Citizen Science

Ocean Networks Canada provides a rich bank of resources for teachers and students to introduce and explore different themes and concepts of ocean science.

WILD Outside is a new conservation-based youth leadership program run by the Canadian Wildlife Federation (CWF). Learning from CWF facilitators alongside their peers, youth who join the WILD Outside program will connect with other participants by exploring the outdoors and planning and carrying out community-based conservation action projects in their own community. We welcome young people from all communities and from many different walks of life and varying experiences.

Outside of our core group of youth (grades 10-12), our Youth Leadership Specialists can work with your school or class to plan and carry out a conservation project that your students are interested in. These projects are open to students from K-12 in all topics of study. We can also come into your class to talk about our programs and run some curriculum programming. 

The programs help the Okotoks education community address sustainability issues and give students, teachers, administrators, and staff the ideas and resources necessary to take initiative at four levels of action: in the classroom, in the school, in the community, and in the home. The Town of Okotoks offers both field trip opportunities and educational presentations for kids and youth of all ages. From waste management solutions to caring for the Sheep River watershed, kids will learn about their impact on the earth and how to be mindful caregivers of our planet.

Launched in April 2017, Call of the Wetland challenged Calgarians to regularly monitor 52 urban wetlands for amphibians as an indicator of wetland health. After three seasons, data collection ended in August 2019. A Story Map was created on ArcGIS Online to tell the story of Call of the Wetland and show initial results. Use the maps with your students to discover amphibians in Calgary's wetlands and the locations they have been spotted. 

This data will be used to inform land development and management decisions. 

Stay tuned for more results to be added about the environmental conditions in Calgary's wetlands. 

Bumble Bee Watch is a citizen science app that anyone can use to take pictures of bumble bees to help contribute to bumble bee science. The pictures are automatically accompanied by information about time and location, are then identified by bee experts. The images become part of a scientific library of information about what species of bees, and roughly how many, are found in different places — including many that scientists can’t easily get to — at various times of the year.
 

By using the app, you can help scientists learn where to find and protect rare bee species, what kinds of plants different bees are using for food at different times of year, and whether some bee species are declining with time and factors such as climate change.

The Geological Bumblebee Program is an outreach program led by Dr. Katherine Boggs from Mount Royal University in Calgary that combines geology and biology. The program consists of learning about bee species in local areas and taking action to help conserve them. During the first classroom visit in spring, students construct bumblebee boxes, and the program then takes students on a field trip to a local natural area to install the boxes. Geology of the local area is explored as well, and students investigate what geology tells us about the place we live and how it was formed. 

In fall, the programs takes students back to the park to collect the boxes and see if they were used by bumblebees.

Please contact Dr. Katherine Boggs if your class is interested in taking part in the program: kboggs@mtroyal.ca

Classes can create wild spaces for pollinators including bees and hummingbirds, and then share their experience through an online classroom. 

Whether you’re already an avid citizen scientist or simply love getting outside to explore, get ready to Capture Your Curiosity with Alberta’s nature app, NatureLynx! Take pictures of Alberta’s amazing biodiversity, share them with others, and get them verified by the ABMI’s species experts. NatureLynx is about fun, about getting involved in the scientific process, and about helping to improve our collective understanding of Alberta’s amazing biodiversity. Teachers and students can use the Naturelynx app to identify species, submit and view biodiversity sightings, create and complete missions, & collect data. 

Resources 4 Rethinking offers an online searchable database of lesson plans for all grades and subject areas. Check it out! 

Land Talk is an interactive map showcasing stories from around the world about how the land has changed. On its own, this is an excellent historic resource to study how areas have changed. Students and teachers can also submit conversations from their city to be added on the map. There are also lesson plans. 

The website also features lesson plans that explore topics in ecology, history, changes in biomes, and the power of words.