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Lesson Plans and Teacher Resources

Litterless Lunches

It's back-to-school time! Are you looking for inspiration for litterless lunches? Check out our Month of Litterless Lunch Ideas PDF:

Thanks for reducing waste and keeping plastics and other pollutants out of our landfills and out of our creeks, rivers and lake. 

Welcome to the Green Classroom

Welcome to one of Ausable Bayfield Conservation's most popular web pages. These lesson plans and teacher resources are made possible by The Green Classroom.

  • From time to time, we post external links for information purposes.
  • Ausable Bayfield Conservation has not reviewed all the content of all these sites and is not necessarily endorsing the sites or the content here.
  • If there is an external link you feel should be removed, please let us know through the staff contacts page.
  • Please check these resources for consistency with current Ontario Curriculum expectations.

Thank you – and enjoy.

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Links to Activities You Can Do with Your Children at Home
At-Home Resources for Connecting with Nature

Are you a parent or guardian looking for learning activities to do with your children at home? Enjoy these resources.

(As with everything we are doing right now, please follow updates from public health authorities about what is and isn't safe to do during the current situation. We are not necessarily endorsing these materials but we are providing them for your information.)

  • AgScape - To help parents and guardians keep their children engaged and learning while at home, AgScape is offering a Virtual Camp Experience. They have developed a daily schedule of activities to connect children and youth to various agriculture and food themes. They are offering two Virtual Camp Experiences for ages 5-11 and 12-18. 
  • Nature Play WA – Getting our kids outdoors - There are so many great ideas for things to do at home and watch online; 25 things to do in self isolation; Resources for families; Resources for learning at home; Animal Live Streams; Exercise; Creative Arts; Science and Mathematics.
  • Commercial-Free Childhood: Tips, advice, and ideas for low-screen, commercial-free options to keep young people engaged – and yourself sane – through quarantine or social distancing.
  • Together in Nature – Pathways to a Stronger, Closer Family: PDF file - A document to help increase family bonding in the outdoors published by Children and Nature Network.
  • Generation Wild: 100 Things to Do Before You’re 12.
  • Tinkergarten: Searchable database of activities that help kids build the skills that matter most. Try them on your own and begin to see the power in outdoor, play-based learning.  Primary level.
  • Audubon for kids: Bringing together activities from across Audubon’s national network of environmental educators, including the classroom curriculum Audubon Adventures, plus related DIY activities and content from Audubon’s editors. These activities can be done at home or in a yard or park, sometimes with the help of a computer. The goal isn’t to teach a child how to name and identify bird species, but rather to give them space to explore and feel connected to the natural world.  Weekly postings for all ages.  For example, Week 2: All about Owls.
  • National Environmental Educational Foundation - Highlighted resources include selected NEEF toolkits and activity guides that require minimal outdoor time. It also includes activities under the headings of Citizen Science; Educational Apps; Museum and National Park Tours; and infographics for discussion.
  • Captain Planet Foundation - Explore a range of recommended resources for learning at home! Filter by grade band, topic, and type of activity.
  • Ranger Rick - With schools, offices, and other public spaces closed, here are ways to stay entertained and engaged in the natural world. Ranger Rick is making the website free to all visitors through the end of June.
  • Water Rocks! - Creating a new public awareness toward the many issues surrounding water.

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Litterless Lunch:

A helpful flyer with a month's worth of balanced school day menus and tips for packing a litterless lunch: 

Litterless Lunch Handout – 200 KB (medium-sized) PDF file

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Take-Homes and Handouts

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Action Projects

  • Agenda 21 - Allows students, parents and educators to take stock of their community, look for solutions, and plan the changes needed to contribute to a sustainable future.
  • EcoLeague's Action Projects - Each EcoLeague recipe is a valuable resource that will help you plan an action experience with your students!  You will receive a full Action Kit including; background information on why the issue is important, curriculum links, lesson plans for class activities, step-by-step directions of the action day, follow-up activities and ideas for further investigation. (you will need to create an account to view these free lesson plans).
  • Evergreen's Resources - Evergreen offers a range of services, resources and funding to people interested in greening across the country. We have three main areas of programming: for schoolgrounds; for community and public spaces, and your grounds at home.

