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Full Description

Please allow a minimum of 2 weeks notice if you are seeking a new lesson not listed in our lesson plans.

Full Description

This field trip is offered in spring (April, May, June) and fall (September and October) at our schoolyard farms in Vancouver and Coquitlam.

Situated at Vancouver Technical Secondary School (2600 E Broadway, Vancouver) and David Thompson Secondary School (1755 E 55th Ave, Vancouver), our Vancouver farms are a short walk from many elementary schools and community centres.

A field trip to the Suwa’lkh Medicine Garden and Healing Forest at Millside Centre in Coquitlam is like no other Fresh Roots field trip. Our program space includes a native plant propagation greenhouse, medicine and food gardens, small orchard, and a seven-acre forest with a forest classroom and a salmon stream. Field trips at Suwa’lkh incorporate First People’s ways of knowing, helping students connect with Traditional Ecological Knowledge, in both cultivated and natural food lands. Coquitlam field trips have been designed in consultation with Indigenous knowledge keeper Carrie Clark and are co-facilitated, whenever possible, with an Indigenous knowledge keeper.

We require 1 teacher/chaperone for every 10 Grade 4-12 students at our Vancouver sites and 1 teacher/chaperone for every 10 Grade 6-12 students at our Coquitlam site. Required adults are included in the group cost; additional adults will be charged at the student rate. If your group needs more adult assistance, please let us know on the registration form.

Learn more and book your trip at https://freshroots.ca/learn-on-the-farm/. 

Max number of students: 30

Full Description

Students follow each step of the scientific method to conduct a water quality investigation. During this 1.5 hour workshop students observe and become curious about the Fraser River, do background research, construct hypotheses, test their hypotheses by doing experiments, analyze their data, draw a conclusion, and report their results.

Grades: 6-9                          Length: 1.5 hours                   Maximum group size: 30 students

Program Components:

Take a sample of the Fraser River and make observations.

Conduct background research, using the exhibits as sources, and share with the other groups.

Construct a hypothesis about salmon survivability in the Fraser based on turbidity and pH levels.

Follow scientific protocol and test the turbidity and the pH level of the Fraser River sample.

Compare results to the hypothesis.

Full Description

We currently run Club programs in Metro Vancouver and Kelowna - reach out if you're looking for a program near you.

This is an 8-week/workshop after school program. Youth can do the program once. Participants take part in fun interactive activities each week and develop cooking skills by making a plant-based dinner at each workshop.

Full Description

This field trip is offered in spring (April, May, June) and fall (September and October) at our schoolyard farms in Vancouver.

Situated at Vancouver Technical and David Thompson secondary schools, our schoolyard farms are a short walk from many secondary schools and community centers. All field trips include farm work experience and a chance to harvest and taste vegetables, when seasonally available. Email us about different field trip time and duration opinions. We require 1 teacher/chaperone for every 8 grade K-3 students and for every 10 grade 4-12 students.

Max number of students: 30

Learn more and book your trip at https://freshroots.ca/learn-on-the-farm/.

Full Description

Prior to European colonization, Indigenous peoples got what they needed from the land and water around them. Indigenous peoples have relied on salmon since the fish became abundant in the Fraser River about 5000-6000 years ago. They used native plants for food, medicine, building materials and more. This program explores the connection between Indigenous peoples, salmon, and the broader Fraser River Basin. Students experience the movement of salmon, storytelling and oral histories, and the many uses of native plants through an Indigenous perspective.

Grades: K-3                          Length: 1.5 hours                Maximum group size: 30 students

Program Components:

Introduction to the First Salmon Ceremony through a storybook and discussion.

Understand the stages of a salmon’s life cycle and migration by acting out the story of one salmon’s life.

Learn about some of the edible and medicinal native plants in our region, and then create your own plant, including its uses.

Hear the story of how sockeye came to the Fraser River from two First Nations elders. View map of the traditional lands of the First Nations people in the Fraser River Basin, and use a visual metaphor to understand how long the First Nations people have lived along the Fraser River.

Full Description

Get to Galiano Island easily with BC Ferries! We're a short 1-1.5 hour trip from the Tsawwassen ferry terminal in Vancouver or the Swartz Bay ferry terminal in Victoria. Our hands-on, nature-based programs have proudly been developed over 20+ years. Programs serve to introduce youth to nature in a fun, safe and meaningful way. Our activities are designed to reflect the BC K-12 curriculum, resonate local Indigenous voices and foster youth environmental leadership.

Full Description

Grade 2 - Exploring Liquids

Grade 4 - Waste and Our World

Grade 5 - Wetland Ecosystems

Full Description

This field trip is offered in the fall (September and October) at our schoolyard farm in Coquitlam.

