Environmental Education Carries on through Covid-19
by Becky Parker
While the Corona virus has a lot of Nova Scotians stuck at home and students out of school, environmental educators around the province are working hard to make sure conservation and sustainability learning aren’t left behind.
Here are some of the great resources available to teachers, parents, and students looking to engage with nature, reduce their environmental footprint, or learn a new skill!
Ocean School
Ocean School is a free, innovative inquiry-based learning experience. At Ocean School, learners explore habitats at the bottom of the Gulf of St. Lawrence with virtual reality. They strike a pose with a life-sized augmented reality whale, and dissect virtual cod! Through stunning original animation, they learn about the history of the cod through the eyes of an Indigenous artist. 360° videos transport them to places they could never go—diving in a kelp forest, or hiking on a tropical island 300 miles off the coast of Costa Rica. And it’s all online! Ocean School has resources for teachers, parents, and students, and even has a classroom management component to allow for virtual engagement. Now, they also have a Learn from Home series. Check out their week 1 resources right here!
www.help.oceanschool.nfb.ca/learn-from-home
Clean Foundation
Clean Foundation is focused on providing Nova Scotians with the knowledge, tools, and inspiration needed to encourage the actions that lead to environmental change. Normally, they’d be out in schools running their energy, climate action, and water-focused workshops. To adapt to Covid-19 restrictions, they’ve compiled several week-long, themed collections of lesson plans and activities focused on sustainability and the environment!
SuperNOVA
SuperNOVA is a not-for-profit initiative of Dalhousie University that promotes science, engineering, technology and mathematics (STEM) to youth in Atlantic Canada. Based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia, SuperNOVA offers engaging and innovative workshops, summer camps, clubs, and community events throughout Atlantic Canada that provide youth with rewarding experiences in STEM and nurture a life-long love of exploration, creativity, and academic achievement. Looking for some STEM lesson plans? Fun at-home experiments? Look no further! They’re also hosting live workshops and online clubs to adapt to Covid-19.
www.supernova.dal.ca/online-content
Green Schools
Green Schools is an initiative of Efficiency Nova Scotia that brings sustainability right to the classroom with fun games and contests that encourage the entire school to act more green. You can now try out these activities at home with their At Home Webinars!
The Young Naturalists Club
The YNC is a nature club for kids and families that promotes the appreciation and conservation of nature. Normally, they lead interpretive group hikes and other fun nature-immersion activities in Nova Scotia’s pristine wild places, focused on everything from lichens to the stars! To adapt to Covid-19, they’re hosting a livestream presentation and trivia series, every Tueday, all about NS Species at Risk, and running a number of citizen science challenges to encourage families to get outside and observe nature. They’ve also curated a number of nature-themed YouTube playlists to help kids stuck inside learn about native species. Check it out!
www.yncns.ca or https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwhNRUytxC9OJn2444eonvQ/
Mi’kmaw Conservation
Mi’kmaw Conservation is a program of the Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq focused on promoting the concept of Netuklimk in the Bay of Fundy watershed. Prior to European contact, Mi’kmaq travelled and lived throughout the Fundy watershed. Netukulimk is a way of life; the Mi’kmaw took only what was needed and wasted nothing. They have an awesome downloadable bingo game featuring aquatic native species, an online animal tracks ID game, activity sheets, colouring pages, and more, on their Kids Corner site!
https://mikmawconservation.ca/kids-corner/
Back to the Sea Society
The Back to the Sea Society run the touch tank hut at the Alderney Ferry Terminal in Dartmouth, HRMs first (tiny) community aquarium! Displaying local species, adhering to a catch and release model, and focusing on hands-on learning, they spark curiosity and a desire to protect our ocean. The hut may be closed for now, but you can learn about their critters online through their Ocean Trivia or Shell and Tell series.
http://www.backtothesea.org/online-education.html
Discovery Centre
The Discovery Centre is Halifax’s science centre, where the wonders of STEAM take permanent residence in the hearts and minds of Nova Scotians. Discovery@Home is a new free, live, online video series designed to connect students with science at a time when it is needed most. These hands-on, curriculum-connected workshops for grades P – 9 make science learning at home fun and easy! They also host an online Little Learners series, geared towards toddlers.
https://thediscoverycentre.ca/discovery-at-home/
Shubenacadie Wildlife Park
The Shubenacadie Provincial Wildlife Park is home to over 60 species of mammals and birds, mostly native to Canada with a few exotics. While the enclosures are closed for Covid-19, you can follow what the animals are eating and what staff get up to over the course of a day by following them on Facebook, Instagram, or follow Shubenacadie Sam on Twitter! @ShubenacadieWildlifePark @Shubenacadie Sam
Ducks Unlimited Canada
Ducks Unlimited Canada conserves, restores, and manages wetland habitats in Nova Scotia, AND they run a really fun education program too! While their school-based field trips have slowed down during Covid-19, you can still learn how to make a nest box, download paper animal models, and find lesson plans on their education page.
https://www.ducks.ca/resources/educators/
Divert NS
Divert NS runs our Beverage Container Deposit-Refund and Used Tire Management Program, as well as a network of Enviro-Depots around the province. They have a variety of lesson plans and activity sheets focused on waste-reduction and sustainability available online.