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Fun and Games

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Grade 1 Lesson Plans   

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Grade 2 Lesson Plans

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Grade 3 Lesson Plans

  • Agenda 21 - Allows students, parents and educators to take stock of their community, look for solutions, and plan the changes needed to contribute to a sustainable future.
  • Butterfly Action Activities - Three projects from the National Wildlife Federation.
  • Climate Clues Over Time - What clues do scientists use to see what the climate was 10,000 years ago?
  • Environmental Scope and Sequence  - Grade 3
  • Evergreen Lesson Plans - Evergreen offers a range of services, resources and funding to people interested in greening across the country. We have three main areas of programming: for schoolgrounds; for community and public spaces, and your grounds at home.
  • Focus on Forests Curriculum Links
  • Focus on Forests Primary Lesson Plans - Focus on Forests provides 'hands-on' activities and support materials to assist teachers of all grade levels. The lesson plans are designed to be easily adapted to any teaching environment or grade level. (You will need to create an account to access these free lesson plans).
  • Living Planet at School -  Promotes and celebrates students as designers and doers of projects that integrate sustainability and action for nature into their learning experience.
  • Pollination Partners - Students study the role of butterflies in pollination. Produced by the National Wildlife Federation. 

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 Grade 4 Lesson Plans

  • Agenda 21 - Allows students, parents and educators to take stock of their community, look for solutions, and plan the changes needed to contribute to a sustainable future.
  • Butterfly Action Activities - Three projects from the National Wildlife Federation.
  • Carbon Cycle and Canada's Forests - Students will explore the nature of the carbon cycle and its relationship to different processes within the forest. Produced by the Canadian Forestry Association.
  • Climate change lesson plans - Northern teachers and educators have developed these primary and intermediate lesson plans to help elementary students understand climate change; impacts; and possible solutions.
  • Climate Clues Over Time - What clues do scientists use to see what the climate was 10,000 years ago? Produced by Campsite 24.
  • Climate Future Changes - What are some of the changes in weather that we will see in the future? Produced by Campsite 24.
  • Communities - Students will work in groups using a variety of research tools to study the weather and climate of their own community and of communities in forest regions across Canada. Produced by the Canadian Forestry Association.
  • Environmental Scope and Sequence - Grade 4
  • Evergreen Lesson Plans - Evergreen offers a range of services, resources and funding to people interested in greening across the country. We have three main areas of programming: for schoolgrounds; for community and public spaces, and your grounds at home.
  • Living Planet at School - Promotes and celebrates students as the designers and doers of projects that integrate sustainability and action for nature into their learning experience.
  • Focus on Forests Curriculum Links
  • Focus on Forests Lesson Plans - Focus on Forests provides 'hands-on activities' and support materials to assist teachers of all grade levels. The lesson plans are designed to be easily adapted to any teaching environment or grade level. (You will need to create an account to view these free lesson plans).
  • The Greenhouse Effect - Students will create mini-greenhouses and use them to observe how changes in temperature, moisture/humidity, sunlight and soil can affect the growth of seeds. Produced by the Canadian Forestry Association.
  • The Greens Activity Guide - Six 'hands-on' environmental activities for students aged 9 to12 from PBS Kids.   
  • Greenspace in Our Communities - Students will look at, identify and map different land uses within their own community. They will look at the role and cumulative value of different types of greenspace. Produced by the Canadian Forestry Association.
  • Hot and Cold - This lesson from the Canadian Forestry Association focuses on climate change and the effects that it may have on different species of plants and animals and on biodiversity. Students will participate in an activity where they will add clothing to illustrate how climate change may impact habitats and species adaptations.
  • Minimizing Fragmentation - Students will understand the importance of intact habitat to biodiversity by cutting out and arranging images representing various sources of fragmentation on a forest landscape page.
  • Connecting Youth with Nature -  Produced by the David Suzuki Foundation.
  • Pollination Partners - Students study the role of butterflies in pollination. Produced by the National Wildlife Federation.
  • EcoLeague - Through EcoLeague, students are engaged in linking what they have learned to Action Projects that provide a real context for understanding sustainability issues in their community.
  • Seasons of a Forest - Students will recognize and depict the diversity of life in their local forest and look at the way the forest changes through the different seasons. Produced by the Canadian Forestry Association.
  • Shrinking our Footprint - Students will look at the impacts that they as individuals, and we as Canadians, have on the environment. They will explore ways to reduce their impacts. Produced by the Canadian Forestry Association. 
  • What Our Elders Say - This lesson from the Canadian Forestry Association links the traditional ecological knowledge of Aboriginal peoples with the study of biodiversity, incorportaing environmental learning and drama though a traditional Iroquoian legend. 
  • What's Inside - This lesson from the Canadian Forestry Association provides a general introduction to the concepts of biodiversity. Students will conduct an outdoor experiment exploring different habitats in the school ground.

