Community Classroom
We are thrilled to be partnered with Oakville Community Foundation (OCF) to provide educational workshops at no cost for publicly funded schools.
Browse through our programs below. Click to learn more about the topic and what's included in each.
Contact us today at programs@oakvillegreen.org to book a live class presentation, or to plan an outdoor nature activity.
Biodiversity Discovery Walks:
Step outside and explore the incredible biodiversity right in your schoolyard and local community! This interactive, curriculum-connected program invites students on guided outdoor nature walks, where they’ll connect with nature, deepen their understanding of local ecosystems, and discover how we can all play a role in protecting the environment.
Students will take part in guided winter nature walks, exploring local ecosystems with a focus on birds, dormancy, urban wildlife, and seasonal adaptations. They will investigate relationships between native trees, surrounding plant communities, and the wildlife they support. Through observation and inquiry, students will discover that small actions, including planting milkweed or caring for a tree, can play a meaningful role in protecting biodiversity and supporting species at risk.
We make it easy to get your students outside and promote environmental literacy that sparks curiosity about the natural world
Grade Level: JK-Gr.8
Duration: 50 minutes
Setting: Outdoor
Max # of students: 30
Bring Monarchs Back:
With its unique waterfront location at Lake Ontario, Halton is a key landing location for endangered Monarch butterflies, as well as for many migratory bird species.
Did you know that milkweed is the only host plant for Monarch butterflies?
The monarch butterfly population has declined by more than 80% since the 1990s.
No milkweed, no monarchs. Even a small patch of milkweeds in your schoolyards can be a lifeline for an entire species! Planting milkweed creates a whole beautiful web of life and engages students in environmental stewardship.
Oakvillegreen will share some key points of how to support monarch butterfly populations. Students will understand the role and importance of pollinators for biodiversity, food production, ecosystem services, and ecological balance.
Optional: seedball making activity, all materials provided
Grade Level: JK-Gr.8
Duration: 50 minutes
Setting: Indoor/Outdoor
Max # of students: 30
Maples and Oaks:
Maple and oak trees are a distinctive ecological and cultural feature for the Oakville’s urban forest. These trees provide multiple benefits for human well-being and wildlife.
Students will learn to identify maple and oak trees. They will find out what trees need to survive, how they communicate, and how trees help and support each other. Students will learn about the importance of growing and caring for native trees.
Students will choose a maple or oak tree in their school community and will observe, investigate, and organize information about the chosen tree.
Students will identify relationships between their tree and other organisms. They will make their own pledge of how to care for the chosen tree or contribute in other ways to the well-being of our urban forest.
The program deepens students’ connection to nature and provides a greater understanding and appreciation of their local environment.
Grade Level: JK – Gr. 5
Duration: 50 minutes
Setting: Indoor/Outdoor
Max # of students: 30