Water & Aquatic Wildlife

Climate Solutions 101 is the world’s first major educational effort focused solely on solutions. Rather than rehashing well-known climate challenges, Project Drawdown centers game-changing climate action based on its own rigorous scientific research and analysis. 

View projects by youth across Canada and submit your project. 

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.

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.

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.

Nature Alive Adventures provides an outdoor classroom on wheels that they can bring 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) in blocks or a full day format. Nature Alive Adventures also provides day and overnight trips with snowshoes and freight toboggans. They are certified instructors with Paddle Canada to provide tandem or Voyageur canoe instruction and guided trips.

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.
 

Record your sightings of animals and plants and contribute to citizen science! iNaturalist has also launched a new app for kids called Seek! Use the power of image recognition technology to identify the plants and animals all around you. Earn badges for seeing different types of birds, amphibians, plants, and fungi and participate in monthly observation challenges.

Three Nations Energy provides teacher & student guides, videos, and fact sheets about the carbon cycle, methane cycle, climate change, energy efficiency, renewable energy, hydroponics, and gardening! The student guides allow for self-directed learning and include an activity, basic facts, and follow up challenges and experiments. The teacher guides can be combined with the associated factsheets. Alberta curriculum ties are identified for all activities.

These materials are available as a Basic, Advanced or General level. The Basic level has been designed for an elementary, junior high, or adult learner with less of a science or technical background. The Advanced level has been designed for a senior high student, trades person, or an adult with a strong science or technical background. The General level is more suited to a wider audience.

Guides include how to build a solar oven and solar air heating!

The Alberta WaterPortal Society has two online learning tools and a teacher guide with learning outcomes and connections to the Alberta curriculum to support educators in using these activities. All of the online resources from the Alberta Water Nexus project focus on how there are complex interconnections between our water resources, agriculture and food, and energy production. By thinking about the connections, we can innovate and improve as a community. 

• Follow the Drop: A choose-your-own-adventure game where users travel as a drop of water through the Bow River watershed. We explore the many different water users and how water quality changes as it goes down the river.
• Video Series: Through six animated videos of 2 minutes each, the viewer gets to explore concepts like how all water users in a watershed are connected, how population growth will increase the demands for food and energy, how farmers protect water quality through practices, and how a healthy environment supports all activities in the water. The videos provide excellent visuals to help students understand the concepts.