A field trip to the Suwa’lkh Medicine Garden and Healing Forest at Millside Centre in Coquitlam is like no other Fresh Roots field trip. Our program space includes a native plant propagation greenhouse, medicine and food gardens, small orchard, and a seven-acre forest with a forest classroom and a salmon stream. Field trips at Suwa’lkh incorporate First People’s ways of knowing, helping students connect with Traditional Ecological Knowledge, in both cultivated and natural food lands. Coquitlam field trips have been designed in consultation with Indigenous knowledge keeper Carrie Clark and are co-facilitated, whenever possible, with an Indigenous knowledge keeper.

We require 1 teacher/chaperone for every 8 K-5 students at Suwa’lkh. Required adults are included in the group cost; additional adults will be charged at the student rate. If your group needs more adult assistance, please let us know on the registration form.

Max number of students: 30

Full Description

CBEEN is a Non-Profit Society and Registered Charity. Our mission is to encourage environmental stewardship and sustainability in the Canadian Columbia Basin by supporting environmental educators. The Columbia Basin Environmental Education Network (CBEEN) was born out of a shared sense of identity and from the common desire to support and promote EE on a regional scale. Over the past 10 years CBEEN has grown from a small group of passionate educators to a large and vibrant network of educators from across the Columbia Basin and beyond.

Our goals:

Maintain a vibrant and engaged network of educators in the Canadian Columbia Basin, and provide this network with excellent environmental education professional development resources and opportunities.

Facilitate collaboration amongst members, partner organizations, and Basin communities to effectively achieve our shared mandates and vision.

Undertake a process to better role model and support diversity, equity, and inclusion in the field of Environmental Education.

Expand network to increase engagement with and support for early years educators.

Maintain a sustainable organization which has effective and ethical governance in accordance with its non-profit and charitable status.

Full Description

THE RIVERWATCH MISSION: The RiverWatch Institute of Alberta delivers science education and environmental awareness experiences along Alberta’s rivers and watershed systems. Through our professional river guides, school science float trips, stewardship activities, and water monitoring equipment, participants learn about the science and health of our waterways. By becoming watershed knowledgeable, Albertans of all walks of life will better understand, enjoy and care for our environment.

YOUR RIVERWATCH SCHOOL SCIENCE FLOAT EXPERIENCE

We believe the best way to study a river is by taking your science classes on a float trip aboard our professionally guided large rafts, fully equipped as floating laboratories! Our science education programs align DIRECTLY with the Alberta provincial curriculum and have been a go-to resource for Alberta secondary science classes since 1995. Our hands-on and experiential science float programming is offered in the fall from early September to the end of October and again in the spring (late April to mid-June) once the ice is off the river.

With a laser focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), students explore their local river ecosystem aboard rafts equipped as mobile water quality laboratories. A day of guided rafting takes the student classroom into the real natural world to experience an interesting mix of ecology, wildlife, history, geology, engineering, technology, industry, water quality monitoring and data collection. Our programs showcase science in ways students have never seen before, creating an experience they’ll never forget, INCLUDING A TOUR OF LOCAL WASTE WATER TREATMENT PLANTS! Over the years, close to 200,000 students have adventured out with us to become young scientists for the day.

YOUR RIVERWATCH GUIDES

All RiverWatch guides are highly trained and possess a minimum Class 1 PROAOA certification to meet Transport Canada Commercial Rafting Standards. All our river guides complete an intense week of training involving rafting, emergency response, health and safety, bus driving, equipment maintenance, water quality monitoring, and local/natural history interpretation. To work for RiverWatch Guides must possess Standard First Aid certification and/or may also have Wilderness First Aid, National Lifeguard Society, Swift Water Rescue or Emergency Medical Responder training. The result is an experienced group of certified and professional river guides ready to provide a safe, engaging and fully immersive rafting experience. Your RiverWatch raft guide will help students gain new insights and appreciation for our rivers’ history, culture, bio-diversity and stewardship. Everyone will finish the day more connected to nature and the river!

Full Description

Flexible outdoor education programming available for kindergarten through grade 12 taking place in Weaselhead Park in SW Calgary. All students will learn about the Weaselhead Special Protected Area in Calgary while making Alberta curricular connections in science and social studies. All classes are guided through the park by our trained Naturalists with activities ranging from identifying tracks and signs to invertebrate pond dips, plant identification, removing invasive plants and conducting water quality and human impact studies. Each grade level has targeted learning outcomes and suggested activities but there is flexibility to focus on topics of interest to specific classes in the park. Kindergarten through grade 2 classes are typically scheduled for a half day (2 1/2 hours) from 9:30am-12pm while grade 3-12 can be either a half day or a full day (5 hours). Programs run from September-November and April-June.

Full Description

In this 75-minute session, students learn about bioaccumulation in aquatic ecosystems by analyzing real (sanitized) freshwater litter. Children then go on a walking field trip to see how much garbage they can divert from their local creek.  The school is gifted a class set of garbage pickers, reflective vests, buckets, and weigh scale to continue this activity.

“We received overwhelmingly positive feedback from teachers and students alike. Personally, I’ve never seen my students so enthusiastic about garbage and neighborhood clean-ups—they were so engaged!” - Nataliia Kudryk, Grade 4/5 teacher

Full Description

Our Mission

To nourish young minds and support local agriculture by delivering fresh, high-quality BC products to schools across the province. Through FRESH for KIDS, we create lasting connections between students, schools, and local farmers while promoting healthy eating habits.

