The St. Clair Education team can bring conservation programming straight to your schoolyard! During a ‘Nature in Your Neighbourhood’ schoolyard program, St. Clair staff bring outdoor education to your students and deliver experiential, curriculum-connected programming including games, scientific exploration, nature hikes, and more!
Program Fee – $125/class for 1-hour program ($100 per additional program at same school on the same day)
Nature in Your Neighbourhood
Elementary Nature in Your Neighbourhood Program Options:
Schoolyard Sweet Maple Syrup (Grades FDK-3)
Available MARCH 2023 – Also available in French – Disponible en français
How was Maple Syrup discovered? How has it been produced over the years? Are Maples the only trees that make syrup? Why is Maple Syrup an important part of Canadian and French Canadian culture? Find out the answers to these questions and more during a visit to your Schoolyard! This option offers a fun and interactive mix of learning – activities, games and songs with a St Clair Conservation Educator!
Fabulous Fall (Grades FDK-4)
Also available in French – Disponible en français
Students are invited to an Autumn adventure in the schoolyard! The fall season offers so much to explore – hibernation, migration, and dormancy are happening all around. Games, nature exploration, and animal role-play help students better understand the plants and animals during this season.
Schoolyard Nature in Winter (Grades FDK-4)
Available WINTER 2023 – Also available in French – Disponible en français
Students can experience a winter adventure in the Schoolyard! Winter offers so much to explore! Using tracks, chew marks, food caches, and even scat, we can become animal detectives to uncover the secret lives of the animals outdoors in the Winter! Curriculum connections abound for each grade level; nature inquiry, changing seasons, water in the environment, animal needs, life cycles, plants in winter, soil in winter, adaptations, food chains, and more!
Circle of Life (Grades 1-2)
During this role-playing game, students learn the life cycle of a butterfly, exploring metamorphosis, meeting their needs, and escaping predators! After the game, students explore the schoolyard looking for examples of life cycling.
Plants, Trees, and Soil (Grades 2-4)
Soil is the foundation for all life on Earth. Without soil, we cannot grow plants, which form the base of the food chain. During this hands-on program, students will explore the schoolyard discovering the life found living there. We will discuss plants and trees (their parts, growth, and life cycles) and their important relationships with soil.
Owl Prowl (Grades 3-5)
‘Birds of prey by night or day, hunt their food before it strays’. Students become owls and through an active simulations game, they learn how owls meet their needs, what specialized adaptations help them survive, and what roles they play within their habitats.
Endangered Species Game (Grades 4-8)
This active game introduces students to some of the Species at Risk found in Ontario. Students role-play ‘special concern’, ‘threatened’, and ‘endangered’ species trying to survive the many threats affecting local wildlife. Student success decides which species go extinct and which expand their populations, and thereby change their ‘at risk’ status.
*NEW* Schoolyard Climate Change Games (Grades 5-8)
Also available in French – Disponible en français
Get students active outdoors in the Schoolyard in the Winter! Using the science of Climate Change, this NEW program focuses on Climate Solutions! Through a series of games & activities we aim to provide students with the tools and confidence to meet the future as a Solvable Challenge!
Schoolyard Geocaching (Grades 5-8)
Available WINTER 2023 – Also available in French – Disponible en français
Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunt using a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver along with Latitude and Longitude coordinates to find hidden caches. Students will learn how to ‘mark’ waypoints, ‘hide’ a cache, and ‘find’ hidden geocaches in the Conservation Area.
A Bug’s World (Grades 6-8)
Also available in French – Disponible en français
Students explore the schoolyard to find examples of biodiversity. Identification and classification are easy concepts to understand when we look at insects and other invertebrates found in the natural world. Students learn basic classification techniques, interdependence, and the difference between a schoolyard and a functional ecosystem.
Secondary Nature in Your Neighbourhood Program Options:
Please contact the St. Clair Region Conservation Authority Education Team to discuss options. Specialized programs are available upon request.
Melissa Levi, Conservation Education Coordinator
[email protected]
Myra Spiller, Conservation Education/Community Partnership Technician
[email protected]
Lorne C. Henderson Conservation Area
3653 Petrolia Line
Petrolia, Ontario
N0N 1R0
(519) 331-8811
Education Programs
For campsite reservations call:
A.W. Campbell Conservation Area:
519-847-5357
L.C. Henderson Conservation Area:
519-882-2280
Warwick Conservation Area:
519-849-6770