Outdoor Programs

Grade 1 Investigating the Needs of Plants and Animals: Students become detectives as they explore the Weaselhead Natural Environment Area investigating living things. Recommended half day field trip with pre-visit in-school presentation. Available year round, adapted to season.

Curricular Connections: Topic A: Creating Colour; Topic B: Seasonal Changes; Topic D: Senses; Topic E: Needs of Animals and Plants

Grade 2 Exploring Small Animals and Environment/Winter Wonders: Spring and Fall participants take part in a pond study and/or bug hunt exploring small animals and their environment. Winter Wonders’ participants experience the environment from the perspective of a small animal and its adaptations to winter. Recommended half day field trip.
Curricular Connections: Topic A: Exploring Liquids; Topic B: Buoyancy and Boats; Topic D: Hot and Cold Temperatures; Topic E: Small Crawling and Flying Animals

Learn a little bit about identifying animals track before attending our Winter Wonders program

 

Grade 3  Animal Life Cycles:  Aquatic invertebrates and insect galls are studied to investigate insect life cycles and adaptations. Recommended half day field trip with pond study in spring or fall.
Curricular Connections: Topic D: Hearing and Sound; Topic E: Animal Life Cycles

Grade 4 Plants in a Natural Community & Natures Waste:  Participants compare different plant life in a natural environment, examining vegetation in different ecosystems including wetlands, meadows and forests. Students learn how nature deals with its own waste and with human waste and pollution. Recommended full day spring or fall field trip, or half day field trip with optional pre-visit in-school presentation.
Curricular Connections: Topic A: Waste and Our World; Topic E: Plant Growth and Changes

Grade 5 Wetlands: Important to a Healthy Environment: This program gives students an opportunity to study a variety of wetlands in the same field trip. They will conduct pond studies to examine the different aquatic invertebrates that live in the different types of wetlands. Recommended full day spring or fall field trip with an optional pre- or post in-school presentation.
Curricular Connections: Topic D: Weather Watch; Topic E: Wetland Ecosystems

Sneak peak of what you might find during our wetland studies:

 

Grade 6 Trees & Forest Diversity  This trip focuses on three different native trees in the Weaselhead and their characteristics. Students study the structure of woody plants and explore the difference between trees and shrubs.  Recommended full day field trip. (An optional activity ‘Take a Stand’, can be combined with this field-trip or a pre-/post-visit in classroom. This asks students to debate the pros and cons of building a ring road  from various stakeholders’ views, combining the social studies unit with the tree science unit. Please email education@theweaselhead.com for details.)
Curricular Connections: Topic C: Sky Science; Topic D: Evidence and Investigation; Topic E: Trees and Forests  Social Studies: 6.1 Citizens Participating in Decision Making

Grade 7 Ecosystems :  Students study 5 of the 6 distinct local ecosystems/vegetation communities found in the Weaselhead (riverine forest, spruce forest, tall shrubs, man-modified grassland, wetlands, aspen stand). They will carry out a small survey to compare native grass with creeping thistle, learn to identify some common native plants, and investigate energy flow, biodiversity, succession, and disturbance in ecosystems. Recommended full day field trip with optional in-school presentation.
Curricular Connections: Unit A: Interactions and Ecosystems; Unit B: Plants for Food and Fiber

Grade 8 Freshwater Ecosystems: Students will be exposed to the important role water plays in this particular area. They will explore the impact of water on climate and land formation and research the adaptations of the fresh water species in the area. They will also perform a water quality test. Recommended full day field trip with pre-visit in-school presentation.
Curricular Connections: Unit E: Freshwater and Saltwater Ecosystems

Grade 9 Biodiversity: Curricular Connections: Unit A: Biological Diversity & Unit C: Environmental Chemistry

Recreational Impacts Grade 4-9:   this program has strong cross curriculum links from grade 4-9. The program is adapted to suit the grade visiting and customized to match its particular curricular connections. This field trip offers hands-on, inquiry-based activities that help to build environmental literacy and responsible stewardship. Students conduct experiments to study the impacts of different recreational activities and develop mitigation strategies for preserving plants, wildlife, water and soil.
Curricular Connections: Grade 4 –  Topic E: Plant Growth and Changes; Grade 5 – Topic E: Wetland Ecosystems; Grade 6 – Topic E: Trees and Forests & Social Studies: 6.1 Citizens Participating in Decision Making; Grade 7 –  Unit A: Interactions and Ecosystem & Unit B: Plants for Food and Fibre; Grade 8 – Unit E: Freshwater and Saltwater Ecosystems; Grade 9 – Unit A: Biological Diversity & Unit C: Environmental Chemistry

 

(Details of costs here and how to book available here…)