Resources: Career and Technology Foundations Grades 5-9: Environmental Stewartship

Safety

Alberta Parks: Bear Smart
This brochure has useful information about bears in the parks and how to be safe when encountering a bear.
Alberta Parks: Living with Cougars
This brochure provides lots of useful information about cougars and what to do if you encounter a cougar in the wild.
Backcountry Safety
Information for staying safe while visiting the backcountry in Alberta
Boat Safety Workbook
This workbook examines the equipment, rules, and regulations that keep us safe while on the water.
Fire Safety
Fire safety practices to follow when you are camping or staying in Alberta parks.
Hiking Safety & the Ten Essentials
Sound advice for preparing for any hike.
Know Your Knots
This book will go over some of the basic fundamentals of knot tying, how to tie them and when and where they may be useful.
Lightning Safety When Camping
Advice about being safe while hiking or camping during electrical storms from the government of Canada
Safe Travel in Bear Country
Tips from Parks Canada about what to do when you encounter a bear

Climate Change

Climate Crisis: An Indigenous Perspective
The video was created as part of an International climate workshop to provide a youth perspective on Indigenous knowledge, practices, and multi-generational approaches to addressing the climate crisis.
ClimateKids: A Guide to Climate Change for Kids
NASA scientists answer some of your biggest questions about climate change
David Suzuki Talks about Climate Change
Listen to scientist, David Suzuki, talk about climate change.
Global Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet
This is a one-stop shop for climate change info, from basic intro content to practical guides and raw data; good for middle schoolers and up.
Study Jams: Fossil Fuels
You can use the orange arrows to move the slide show or let the images change on their own. After the slide show, test your understanding of fossil fuels.
TED: Disarming Case to Act Right Now on Climate Change
Greta Thunberg explains why, in August 2018, she walked out of school and organized a strike to raise awareness of global warming. Related Lesson
TED: Reforestation: Impact on Climate
Clearing forests for agriculture and development can have severe consequences for our environment. Related Lesson

Environmental Stewardship

Alaskan Native Elders Tell Their Climate Change Story
Elders from villages in the Bering Sea region of Alaska share their observations of their melting world, how they’re adapting, and their vision for an uncertain future.
Anthropocene Education Program
Explore how human activity is permanently changing the Earth’s natural systems
How One Scientist Took on the Chemical Industry
Rachel Carson investigated into the misuse of chemicals in nature and published her findings in “Silent Spring,” which drew a lot of attention to the problem
Indigenous Ecological Knowledge
Indigenous peoples have wide-ranging knowledge of the land and its ecology. Through collaboration with Indigenous partners, Parks Canada benefits from traditional knowledge systems
Indigenous Peoples: Defending an Environment for All
Lands inhabited by Indigenous Peoples contain 80% of the world’s remaining biodiversity. Indigenous Peoples’ traditional knowledge and knowledge systems are key to designing a sustainable future for all.
Indigenous Peoples and the Environment
Federal and provincial governments exist temporarily and have a short-term view of environmental protection.
Indigenous Peoples on the other hand who do not come and go, and they place a high value on protecting the environment.
Indigenous Perspectives Bring ‘Feeling and Caring’ into Conservation Planning
A PhD candidate at the University of Alberta is encouraging the government and other agencies to consider a pathway through climate change using the thoughtful approach of Indigenous knowledge for conservation and resource management.
It's Up in the Air!
In this lesson students will conduct a scientific experiment that reveals what types of particles are in the air at their school.
Lichens As Air Quality Indicators
Students will use local lichens and determine which are best air quality indicators. They will use lichens to test air quality near a fictional coal plant.
Minecraft Education: Rooted Together
Learn how mangroves are important for climate change mitigation and adaptation because they provide carbon sequestration, coastal protection, biodiversity conservation, and support for fisheries.
Our Air: The Quest for Quality
Student will research and answer the question What can we do to preserve air quality for present and future generations?
Plants are Cool Too!
Chris Martine hosts this channel focused on biodiversity, botany, and ecology. Videos are short (less than 20 minutes), informative , and captivating.
PlantWatch: Alberta
The PlantWatch program enables citizen scientists to get involved by recording flowering times for selected plant species and reporting these dates to researchers, who work to identify ecological changes that may be affecting our environment.
STEM is deeply rooted in Native American Culture
The deep connection between STEM and Native Americans started with understanding on how the environment worked and experimentation. Now, that relationship is still being fostered today.
TED: Earth School
30 Quests for students around the world to celebrate, explore and connect with nature.
TED: The truth about recycling
Dig into the biggest problems facing our current plastic recycling process, and explore potential solutions to these systems. Related Lesson
TED: What Bag Should You Use?
It might seem obvious that plastic is bad for the environment, and that a paper bag or a cotton tote would be the better option. But is that really true? Related Lesson
TED: What would happen if the world went vegetarian?
What would the planet look like if everyone became a vegetarian right now? The creators of this video take a look at the numbers, factoring in land and water use, carbon emissions and animal by-products. Related Lesson
Traditional Ecological Knowledge
On this site, you will find a series of lessons on Traditional Ecological Knowledge, or TEK
Traditional Ecological Knowledge & Place-based Learning Communities
Learn about Traditional Ecological Knowledge and how scientists are learning about it.
Unexpected Results
This video from Nature: Leave it to Beavers highlights scientists' discoveries of the dramatic impact of beavers on two different ecosystems: one in Canada, the other in the United States.
What is the best way to clean up an oil spill?
Learn about the properties of materials and the challenges of cleaning up an oil spill in this activity.
What is the Environmental Impact of Feeding the World? | Our Hungry Planet
To feed our rapidly growing and changing world, we need innovative solutions. In this video, you'll learn about some environmental issues related to the food we grow and eat.
What is Your Ecological Footprint?
A footprint calculator that determines how many planets we would need if everyone lived like we do
Wolves of Yellowstone
Reintroducing gray wolves to Yellowstone National Park resulted in an unexpected trophic cascade through the ecosystem. We now understand that they are a keystone species.