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 Grade 5 Lesson Plans 

  • 20/20 Lesson Plans - 20/20 The Way to Clean Air is a campaign to help students and their families conserve energy to help improve air quality and reduce the risk of climate change. 20/20 provides 'hands-on' activities for reducing home energy use by 20 per cent and vehicle use by 20 per cent - hence the name 20/20. Produced by EcoSchools.
  • 20/20 Teachers Guide (Refer to above)  – Link
  • 20/20 Teachers' Guide (Refer to above) – (2 MB  – Large – PDF file)
  • Agenda 21 - Allows students, parents and educators to take stock of their community, look for solutions, and plan the changes needed to contribute to a sustainable future
  • Bottle Habitat - What is needed for a healthy aquatic ecosystem, and what will happen when the balance is disrupted due to climate change? Produced by Global Change.
  • Build a Solar Oven - Students will identify the purpose of, and specific requirements for, making a solar oven, list the steps needed to construct a solar oven, record necessary design modifications to maximize the solar collection capacity and thus achieve a higher oven temperature, and evaluate the effectiveness of using different colours in the baking chamber to collect heat energy.
  • Butterfly Action Activities - Three projects from the National Wildlife Federation.
  • Carbon Cycle and Canada's Forests - Students will explore the nature of the carbon cycle and its relationship to different processes within the forest. Produced by the Canadian Forestry Association.  
  • Carbon Cycle Activity 1 - Students will be able to explain that all things are made of atoms and that atoms can be re-arranged in whole number ratios to make different materials and that photosynthesis and respiration are reverse processes. Produced by Global Change.
  • Carbon Cycle Activity 2 - The students will be able to explain that plants are carbon sinks. Produced by Global Change.
  • Carbon Cycle Activity 3 - The students will be able to explain that fossil fuels release carbon. Produced by Global Change.
  • Climate Change Lesson Plans - Northern educators have developed these primary and intermediate lesson plans to help elementary students understand climate change; impacts; and possible solutions.
  • Climate Clues Over Time - What clues do scientists use to see what the climate was 10,000 years ago? Produced by Campsite 24.
  • Climate Future Changes - What are some of the changes in weather that we will be seeing in the future? Produced by Campsite 24.
  • Communities - Students will work in groups using a variety of research tools to study the weather and climate of their own community and of communities in forest regions across Canada. Produced by the Canadian Forestry Association.
  • EnerActionCurriculumLinks-Grade 5
  • EnerAction Meets the Nature Challenge - This cross-referencing table shows you how you can use many of the lessons from the David Suzuki Foundation's Nature Challenge with EnerAction. 
  • Connecting Youth with Nature -  Produced by the David Suzuki Foundation. 
  • Environmental Scope and Sequence-Grade 5
  • Evergreen Lesson Plans - Evergreen offers a range of services, resources, and funding to people interested in greening across Canada. There are three main areas of programming: for schoolgrounds; for community and public spaces, and your grounds at home.
  • Focus on Forests Curriculum Links
  • Focus on Forests Lesson Plans - Focus on Forests provides hands-on activities and support materials to assist teachers of all grade levels. The lesson plans are well organized and designed to be easily adapted to any teaching environment or grade level. (you will need to create an account to view these free lesson plans)
  • Forest Fires and Climate Change - Students will look at the relationships between forest fires, the formation and health of the forest, weather and climate change. Produced by Canadian Forestry Association.
  • Great Butterfly Migration - Students trace butterfly migration routes.
  • The Greenhouse Effect - Students will create mini-greenhouses and use them to observe how changes in temperature, moisture/humidity, sunlight and soil can affect the growth of seeds. Produced by the Canadian Forestry Association.
  • The Greens Activity Guide - Six hands-on environmental activities for kids aged 9 to12 from PBS Kids.   
  • Greenspace in Our Communities - Students will look at, identify and map different land uses within their own community. They will look at the role and cumulative value of different types of greenspace. Produced by the Canadian Forestry Association.
  • Pollination Partners - Students study the role of butterflies in pollination. Produced by the National Wildlife Federation. 
  • Living Planet at School -  Promotes and celebrates students as designers and doers of projects that integrate sustainability and action for nature into their learning experience.
  • Minimizing Fragmentation - Students will understand the importance of intact habitat to biodiversity by cutting out and arranging images representing various sources of fragmentation on a forest landscape page. 
  • Seasons of a Forest - Students will recognize and depict the diversity of life in their local forest and look at the way the forest changes through the different seasons. Produced by the Canadian Forestry Association.
  • EcoLeague - Through EcoLeague, students are engaged in linking what they have learned to action projects that provide a real context for understanding sustainability issues in their community.
  • Shrinking our Footprint - Students will look at the impacts that they as individuals, and we as Canadians, have on the environment. They will explore ways to reduce their impacts. Produced by the Canadian Forestry Association.
  • Travel Solutions - Students will investigate carbon cycle and fossil fuels, graph the carbon dioxide production and populations of six nations, generate suggestions to reduce travel related carbon dioxide production, and complete a Trip Log with trip saving measures.

