Environmental Education

Useful information about the plants that are native to Canada

Wisconsin Fast Plants were developed as research tool at the University of Wisconsin – Madison and have been used by K-16 teachers around the world for nearly 30 years as an educational model-organism.

Full-page descriptions and colour photos of a variety of common species are included in this field guide for Grades 6-12.

The scientific study of the traditional knowledge and customs of Indigenous peoples concerning plants and their medical, religious, and other uses.

This database provides information and photos of many of the plants that are native to North America.

PlantingScience is a free online resource to teachers and schools. The program provides volunteer scientists, resources, and activities to support innovation in teaching, learning, and mentoring.

Chris Martine hosts this channel focused on biodiversity, botany, and ecology. Videos are short (less than 20 minutes), informative (thanks to a knowledgeable host and great guests), and captivating (with lots of stunning nature imagery).

A site that publishes reports about the health of the world's plants and fungi.

Learn how trees are able to communicate with each other through a vast root system and symbiotic fungi, called mycorrhizae.

The PLANTS Database provides standardized information about the vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and lichens of the U.S. and its territories.

The Government of Alberta has a page for those wanting to know more about wildfires and monitor the wildfire situation in Alberta. There are a number of resources here (including videos) about wildfire prevention, management and status.

This interactive map provides information related to forest fire hotspots in Canada, as well as areas of low to high risk for forest fires.

Before removal from their traditional lands, Indigenous Peoples used controlled burns to manage forests and rangeland.

For millenia, fire was integral to many Indigenous peoples’ way of life. Fire was a tool that promoted ecological diversity and reduced the risk of catastrophic wildfires.

Prescribed fire is a colonial adaptation of cultural burning practiced by many different Indigenous groups in Canada. While some of the objectives may be the same, there are many differences between the two.

Prior to the European colonization of the Americas, indigenous peoples used fire to modify the landscape. What was initially perceived by colonists as "untouched, pristine" wilderness in North America was the cumulative result of the Indigenous use of fire, creating an mosaic of grasslands and forests across North America, sustained and managed by the peoples indigenous to the landscape.

This video explains some of the benefits of wildfire. Due to the way they grow, some trees (like lodgepole pines) need fire to survive. Learn about how wildfires contribute to the ecosystem.