Green Technology

Whirling Windmills
Can you design and construct a windmill to harness the power of the wind?
PBS Activities and Videos: Green
Activities and videos from PBS that challenge students to think about developing green technology.

Lesson Plans

6-Week DSG Inventing Green Club Guide
This guide takes you through the process of running a 6-week version of the club, which includes a welcome session, 4 hands-on activity sessions, and a party to celebrate at the end, as well as optional bonus activities.
12-week DSG Inventing Green Club Guide
A 12-week version of the club, which includes a welcome session, 4 hands-on activity sessions, 6 sessions for an original student-led project, and a celebration at the end
Alberta Council for Environmental Education: Resources
These are the resources for teaching environmental education to K to 12 students and other audiences.
Aquatic Ecosystems Tool Kit
In this kit you will find everything that you need to bring your students outside for a study of a wetland or other aquatic ecosystem in your community!
Canadian Wildlife Federation: Resources
Our resource section is rich with valuable information you can access to learn more about wildlife and conservation
Care Package: Stewardship Education Kit
The CARE package is designed to be used for a variety lessons focused on environmental stewardship. Over 28 items will help you and your students explore ways to conserve energy and water, and reduce waste.
Connecting With Nature: An Educational Guide for Grades 7 & 8
This resource from the David Suzuki foundation includes five cross-curricular lessons that inspire environmental stewardship in both the classroom and beyond.
Ducks Unlimited: Education
This is a section on the Ducks Unlimited site filled with resources for educators and students. You will find lesson plans, programs and activities.
Earth Lab Topics
Each environmental science lab on this site includes several lesson plans you can use in your classroom.
Energy Dialogues
Students will view a series of videos that explore topics such as wind energy and hydraulic fracturing. Guiding questions that encourage critical thinking are included.
Hands-on Lessons and Activities about the Tundra and Ecosystems
Lesson plans for elementary teachers teaching about the tundra
High-Adventure Science
Resources for exploring climate change, the availability of freshwater, land management and more — in middle and high school science classrooms.
HowtoSmile: Climate
Easy-to-use classroom activities that focus on climate science.
Learning & Teaching about the Environment
This website provides K-12 students and educators with access to quality homework resources, lesson plans and project ideas for learning and teaching about the environment from the US EPA.
Minecraft Education: Biodiversity: 3 Lessons, 1 Challenge, 2 Worlds
An immersive Minecraft world with standards-based lessons. Explore these resources for hands-on learning about ecosystems, conservation and biodiversity.
Minecraft Education: Land-Use Confict: Humans and Elephants
In this lesson, students develop an understanding of the complex issues surrounding habitat destruction and land-use conflict.
Outdoor Activities
This resource connects teachers and students to engaging outdoor activities that explore themes described in each of the nature guides.
Stewardship, Energy, Climate and You
This digital poster education kit focuses on how our use of energy relates to climate change. The teacher’s guide contains activities that encourage personal action to engage in effective stewardship.