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Grade 6 Lesson Plans

  • Agenda 21 - Allows students, parents and educators to take stock of their community, look for solutions, and plan the changes needed to contribute to a sustainable future
  • Barriers to Biodiversity - This lesson from the Canadian Forestry Association focuses on habitat loss and habitat fragmentation. Students will predict the impacts on a particular species and its habitat as a result of some form of human influence.
  • Build a Solar Oven - Students will identify the purpose of, and specific requirements for, making a solar oven, list the steps needed to construct a solar oven, record necessary design modifications to maximize the solar collection capacity and thus achieve a higher oven temperature, and evaluate the effectiveness of using different colours in the baking chamber to collect heat energy.
  • Butterfly Action Activities - Three projects from the National Wildlife Federation.
  • Carbon Cycle and Canada's Forests - Students will explore the nature of the carbon cycle and its relationship to different processes within the forest. Produced by the Canadian Forestry Association.
  • Carbon Cycle Activity 1 - Students will be able to explain that all things are made of atoms and that atoms can be re-arranged in whole number ratios to make different materials and that photosynthesis and respiration are reverse processes. Produced by Global Change.
  • Carbon Cycle Activity 2 - Students will be able to explain that plants are carbon sinks. Produced by Global Change.
  • Carbon Cycle Activity 3 - Students will be able to explain that fossil fuels release carbon. Produced by Global Change.
  • Climate Change Lesson Plans -  Northern educators have developed these primary and intermediate lesson plans to help elementary students understand climate change; impacts; and possible solutions.
  • Climate Clues Over Time What clues do scientists use to see what the climate was 10,000 years ago? Produced by Campsite 24. 
  • Climate Future Changes - What are some of the changes in weather that we will be seeing in the future? Produced by Campsite 24.
  • Communities - Students will work in groups using a variety of research tools to study the weather and climate of their own community and of communities in forest regions across Canada. Produced by the Canadian Forestry Association.
  • Create Your Own Conservation Group - Students will understand forest biodiversity, habitat and conservation by researching two conservation groups relating to forests, migratory birds and biodiversity. They will then create their own conservation group, and design their organization's website (either on paper or on the computer). Produced by the Canadian Forestry Association.
  • Electricity, Conservation and You - Students will explore how they use electricity in their lives, investigate alternative energy options, and take a look at the actions they can take to decrease their electricity use at home and at school.
  • EnerActionCurriculumLinks-Grade 6. - PDF file
  • EnerActionMeetsthe Nature Challenge - This cross-referencing table shows you how you can use many of the lessons from the David Suzuki Foundation's Nature Challenge with EnerAction. (PDF file)
  • Connecting Youth with Nature - Produced by the David Suzuki Foundation.
  • Evergreen Lesson Plans - Evergreen offers a range of services, resources, and funding to people interested in greening across Canada. There are three main areas of programming: for schoolgrounds; for community and public spaces, and your grounds at home. 
  • Focus on Forests Curriculum Links - PDF file
  • Focus on Forests Junior Lesson Plans - Focus on Forests provides 'hands-on' activities and support materials to assist teachers of all grade levels. The lesson plans are designed to be easily adapted to any teaching environment or grade level. (You will need to create an account to access these free lesson plans.).
  • Forest Fires and Climate Change - Students will look at the relationships between forest fires, the formation and health of the forest, weather and climate change.
  • Living Planet at School - Promotes and celebrates students as designers and doers of projects that integrate sustainability and action for nature into their learning experience.
  • Great Butterfly Migration - Students trace butterfly migration routes.
  • The Greenhouse Effect - Students will create mini-greenhouses and use them to observe how changes in temperature, moisture/humidity, sunlight and soil can affect the growth of seeds. Produced by the Canadian Forestry Association.
  • Greening with Native Plants - This greening project will have you and your action team revitalize your schoolyard by starting a greening project.
  • Greenspace in Our Communities - Students will look at, identify and map different land uses within their own community. They will look at the role and cumulative value of different types of greenspace. Produced by the Canadian Forestry Association.
  • Minimizing Fragmentation - Students will understand the importance of intact habitat to biodiversity by cutting out and arranging images representing various sources of fragmentation on a forest landscape page.
  • Off Limits - This lesson from the Canadian Forestry Association focuses on the role of protected areas in helping maintain biodiversity. Students will explore the social, economic and environmental impacts of protected areas by researching and preparing a newsletter about a locally protected area.
  • EcoLeague - Through EcoLeague, students are engaged in linking what they have learned to action projects that provide a real context for understanding sustainability issues in their community.
  • Seasons of a Forest - Students will recognize and depict the diversity of life in their local forest and look at the way the forest changes through the different seasons. Produced by the Canadian Forestry Association.
  • Shrinking our Footprint - Students will look at the impacts that they as individuals, and we as Canadians, have on the environment. They will explore ways to reduce their impacts. Produced by the Canadian Forestry Association. 
  • To Be or Not To Be - This lesson from the Canadian Forestry Association explores species at risk in Canada. Students will discuss the different designations for species at risk and create a game using species at risk as the main theme.
  • Yellow Fish Road™ - Learn how to help educate the community about how to preserve our precious water supplies by teaching about the impacts of pollution entering storm drains in hamlets, villages, and towns. 

