Health

Stories in the Schoolyard (K-4) invites students to step outside and find delight in the ordinary, wonderful ways nature's stories unfold right in their own schoolyard. This active place-responsive program will support students to foster a sense of belonging in nature at the same time as sparking their curiosity to learn more. In this program, we'll become better acquainted with that tree in the corner of the field that's almost been forgotten. We'll also follow along with the adventures of Gary the Goose as he finds courage in face of fear. Program includes: a puppet story, imaginative sensory play, Indigenous connections, group poetry writing, and lots of active movement.

We Can Too! (Gr. 2-4) invites students to notice how nature expresses itself in cycles. We will look for examples of natural cycles in the schoolyard and follow the adventures of Cate the Caterpillar as she transforms from caterpillar to butterfly. This program encourages students to develop a growth mindset and to discover their own unique gifts. Program includes: a puppet story, musical poetry, Indigenous connections, active movement, and a printable growth mindset resource. 

This toolbox for climate education can be used in a variety of high school courses and university courses. The suite of resources includes assignments, discussion questions and prompts, and Ted Talk videos that pair well with the materials. 

BioKits are interactive activity books that can be printed and taken with your class on any outing in the community or natural parks! Activities connect to the various sights and sounds of the community, including signs of wildlife, and encourage students to explore the services in their community and think about topics such as transportation/green transportation, recycling/waste services, and more!

BioKits are also available in French. 

Add your class to the Junior Water Walkers! Use the activity ideas in the four pillars: Connect, Reflect, Respect, and Protect, and then commit to protecting a local water source near your school. Check out the book The Water Walker by Joanne Robertson, and sign up to receive a Water Box for your own class copy of the book and journal to act as a "time capsule" of your learning, to then pass on to a new class at the end of the year. 

Scroll down to Resources for Teachers or Resources for Parents and Guardians to download your free guides today!

Empowering Learners in a Warming World is a comprehensive guide to climate change education with eight different inquiries that are structured to follow the inquiry process:

Inquiry 1. What is climate change and why care?
Inquiry 2. Climate change: where are we now?
Inquiry 3. Monitoring change using the Climate Atlas of Canada
Inquiry 4. Environmental impacts & restoration
Inquiry 5. Human health: Addressing climate change makes us healthier
Inquiry 6. A low carbon future: Economic transitions, risks and impacts
Inquiry 7. Climate action and decolonization: Indigenous perspectives
Inquiry 8. Ethical dimensions for children, youth, and livable futures
Inquiry 9: Youth Agency

This toolkit supports practitioners who encourage children’s outdoor play. It takes a balanced approach to risk and safety. The toolkit was created it because of growing concerns that children are overprotected when playing outdoors or stopped from going outside altogether. As a result, they miss out on the joy and sense of adventure they should have from playing outside, and lose out on the long-term benefits of outdoor play.

Alberta Food Matters is a province-wide organization that connects dietitians, teachers and local producers to each other and to information on projects that already exist in Alberta and across Canada. They are linked to Canada-wide organizations that also promote these initiatives (such as Food Secure Canada, Coalition for Healthy School Food, Farm2Cafeteria Canada, Farm to School B.C. etc. AFM are currently working on a pilot project called “Community Animators” that supports schools to undertake whatever they are dreaming of doing to bring local, sustainable
food to their students.
 

Take Me Outside has a directory of organizations that provide support with outdoor learning in the form of guides, activities, and more!

Join the Take Me Outside for Learning Challenge each year to gain access to additional resources, presentations, and professional development opportunities. 

Choose your Voice and Voices into Action are two free online resources filled with curriculum based lesson-plans for teachers based on social justice issues and environmental justice issues, including Residential Schools, Chinese Head Tax, Japanese Internment Camps, Immigration, The Roots of
Slavery, Antisemitism, Gender Equality, LGBTQ rights, Cyberbullying, and so much more.
For Grades 5-8: Choose Your Voice
For Grades 9-12: Voices Into Action

Also available in French:  www.choisissezvotrevoix.ca and www.parlezetagissez.ca