Orienteering

Map and Compass Basics
Learning how to use a map and compass to travel in unknown terrain can be fun and rewarding. It could even save your life
Orienteering with the Sky
Have you ever gotten lost? Don't panic, have some bannock! Wilfred Buck, a Knowledge Keeper and science facilitator, tells a story of how he got lost in the bush and shares how he used orienteering to get out safely using his knowledge of sky science
Orienting a Map and Compass
Watching this video will teach you to use a map and taking directional bearings with a compass.

Pollution

Story of Stuff
Learn how things are made and the hidden costs that you don't see when you buy stuff.
TED: Meet the Microbes that Could Eat Your Trash
Explore the possibility of plastivores— organisms that can eat and break down plastic— helping reduce the plastic waste on Earth. Related Lesson
TED: What really happens to the plastic you throw away
We’ve all been told that we should recycle plastic bottles and containers. But what happens to the plastic if we just throw it away? Related Lesson

Related Coding Lessons

Biodiversity Algorithms
In this lesson, students will write pseudocode to identify an organism based on its distinguishing characteristics. Examples
Invasive Species Game in Scratch
Create a simple game in Scratch to demonstrate the damage invasive species can cause to the biodiversity of native ecosystems. Coding Guide
Classifying Aquatic Diversity
Students group like objects according to their own hierarchy of classification and make their own dichotomous key
Urbanizing Protected Areas
Students participate in a town hall. Each group represents a unique role related to the protection or development of a protected ecosystem. Guiding Questions and Roles

Related Kits Available in Your ATA Library

Click the bolded link to find the kit in our library catalogue and request it from our library. Click the sub-links to see how the technology can be used in the classroom.

Air Quality Kit for microbit

Project 1

Aquatic Ecosystem Tool Kit (Grades 4 - 9)

Climate Action Kits by Kitroniks (Set of 5)

Quickstart Guide
Educator Self-Paced Course: Getting Started
Educator Resources
Lesson Plans (Grades 3-12)
Projects
Tutorials

Energy Toolkit (Grades 4 - 9)

Insta360 ONE R Sports Video Adaptive Action Camera

Land Climate Action Kit (Small class set)

Climate Action Kit Course Curriculum (Free using code you'll find in the kit)
Design a Plant Self-Watering System with Inksmith Climate Action Kit
How-to video
Manufacturer video

Outdoor Explorer's Tool Kit (K-3)

PocketLab Air

PocketLab Air (Scroll down for lesson plans)
Teacher-Friendly Guide to Climate Change

PocketLab Voyager

Science for Everyone (Lesson Plans & Activities)
PocketLab Notebook
Resources

Solar Experiments Kit for the microbit

Sustainable Development

Ag for Life: Sustainable Development Goals Lab
Resources for student and teachers about sustainable development goals and activities.
Canadian Wildlife Federation: Resources
Our resource section is rich with valuable information you can access to learn more about wildlife and conservation
Story of Change
Part 2 of the Story of Stuff. Learn how we can change our attitudes to build a more sustainable world.
TED: Can 100% renewable energy power the world?
This video examines renewable energy and some of the challenges of exchanging our fossil fuel dependence for only renewable energy sources. Related Lesson
TED: How Do Wind Turbines Work?
Every 24 hours, wind generates enough kinetic energy to produce roughly 35 times more electricity than humanity uses each day. So how can we harness this incredible amount of energy? Related Lesson

Water

Follow the Flow
This activity asks students to follow the flow in an Alberta watershed and consider how water quality and quantity are affected by human activities on the landscape. It is designed to be given to students to work on individually with minimal instructions.
Hidden Water
This video, created by Inside Education, is a review of groundwater in Alberta. Topics include quality, distribution, uses in the province, and how it links to the hydrologic cycle. (site)
Running Water Poster & Teachers Guide
This education kit explores the science of water use in Alberta and now contains new information about climate change, energy development and stewardship.
Study Jams: The Water Cycle
Play this video to learn more about the water cycle, the constant movement of water around Earth and the atmosphere.
Sea Level Rise NASA Resources for Grades 9 through 12
A list of lesson plans, articles, videos, and interactive activities for students from grades 9-12 to explore the science of rising sea levels.
Story of Bottled Water
The Story of Bottled Water describes the environmental and financial impact of using bottled water instead of tap water.
Water Footprint Calculator
An online questionnaire that calculates your water usage and compares you to the average American consumer.
Water Sacred Relationship: Grade 6
Find social studies and science lessons plans for Grade 6 that were developed by the Native Counselling Services of Alberta.