Resources

A common way invasive species spread is through gardening activities such as when gardeners unknowingly purchase or transplant invasive plants that then “escape” into natural areas, or when insects “hitchhike” on plants or in soil and compost.

Plant Wise is a national program that helps gardeners and the (ornamental) horticulture industry to understand which plants are invasive and harmful to our communities and to make ‘Plant Wise’ choices.

Gardens and yards are extensions of our local ecosystems and they represent incredible opportunities to help restore an area’s biodiversity. What we plant in them has an impact on the surrounding natural areas; in fact, many of today’s most damaging invasive plants were first brought to North America for ornamental purposes.

Grow Me Instead is a component of the Plant Wise program that focuses on increasing awareness about invasive horticultural plants and providing native alternatives.

The Healthy Design City site provides information, resources, and interactive map tools on five key areas of climate resilience and impact: Parks and Recreation, Heat Islands, Community Amenities, Policy and Practice, and Air and Noise Pollution. Also listed is an interactive tool to explore a number of parameters of equity and climate impact in Canadian cities.

These educational tools were developed by Dr. Laelia Benoit, child psychiatrist and researcher at Yale University, to help parents and teachers discuss climate change with children and adolescents. These resources offer concrete means for young people to learn and understand the issues surrounding the climate crisis, to accept crisis-related emotions and better regulate them, to act for the climate, to discover the power of collective action, and to overcome climate-related feelings to transform any anxieties into hopeful climate actions.

A guide for anyone who wants to connect and care for the forest.
Like the land, this guidebook follows the four seasons. Each chapter includes information about the flora and fauna with which you share the forest, the influence of natural disturbances and climate change, and actions you can take to have a positive impact on the landscape. Like an ecosystem, this guide is a collection of the big and small: it considers the landscape, watershed, and distinct stands in your forest as well as the soil, plants, and animals. Whether you own forestland or are simply passionate about spending time in nature, the Wabanaki Forest Care Guide will invite you to listen, observe, and connect in different ways with the land you call home.

The EcoSchools program is both a framework and a toolbox for taking action and engaging in environmental education. For students, the program provides opportunities for leadership, connection with classmates in different grade levels via peer-to-peer mentorship, and a way to learn about sustainability while having fun. For teachers, the EcoSchools program integrates seamlessly with curricula across Canada and offers unique opportunities for learning.

Each year, schools apply for certification by undertaking environmental actions, campaigns, and projects, and then recording them in the online EcoSchools Certification Application (ECA) to earn points. At the end of the year, school applications are assessed based on a standard established over 10 years of benchmarking and are awarded a final certification level.

The Drawdown Labs Job Function Action Guides are practical and shareable resources that highlight specific, high-impact climate actions employees in common corporate professions can take at work. Each guide includes why your role and skills are needed in addressing climate change, tangible actions you can take to make your job a climate job, and key considerations and resources to help you get started. Each guide is also accompanied by a simplified Climate Action Checklist—something you can print and keep at your desk to keep you motivated and organized as you implement climate action at work.

This international project includes seven case study research sites, or collaboratories, in Canada, England, Australia, and the United States. The purpose of this project is to advance our understanding of children’s relations with their environment in order to synthesize knowledge at local, national, and global levels regarding children’s creative responses to the impacts of climate change. At the time of posting, this blog contains case studies on water, food, microplastics, energy, watersheds, and mental health in young learners.

Resources for educators, caregivers, camp leaders, and after-school program leaders who want to deliver physical literacy instruction to children. Active for Life is a national initiative created to help parents give their children the right start in life through the development of physical literacy.

Countryside Classroom helps teachers to find resources, places to visit and school support relating to the themes of food, farming and the natural environment. Our site contains a range of quality assured educational content from hundreds of contributors.

We aim to inspire and enable teachers to use food, farming and the natural environment more often, in and out of the classroom, because we want all children to have the opportunity to learn about and experience these essential topics.

Countryside Classroom is a managed by a partnership of organisations that represent the very best in food, farming and environment education. We are committed to working together to increase the quality of our services and reduce duplication in the sector.

Children who spend time in nature are also healthier and more likely to care for nature as adults.

Teachers across Canada agree! They’ve downloaded more than 10,000 copies of our educational guides. From coast to coast to coast, educators are taking their students outside. And they’re reporting that it’s good for students and those who teach them!

All resources are available to download:

• The Nature as a Classroom guide answers common questions about how to make outdoor learning fun and accessible.
• The Connecting With Nature guides include comprehensive classroom and outdoor lesson plans for kindergarten through Grade 8. The Connecting With Nature guides were created and written by David Suzuki Foundation staff, Toronto District School Board educators and staff, and students from Nipissing University’s Schulich School of Education.

We’re all in this together! And you can make a difference every day. Live your values. Adopt practices that lower your climate impact, protect, respect and restore nature, and support safer, healthier communities. Start where you are and choose your path.  Guide created by the David Suzuki Foundation.

Welcome to the David Suzuki Foundation’s free online library containing more than two decades’ worth of original science, research and policy work.

This library is a resource for scientists, researchers, journalists, students, activists and others. We hope it helps connect you with the work of our Science and Policy experts, advancing our collective knowledge of the environmental movement, the challenges we face and the solutions within our grasp.

Take students on a climate policy quest that explores how policy is used to build a low carbon future. Learners (grades 9-12) will be empowered to explore and propose a new climate policy for Canada.

Take the Eco 360 Challenge! Learners (grades 9-12) will develop a feasible innovation plan that incorporates a circular economic model to eliminate plastic waste from our environment. They will pitch their plans as a three-minute video, which offers an entrepreneurial solution, a policy solution or a behaviour change solution for diverting plastic waste from the environment.

This is an extreme weather program that engages students in hands-on learning about the science behind flooding. Students will learn about the issue, understand the science behind flooding, develop a flood resilience plan for their school, take action to combat flooding in their communities and report on the impact from their actions.

Get students to take action to reduce energy consumption as they become Energy Managers! Learners participate in a School Earth Hour event to raise awareness about energy efficiency at their schools. This program encourages them to be environmentally friendly by making small changes towards using energy more wisely. This program is suitable for grades 3-12.

Re-Energy Challenge is a fun and engaging science activity where learners (grades 4-12) have the opportunity to build a working model of a solar oven, a wind turbine, a hydroelectric generator, a ­­biogas generator, an electric vehicle or an energy storage system—so they can see firsthand how applied science is helping create a more sustainable future. This is a perfect challenge for students to do in a distance learning classroom, or families can do it together! Turn youth into energy engineers by challenging them to design, build and test a working model of any renewable energy technology!

Outdoor learning offers a host of social, mental, and academic outcomes for your students that they can benefit from year-round. Outdoor educators will share some ideas, tips, and tools to extend successful outdoor learning into the winter months.

The first paperback edition of Keepers of Life from the incredibly popular Keepers series.

These bestselling books have been long-time favourites with educators for their innovative approach to teaching children about Native cultures and the environment. Each book, co-authored by Joseph Bruchac and Michael J. Caduto, combines Native legends with information and activities about the natural world.

Educator & Series Information:
Books in the Keepers series are recommended by educational journals across North America for children aged 5 to 12.
Included at the end of the book is a Glossary and Pronunciation Key to Native North American Words and Names.
Foreword by Marilou Awiakta.