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 Grade 7 Lesson Plans 

  • Agenda 21 - Allows students, parents and educators to take stock of their community, look for solutions, and plan the changes needed to contribute to a sustainable future
  • Barriers to Biodiversity - This lesson from the Canadian Forestry Association focuses on habitat loss and habitat fragmentation. Students will predict the impacts on a particular species and its habitat as a result of some form of human influence.
  • Build a Solar Oven - Students will identify the purpose of, and specific requirements for, making a solar oven, list the steps needed to construct a solar oven, record necessary design modifications to maximize the solar collection capacity and thus achieve a higher oven temperature, and evaluate the effectiveness of using different colours in the baking chamber to collect heat energy. 
  • Building a Vermicomposter - Find out how to build a Vermicomposter that uses red wiggler worms to transform your organic waste, that would normally be sent to the dump (landfill), into a natural fertilizer that helps us grow all sorts of food.
  • Butterfly Action Activities - Three projects from the National Wildlife Federation  
  • Carbon Cycle and Canada's Forests - Students will explore the nature of the carbon cycle and its relationship to different processes within the forest. Produced by the Canadian Forestry Association
  • Carbon Cycle Activity 1 - Students will be able to explain that all things are made of atoms and that atoms can be re-arranged in whole number ratios to make different materials and that photosynthesis and respiration are reverse processes. Produced by Global Change.
  • Carbon Cycle Activity 2 - Students will be able to explain that plants are carbon sinks. Produced by Global Change.
  • Carbon Cycle Activity 3 - Students will be able to explain that fossil fuels release carbon. Produced by Global Change.
  • Climate Change Lesson Plans - Northern educators have developed these primary and intermediate lesson plans to help elementary students understand climate change; impacts; and possible solutions.
  • Climate Clues Over Time What clues do scientists use to see what the climate was 10,000 years ago? Produced by Campsite 24.
  • Climate Future Changes - What are some of the changes in weather that we will be seeing in the future? Produced by Campsite 24.
  • Communities - Students will work in groups using a variety of research tools to study the weather and climate of their own community and of communities in forest regions across Canada. Produced by the Canadian Forestry Association.
  • Create Your Own Conservation Group - Students will understand forest biodiversity, habitat and conservation by researching two conservation groups relating to forests, migratory birds and biodiversity. They will then create their own conservation group, and design their organization's website. Produced by the Canadian Forestry Association.
  • Discover the Technology Loop - A dynamic, cross-curricular, skill-building teaching resource to help students explore the environmental and social impacts of the computer electronics life cycle.
  • EnerActionCurriculum Links-Grade 7 
  • EnerActionMeets the Nature Challenge This cross-referencing table shows you how you can use many of the lessons from the David Suzuki Foundation's Nature Challenge with EnerAction.
  • Connecting Youth with Nature - Produced by the David Suzuki Foundation.
  • Environmental Scope and Sequence - Grade 7
  • Evergreen Lesson Plans - Evergreen offers a range of services, resources and funding to people interested in greening across Canada. They have three main areas of programming: for schoolgrounds; for community and public spaces, and your grounds at home.
  • Focus on Forests Curriculum Links 
  • Focus on Forests Intermediate Lesson Plans - Focus on Forests provides 'hands-on' activities and support materials to assist teachers of all grade levels. The lesson plans are designed to be easily adapted to any teaching environment or grade level. (You will need to create an account to access these free lesson plans)
  • Food for Thought - Do you know from where where your food comes? Why does it matter from where your food came, you might ask?   
  • Forest Fires and Climate Change - Students will look at the relationships between forest fires, the formation and health of the forest, weather and climate change. 
  • Greening with Native Plants - This greening project will have you and your action team revitalize your schoolyard by starting a greening project. 
  • Greenspace in Our Communities - Students will look at, identify and map different land uses within their own community. They will look at the role and cumulative value of different types of greenspace. Produced by the Canadian Forestry Association.
  • Living Planet at School - Promotes and celebrates students as the designers and doers of projects that integrate sustainability and action for nature into their learning experience.
  • Minimizing Fragmentation - Students will understand the importance of intact habitat to biodiversity by cutting out and arranging images representing various sources of fragmentation on a forest landscape page.
  • No Idling at School - No Idling at School.
  • Off Limits - This lesson from the Canadian Forestry Association focuses on the role of protected areas in helping maintain biodiversity. Students will explore the social, economic and environmental impacts of protected areas by researching and preparing a newsletter about a locally protected area.
  • Quest for Clean Shorelines - This project will have you and your action team doing your part to help remove garbage from a local body of water.
  • EcoLeague - Through EcoLeague, students are engaged in linking what they have learned to action projects that provide a real context for understanding sustainability issues in their community.
  • Seasons of a Forest - Students will recognize and depict the diversity of life in their local forest and look at the way the forest changes through the different seasons. Produced by the Canadian Forestry Association.
  • Shrinking our Footprint - Students will look at the impacts that they as individuals, and we as Canadians, have on the environment. They will explore ways to reduce their impacts. Produced by the Canadian Forestry Association.
  • Timberfind - This lesson from the Canadian Forestry Association focuses on how biotechnology is being used in our forests today. Using a timber-theft crime story and additional information, students will complete a profile to assist them in understanding how biotechnology techniques can be used.
  • To Be or Not To Be - This lesson from the Canadian Forestry Association explores species at risk in Canada. Students will discuss the different designations for species at risk and create a game using species at risk as the main theme.
  • Travel Solutions - Students will investigate carbon cycle and fossil fuels, graph the carbon dioxide production and populations of six nations, generate suggestions to reduce travel related carbon dioxide production, and complete a Trip Log with trip saving measures. Produced by Northeast Sustainable Energy Association.
  • Yellow Fish Road™ - Learn how to help educate the community about how to preserve our precious water supplies by teaching about the impacts of pollution entering storm drains in hamlets, villages, towns, and other urban areas.

