Early Childhood (0-5)

NEW Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults! 

Robin Wall Kimmerer’s beloved bestselling book has been adapted for young adults by Monique Gray Smith. Monique is Cree, Lakota and Scottish, and is well known for her storytelling, spirit of generosity and focus on resilience. This new edition reinforces how wider ecological understanding stems from listening to the earth’s oldest teachers: the plants around us.

With informative sidebars, reflection questions, and art from illustrator Nicole Neidhardt (Navajo), Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults will help provide educators to bring Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the lessons of plant life to a new generation. This new version will provide the essence of this book in a way that better engages high school students. You can purchase it from the Outdoor Learning Store.

The second edition of Natural Curiosity supports a stronger basic awareness of Indigenous perspectives and their importance to environmental education. The driving motivation for a second edition was the burning need, in the wake of strong and unequivocal recommendations by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, to situate Indigenous perspectives into the heart of Canadian educational settings and curricula, most notably in connection with environmental issues.

The Indigenous lens in this edition represents a cross-cultural encounter supporting what can become an ongoing dialogue and evolution of practice in environmental inquiry. Some important questions are raised that challenge us to think in very different ways about things as fundamental as the meaning of knowledge.

Le présent document est un excellent outil pour l’enseignante ou l’enseignant de même qu’un incitatif pour l’élève à découvrir le monde qui l’entoure. Dans cette deuxième édition de Curiosité naturelle, on découvre plus en détail l’apprentissage environnemental vu par les Autochtones. Avec cette découverte, on ne peut que remettre complètement en question la place que l’on occupe dans le monde. Le point de vue autochtone de cette édition donne le coup d’envoi d’un dialogue qui permet à l’enseignante ou à l’enseignant de découvrir la vision autochtone des choses et à l’élève de tisser des liens durables avec le monde naturel. Vous pouvez acheter le ressource ici.

Butterfly Wings n' Wishes Ltd has a variety of critter kits for your classroom. Larvae Kits can be pre-ordered for the Spring anytime throughout the year, and preordering is recommended.  Kits do not include a habitat for the adult butterflies and must be ordered separately.

Butterfly Wings and Wished Ltd also offers in-classroom programs! Outreach programs include an up-close and personal experience with 7-10 animals, a mix of native and exotic rescue species. Topics covered are conservation, needs of the animals, ecological interactions, our effect on wildlife, and what we can do to help. 
Classes are one hour long, and program attendance is capped at 30 people. 

Nature Canada has a number of downloadable resources. From a scavenger hunt to tips on how to help nature in you area, these resources offer ways to get outside and connected with nature.

RecycleBots is a free mobile game where players learn how to sort waste into recycling, landfill or composting with the help of their robot friends.

SHAPE provides online guides to help develop walk-to-school programs for your community school. 

The North American Association for Environmental Education has a resource bank on their website, featuring interesting articles, websites, and environmental literature. Check it out! 

See also COVID-19: Resources, Tips, and Support for a list of resources designed to keep learners of all ages interested and engaged in environmental education during the COVID-19 crisis, from hands-on activities and lesson plans to websites, virtual tours, and more.

Beaverhill Bird Observatory offers curriculum aligned field trip programs and classroom outreach (virtual or in-person) to Kindergarten-Grade 12, as well as other children/youth groups and child care. They are able to travel across Alberta, and are able to do so when multiple classrooms/schools are booked in the same area. Coordinate with fellow teachers and request Beaverhill to come to you! 

Based in Lacombe County, Ellis Bird Farm provides field trip programs to elementary schools in Central Alberta. Field trips focus on birds, wetlands, plants, and insects.

See also the online learning space with videos, activities, and crafts. 

Based in Calgary, Nature's Ride and Ciclomanías provide energy, waste, and art workshops. Visit their website to learn more and book a workshop. 

Visit the Ciclomanías website to learn more about sustainability and social responsibility, and check out their online store of recycled crafts and do-it-yourself kits.