Nature & Biodiversity

Benefits of becoming part of the Bee City Canada community:

• Fabulous inspiration for Inquiry-based and STEM learning.
• Connecting with other Bee City Canada Schools across Canada.
• Creating an outdoor classroom.
• Creation of a beautiful pollinator garden.
• Mentorship of the community about pollinators and how everyone can help them.
• Sharing of resources, events and activities on the beecitycanada.org website.
• Increasing the celebration potential of events and programs.
• A stronger connection to Nature.
• Engage the entire school with an identity.
• Weaving the arts into the pollinator education program.

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.
 

Nature Alberta aims to be a strong voice and an active champion for the greater appreciation and conservations of Alberta's natural environment. Published four times per year, each magazine offers informative, educational, and engaging nature writing and photography that inspires readers to venture out and directly experience nature, deepens their connection with the natural world, and strengthens their commitment to protecting Alberta’s local habitats and wild places. Content can be used to guide discussions, engage students, and more. See the website to download free PDFs of current and past issues and the Nature Kids page to explore learning resources.

Take Me Outside has a directory of resources about outdoor learning, including lesson plans and kits!

See the Canadian Outdoor Learning Resource Hub for a detailed list of other organizations supporting outdoor/environmental learning.

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

Keepers of the Athabasca have created ready-to-use powerpoints and resources for Junior High and High School classrooms. These powerpoints and resources have previously been offered as workshops for teachers. Keepers of the Athabasca have generously donated these materials so that teachers can utilize them in the classroom. 

Exploring the Treaties: Junior High powerpoint, Senior High powerpoint, resources page, walk of privilege exercise

"Where's my Power?" Exploring Power by Saving Energy (energy audit tools for your school & home, energy efficiency, and Indigenous perspectives): Junior, Senior, resources, Climate Connection Circle Game

Community Climate Action Answering your Questions about Solar Power (What do Traditional Knowledge Holders observe? What can we do to slow climate change? How can I get a solar installation for my school/home?):  Junior, Senior, resources, climate change fact sheet, Climate Connection Circle Game

United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: Senior High (only version), resources, walk of privilege exercise

Indigenous Water Governance: Junior, Senior, resources, water testing activity (see powerpoint slide "Water testing activity")

Talking Circle Guidelines for using a Talking Stick. 

See social studies curriculum links to the above lessons here. 

Discovering the Arctic Learn about arctic wildlife, challenges, people, and research.

Discovering Antarctica Learn about the oceans, atmosphere, landscape, food webs, exploration, and challenges. 

Discovering Galapagos Learn about the challenges that we face in ensuring a sustainable future for these unique islands and find out about ground-breaking conservation projects happening now.

Each website features activities, images, video clips and fact sheets.

Calgary Captured is a multi-year wildlife monitoring program run in partnership with the City of Calgary, Miistakis Institute, Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park Society, and Weaselhead/Glenmore Park Preservation Society. The program aims to increase knowledge on our urban wildlife to inform development and management decisions, as well as to engage the community to spread awareness of wildlife. Calgary Captured enables you to join their team and help classify trail camera photos by identifying the animals you see. By participating not only will you help with the massive and very important task of identifying wildlife, you get a first hand look into who calls Calgary home.

See the Collections to view all photos taken by the wildlife cameras. 

Forests, Fins & Footprints is a community-funded documentation of clearcutting in the Ghost Valley — a watershed located just upstream of Calgary, on the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains. The film interviews environmentalists, biologists, geologists, and people who live and work on the land. How does clearcutting affect an area's water, landscape, and wildlife, as well as the people living in that watershed? How will clearcut forestry impact the future? And how can we as a society move forward more thoughtfully?

The website also shares ways that you and your students can take action.

Download the eBird app to add your bird sightings and explore birds and hotspots near you! 

Nature Alive Adventures provides customizable outdoor experiences right to your school parking lot or to an outdoor space near you. They provide instruction in outdoor skills (e.g. animal awareness and tracking, natural fiber cordage, fire lighting, shelter building, etc), quinzhee building, and more! Nature Alive Adventures also provides day and overnight trips with snowshoes and freight toboggans. They are certified instructors with Paddle Canada to provide canoe instruction, guided trips, and certification.

Their YouTube channel provides in-class resources and instruction in a variety of outdoor pursuits and topics, as well as providing Nature Minutes, short videos with follow up activities that are meant to challenge kids to get outside.

To get in touch with Nature Alive Adventures, contact Dale and Colleen Kiselyk 780-305-6921