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 Grade 8 Lesson Plans

  • Agenda 21 - Allows students, parents and educators to take stock of their community, look for solutions, and plan the changes needed to contribute to a sustainable future
  • Bottle Habitat - What is needed for a healthy aquatic ecosystem, and what will happen when the balance is disrupted due to climate change? Produced by Global Change.
  • Building a Vermicomposter - Find out how to build a Vermicomposter that uses red wiggler worms to transform your organic waste, that would normally be sent to the dump (landfill), into a natural fertilizer that helps us grow all sorts of food.
  • Butterfly Action Activities - Three projects from the National Wildlife Federation  
  • Carbon Cycle and Canada's Forests - Students will explore the nature of the carbon cycle and its relationship to different processes within the forest. Produced by the Canadian Forestry Association
  • Carbon Cycle Activity 1 - The students will be able to explain that all things are made of atoms and that atoms can be re-arranged in whole number ratios to make different materials and that photosynthesis and respiration are reverse processes. Produced by Global Change.
  • Carbon Cycle Activity 2 - The students will be able to explain that plants are carbon sinks. Produced by Global Change.
  • Carbon Cycle Activity 3 The students will be able to explain that fossil fuels release carbon. Produced by Global Change.
  • Climate Change - Extensive teaching kit with six lesson plans and extension activities. Produced by USC Canada
  • Climate Clues Over Time What clues do scientists use to see what the climate was 10,000 years ago? 
  • Climate Future Changes - What are some of the changes in weather that we will be seeing in the future? Produced by Campsite 24
  • Communities - Students will work in groups using a variety of research tools to study the weather and climate of their own community and of communities in forest regions across Canada. Produced by the Canadian Forestry Association.
  • Connecting Youth with Nature - Produced by the David Suzuki Foundation.
  • Create Your Own Conservation Group - Students will understand forest biodiversity, habitat and conservation by researching two conservation groups relating to forests, migratory birds and biodiversity. They will then create their own conservation group, and design their organization's website (either on paper or on the computer).
  • Environmental Scope and Sequence-Grade 8
  • Focus on Forests Curriculum Links
  • Focus on Forests Intermediate Lesson Plans - Focus on Forests provides hands-on activities and support materials to assist teachers of all grade levels. The lesson plans are well organized and designed to be easily adapted to any teaching environment or grade level. (you will need to create an account to view these free lesson plans)
  • Food for Thought - Do you know where your food comes from? Why does it matter where your food came from, you might ask?  (you will need to create an account with EcoLeague to view this free lesson plan)
  • Forest Fires and Climate Change - Students will look at the relationships between forest fires, the formation and health of the forest, weather and climate change. 
  • Great Butterfly Migration - Students trace butterfly migration routes.
  • Greening with Native Plants - This greening project will have you and your action team revitalize your schoolyard by starting a greening project.
  • Greenspace in Our Communities - Students will look at, identify and map different land uses within their own community. They will look at the role and cumulative value of different types of greenspace. Produced by the Canadian Forestry Association
  • Living Planet at School - Promotes and celebrates students as designers and doers of projects that integrate sustainability and action for nature into their learning experience.
  • Minimizing Fragmentation - Students will understand the importance of intact habitat to biodiversity by cutting out and arranging images representing various sources of fragmentation on a forest landscape page.
  • No Idling at School - Develop an anti-idling campaign at your school, creating posters and information handouts about the negative effects of idling and ask drivers to take the anti-idling pledge.
  • Project Flow - PDF file - 'Hands-on' projects that model responsible and active citizenship. The experiential component prepares students to be stewards of our water resources and engages them in actions that address local water issues and concerns.
  • Quest for Clean Shorelines - This project will have you and your action team doing your part to help remove garbage from a local body of water.
  • Shrinking our Footprint - Students will look at the impacts that they as individuals, and we as Canadians, have on the environment. They will explore ways to reduce their impacts. Produced by the Canadian Forestry Association.
  • Yellow Fish Road™ - Learn how to help educate the community about how to preserve our precious water supplies by teaching about the impacts of pollution entering storm drains in hamlets, villages, towns and other urban centres.