Program Benefits

Direct delivery of fresh BC produce to schools

Support for local farmers and agriculture

Competitive bulk pricing

Flexible delivery schedules

Quality assurance and food safety standards

Professional distribution network reaching all corners of BC

How It Works

Schools or districts choose their preferred program length

FRESH for KIDS coordinates with local farmers and suppliers

Products are delivered directly to schools on a regular schedule

Students enjoy fresh, nutritious BC products

Schools track program success through our online platform

Supporting BC Agriculture

When you participate in FRESH for KIDS, you are not just feeding students – you are supporting an entire ecosystem of local farmers, distributors, and agricultural workers. Our program creates sustainable market opportunities for BC farmers while ensuring that students receive the freshest possible produce.

The program is supported by schools who choose to use their Feeding Futures Grant, support of school PAC or other funds from the community.

Support FRESH for KIDS

We believe every student deserves access to fresh, nutritious food. Visit our fundraising platform at freshforkids.ca to:

Support local schools in your community

Help expand our program reach

Contribute to student nutrition initiatives

Make a difference in BC’s food security

Full Description

LunchLAB is an innovative school meal program that serves students accessible, nourishing, culturally relevant lunches prepared by students with the mentorship of a team of chefs-in-residence. LunchLAB empowers youth to cook food for themselves and their peers providing opportunities for kids to find delight, dignity, and belonging in their interactions with food. 

Lunches change each day and menus are inspired by the communities we serve. Each meal includes a fresh salad bar and a hot item, whether that’s tacos, chickpea curry, palak paneer, ramen soup, or lasagna, it’s sure to be packed with delicious flavours and fresh veggies.

We offer a sliding scale pay-what-you-can model to balance affordability for families and the long-term sustainability of LunchLAB. As part of the registration process, families decide what they can afford with opportunities to receive a subsidy or subsidize families in their community.

Watch our CBC mini doc to get a flavour of LunchLAB and find out more on our website!

Full Description

Water Scientists will learn about the water cycle, and make a water necklace. *This workshop is free for schools in the Township of Langley (limited spaces available).

Available to schools in SD35 and SD36

Schools outside of Langley will be charged mileage. Teachers outside of these districts may enquire about workshop availability.

Duration 60 minutes

Cost $95

Full Description

This program will show students how to predict and prepare for extreme events using a stream table, a tool that can simulate river processes. Students will also have a chance to conduct their own research about how their communities may be at potential risk and to propose solutions. Students will be able to share those ideas with guest scientists through a follow-up online workshop.  

*NOTE: This program is currently only being held as an in-person field-trip.

Grades 3-5  

Students explore the basics of climate science and river processes. Using a stream table model, students model different climate change scenarios and design infrastructure that could mitigate the damage caused by climate change. 

Grades 6-12  

Students discuss connections between climate change and land management practices, both traditional Indigenous and current industrial. Using a stream table model, students model different climate change scenarios and design infrastructure that could mitigate the damage caused by climate change. For the optional action project, students research how their communities may be susceptible to extreme weather events and climate change and present their findings using ArcGIS Story Maps. A follow-up online workshop connects students to knowledge holders. 

Grades: 3-12                Length: 1.5 hours                      Maximum group size: 30 students 

Program Components: 

Basic river landscape geomorphology as well as traditional and industrial methods of flood risk management 

How climate change will impact infrastructure planning across the Fraser River Basin 

Analytical and design thinking to create action plans towards mitigating future natural disaster incidents that will be available to local community leadership 

Students will receive 3D printed models and Climate Action Science Spotlight briefs relevant to their research 

Full Description

We also offer the opportunity to book a lesson with our educator to accompany the EduKit. Please note the teacher or a representative for your educational institution is responsible for picking up and dropping off the EduKit from our office.

Full Description

Using the 3R’s, students recognize recycling symbols and sort materials found in their home and classroom.

*This workshop is free for schools in the Township of Langley (limited spaces available).

Available to schools in the Township of Langley, City of Langley (SD35) and City of Surrey (SD36).

Schools outside of Langley will be charged mileage. Teachers outside of these districts may enquire about workshop availability.

Duration 60 minutes Cost $95

Full Description

In this program, students learn about pollution by examining different types of pollutants and where they come from. They will then evaluate how individual actions contribute to the health of the river. A slide presentation introduces students to the Fraser River, then the class breaks into smaller groups to explore pollution sources and the way pollution moves through our ecosystems and communities. Student’s also discuss the difference one individual’s actions can make.

Grades: 2-5                          Length: 1.5 hours               Maximum group size: 30 students

Program Components:

Learn about the sources and causes of pollution in the lower mainland.

Play a fun board game where students can watch how one person can make a difference against the pollution problem.

See how plastic pollution effects birds who live in the Fraser River Basin.