebook. Your birding guidebook will help you identify the species of bird that you are observing!
  • Optional: Become a citizen scientist and submit your findings to a site like iNaturalist or eBird to support conservation efforts across North America! 
 
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The Art of Conservation Livestream

Whether it's photography, illustration, or poetry - art is an incredible medium to tell the story of nature. Join CPAWS-SAB for a conversation on July 9 @ 1pm with local Alberta artists, to talk about how art can promote conservation efforts here in Alberta. During the livestream, you'll be able to watch one of our artists create a piece in real-time inspired by the conversation and YOUR questions about parks.
Check it out
 
Online Environmental Education Resources

We have curated a list of engaging online activities and resources from trusted environmental education organizations (many of them local!) to support home-based learning.
Check Them Out
 
Support Environmental Education

Do you want to make a difference? Consider donating to ACEE to help advance environmental education in Alberta – because educating today’s youth to be tomorrow’s environmental stewards is our best strategy to create a sustainable future.
 
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Alberta Council for Environmental Education 

314-4649 Macleod Trail SW
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