Return to top of page

 Grade 9 Lesson Plans 

  • Agenda 21 Allows students, parents and educators to take stock of their community, look for solutions, and plan the changes needed to contribute to a sustainable future .
  • Climate Change in Canada - Climate change presents challenges and opportunities for Canadians. To reduce risks and take advantage of opportunities, we must adapt.
  • EcoSchool - Lesson plans to support Grade 9 to Grade 12 classrooms and prepare students for college and university content.
  • Evergreen Lesson Plans - Evergreen offers a range of services, resources, and funding to people interested in greening across Canada. There are three main areas of programming: for schoolgrounds; for community and public spaces, and your grounds at home.
  • Focus on Forests Secondary Lesson Plans - Focus on Forests Intermediate Lesson Plans -  Focus on Forests provides 'hands-on' activities and support materials to assist teachers of all grade levels. The lesson plans are designed to be easily adapted to any teaching environment or grade level. (You will need to create an account to view these free lesson plans).
  • The Impact of Climate Change on Great Lakes Water Levels - Produced by Global Change.
  • Microcredit for Sustainable Development - Students research a developing country and then apply for a $100 microcredit grant to start a small business, as if they were a person living in that country. A business plan and an illustrated poster are presented to a sustainable development panel of experts (students) who determine whether or not the business plan is economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable. Produced by Facing the Future.
  • Teaching Grade 9 Geography Through a Sustainable Lens - Resources created through a joint project of the York Region District School Board and learning for a Sustainable Future to help students examine the ministry-mandated concepts in Grade 9 geography from a sustainability perspective.

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Grade 10 Lesson Plans

  • Agenda 21 - Allows students, parents and educators to take stock of their community, look for solutions, and plan the changes needed to contribute to a sustainable future. - PDF file
  • Climate Change in Canada - Climate change presents challenges and opportunities for Canadians. To reduce risks and take advantage of opportunities, we must adapt.
  • EcoSchool - Lesson plans to support Grade 9 to Grade 12 classrooms and prepare students for college and university content.
  • Evergreen Lesson Plans - Evergreen offers a range of services, resources, and funding to people interested in greening across Canada. There are three main areas of programming: for schoolgrounds; for community and public spaces, and your grounds at home.
  • Focus on Forests Secondary Lesson Plans - Focus on Forests Intermediate Lesson Plans -  Focus on Forests provides 'hands-on' activities and support materials to assist teachers of all grade levels. The lesson plans are designed to be easily adapted to any teaching environment or grade level. (You will need to create an account to view these free lesson plans).
  • The Impact of Climate Change on Great Lakes Water Levels - PDF file - Produced by Global Change.
  • Microcredit for Sustainable Development - PDF file - Students research a developing country and then apply for a $100 microcredit grant to start a small business, as if they were a person living in that country. A business plan and an illustrated poster are presented to a sustainable development panel of experts (students) who determine whether or not the business plan is economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable. Produced by Facing the Future.
  • Renewable Energy Teaching Materials - Download two lesson plans and one unit plan that complement construction plans and student backgrounders in Solar Heat, Wind Energy and Renewable Energy Unit Plans.

