Join teacher Cameron Douglas as he explains how to use an Ecological Footprint calculator as a way to assess the impacts of our lifestyles. This can be a springboard into a discussion of options we have to make our lives more sustainable, and what are some realistic choices that teens can make.
In this video, Carlotta James describes the Monarch Ultra Run, a long distance run from Peterborough to Mexico, to mimic the migration route of Monarch butterflies. This amazing journey was designed to raise awareness of loss of habitat for these pollinators, and to raise funds for Monarch conservation.
After watching this 20 minute video, discuss what you can do to help Monarch butterflies in your area.
1-20
4-14 years
Join Jacob Rodenburg in this 28 minute video to learn the basics of exploring the fascinating life in spring ponds. Then, go outside and explore a nearby pond and see what amazing creatures you can find! Just be sure to return creatures unharmed to their habitats afterwards.
any
3-6 years
Make a beautiful kite to run with! Find a selection of coloured leaves, feathers or other natural items to fasten into a ‘tail’ of twine that is attached to a small twig. Children can run with their ‘kite’ and watch it flutter in the wind.
Watch Jessica Lindeman of Rowan Tree School describe making leaf kites in the video above at time 2:20.
any
2-10
Children love to exercise their sense of smell, and this is a perfect way to do it! Assemble a variety of pieces of scented herbs (lavender, lemon balm, anise-hyssop, thyme, marjoram etc.), and let children select which ones they want to use in their pouches. They can snip pieces and put them into their magic herb pouch. They can smell their pouch throughout the day, or place them under their pillows at night for calming and a sense of comfort.
Watch the above video at time 3:05 to see Jessica Lindeman of Rowan Tree School assemble an herb pouch and describe how it can be used.
1-10
4-10
September is a perfect time for this traditional craft. Bend corn husks in half to make the body of the doll, and fasten in place with twine. Use bits of fabric or natural items to dress the doll. Check out time 3:55 in the video link above, and watch Jessica Lindeman make and decorate a corn husk doll. For young children, educators will probably need to assemble the basic frame for the doll, but older children can make the whole thing themselves.
2-30
6-12
Micro hikes encourage children to make the smallest of observations. Imagine that you have shrunk down to the size of your thumb. Using the popsicle sticks as stakes, mark out an interesting trail for this tiny person to walk. When done, classmates can share a ‘walk’ along their micro trails, pointing out interesting things that they have marked along the way.
1-20
5-10
This is a perfect time of year to search for signs of animal homes. All animals need food, water, shelter and space. What evidence can you find that other animals live nearby? Who do you think could live in these habitats?
2-30
12-18 years
Hold a group discussion about issues in the community that concern the students. They may mention issues such as homelessness, food insecurity, climate change, racial prejudice etc. Make a list of the issues mentioned.
Take a poll of which issues concern which students, and then break up the class into smaller groups, each group focusing on a different issue that interests them. Ask each group to brainstorm ideas of what they might do this school year to help with the issue, either individually or as a class.
Regroup as a class to compare the issues discussed by each group and the ideas they shared. Ask each student to commit to at least one action they can take individually and/or as a class.
any
14-18 years
Exploring the meaning of ‘Your Ecological Self’ involves thinking about all the ways that you are connected to the world around you. Your human community is part of that, but you also depend on air to breathe, water to drink, and many other living things that provide your food and shelter. In turn, you also affect your world in many ways. Your ecological self is like a fingerprint – it is unique to you.
Find a creative way to represent your ecological self – through a drawing, sculpture, dramatic or video presentation, or a piece of creative writing. Educator Jennifer Bingham can help you get started through the above link (3 minute video).
by Sheila Potter
At the same time of year that children are beginning to feel tingles of nervousness about the impending return to school, a special generation of monarch butterfly caterpillars is munching ceaselessly, preparing for an epic adventure of their own. Known as the “super generation”, the monarch caterpillars that hatch in late summer live 8 times longer than their parents or grandparents and travel over 4000km to their overwintering home in Mexico.
This coincidence in timing offers an opportunity for teachers to greet nervous students with something that will amaze and inspire them, distracting them from their private worries and setting the tone for the entire year.
Although a September start to the school year is most often too late for students to witness the egg stage of the monarch’s life cycle, the timing is usually just right for students to see the fully-grown caterpillar turn into a gorgeous turquoise and gold chrysalis, and then emerge as a bright orange butterfly. The metamorphosis and journey of the monarchs also offers a vehicle for lessons in social studies and environmental science that become all the more real with the presence of the butterflies in the classroom.
For teachers who are interested in undertaking this project with their class, there are many resources available to further enhance the learning experience of their students:
Students can follow in the footsteps of Canadian zoologist, Dr Fred Urquhart who was the first to tag monarch butterflies and to verify that individual butterflies make the entire journey to Mexico. Monarch tagging kits can be ordered from monarchwatch.org and even very young students can easily tag the classroom butterflies before releasing them. Tag numbers and other data can be collected and entered into a database, helping to monitor the size of the monarch population that has lately been in decline due to habitat loss and other threats.
Using the website, journeynorth.org/monarchs, students can observe the progress of the monarchs as they move across the continent, eventually arriving in Mexico near the end of October.
At journeynorth.org/symbolic-
In 2019, a team of ultra runners, film-makers and pollinator advocates followed the flight of the monarch butterfly by running the same distance of 4,300km (2,671 miles) from Peterborough Ontario to central Mexico. At the same time, local schools were invited to participate in the Mini-Ultra”. Once a school registers for the Mini Monarch Ultra Program, students can start running anytime of the year. Schools are encouraged to keep track of the kilometres that the students run or walk, aiming for a total of 4,300km – the total distance monarch butterflies travel during their fall migration. You can learn more or get involved at: themonarchultra.com/mini-
Raising monarchs requires a permit and a bit of knowledge. Teachers can learn all that they need to know by taking an excellent workshop from the Monarch Teacher Network: https://trca.ca/learning/
Click on the image to download this image and enjoy learning about Monarchs through art.