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 Grade 11 Lesson Plans 

  • Agenda 21 - Allows students, parents and educators to take stock of their community, look for solutions, and plan the changes needed to contribute to a sustainable future. - PDF file
  • Climate Change in Canada - Climate change presents challenges and opportunities for Canadians. To reduce risks and take advantage of opportunities, we must adapt.
  • Climate Change Lesson Plans - Northern educators have developed these primary and intermediate lesson plans to help elementary students understand: climate change; impacts; and possible solutions.
  • EcoSchool - Lesson plans to support Grade 9 to Grade 12 classrooms and prepare students for college and university content.
  • Evergreen Lesson Plans - Evergreen offers a range of services, resources, and funding to people interested in greening across Canada. There are three main areas of programming: for schoolgrounds; for community and public spaces, and your grounds at home.
  • Focus on Forests Secondary Lesson Plans and Focus on Forests Intermediate Lesson Plans -  Focus on Forests provides 'hands-on' activities and support materials to assist teachers of all grade levels. The lesson plans are designed to be easily adapted to any teaching environment or grade level. (You will need to create an account to view these free lesson plans).
  • The Impact of Climate Change on Great Lakes Water Levels - PDF file - Produced by Global Change.
    Microcredit for Sustainable Development - PDF file - Students research a developing country and then apply for a $100 microcredit grant to start a small business, as if they were a person living in that country. A business plan and an illustrated poster are presented to a sustainable development panel of experts (students) who determine whether or not the business plan is economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable. Produced by Facing the Future.
  • Renewable Energy Teaching Materials - Download two lesson plans and one unit plan that complement construction plans and student backgrounders in Solar Heat, Wind Energy and Renewable Energy Unit Plans.

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 Grade 12 Lesson Plans 

  • Agenda 21 - Allows students, parents and educators to take stock of their community, look for solutions, and plan the changes needed to contribute to a sustainable future.
  • Climate Change in Canada - Climate change presents challenges and opportunities for Canadians. To reduce risks and take advantage of opportunities, we must adapt.  
  • EcoSchool - Lesson plans to support Grade 9 to Grade 12 classrooms and prepare students for college and university content.
  • Focus on Forests Secondary Lesson Plans and Focus on Forests Intermediate Lesson Plans - Focus on Forests provides hands-on activities and support materials to assist teachers of all grade levels. The lesson plans are well organized and designed to be easily adapted to any teaching environment or grade level. (You will need to create an account to view these free lesson plans).
  • Renewable Energy Teaching Materials - Download two lesson plans and one unit plan that complement construction plans and student backgrounders in Solar Heat, Wind Energy, and Renewable Energy Unit Plans. 
  • EcoLeague's Action Projects - Each EcoLeague recipe is a valuable resource that will help you plan an action experience with your students!(You will need to create an account to view these free lesson plans).
  • Eco School's Student Conference Planner - This resource offers organizational and facilitation tips for a student conference where community organizations and/or students provide workshops on diverse environmental topics to the participants.
  • Evergreen’s Tools and Publications - Evergreen offers a range of services, resources, and funding to people interested in greening across Canada. 

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About the Green Classroom

The Green Classroom – Educating our watershed students about weather variability and adapting to, and mitigating, changes in our climate.

Teachers gained valuable tools to educate about protecting and improving the local environment, and mitigating and adapting to climate change, at The Green Classroom workshops hosted by Ausable Bayfield Conservation in August, 2010.

Ausable Bayfield Conservation was able to implement many of its action items from the Climate Change Position Paper through the Green Classroom program in 2010, thanks to funding from Ontario's environment ministry.

Browse through lesson plans and teacher resources shared in the workshops.

This page includes:

  • Lesson plans and teacher resources – Elementary Level
  • Lesson plans and teacher resources – Secondary Level
  • Take-homes and hand-outs
  • Action projects
  • Fun and games

The Green Classroom extended from conservation areas in the Ausable Bayfield watershed community into the schools themselves during the autumn of 2010. Each of the elementary schools in our watershed received an assembly on climate change and its effects on our local environment. Smaller groups of students helped to plant a tree in their schoolyard.  

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Programs