Pre-Visit Information Package

Based at our very own Millard Learning Centre, join an award-winning effort to restore an ecosystem to its flourishing potential. During this 3 day and 2 night program, learn the skills required to make a forest healthy again—through hands-on forest mapping, surveying and orienteering. Includes a detailed teaching guide. 

“This opened my eyes to what a forest is really like.”

“I loved learning about orienteering and stump mapping. The mushroom game was really fun!”

“The staff were really passionate about what they were teaching which made me super excited to learn. I really enjoyed stump mapping and I feel like this area of work is something I would like to pursue.”

“I loved the fun engaging learning environment.  I couldn’t wait to get back to work each day and I learnt so much in such a short time. It’s a great place, great teachers and lots of fun.  Thank you for having us.”

Curriculum links: Conservation and restoration of ecosystems; sustainability in local ecosystems.

https://galianoconservancy.ca/product/forest-forensics-restoration-field...

Hone your sense of direction as you home in on our island wilderness. Join us as we orient ourselves at the Millard Learning Centre, with its 188 acres of mature coastal forest and two kilometers of waterfront.  We’ll master navigation, compass and map-reading skills to find Galiano Island’s ecological treasures. And, we will get hands-on with basic survival skills such as fire making, shelter building and knot-tying.  For the grand finale we will gain a sense of place (and more survival skills) through identifying native edible plants.

It’s a day full of nature-based outdoor learning, as we work together to master low-tech, high-fun, potentially life-saving skills.  Unforgettable.

https://galianoconservancy.ca/product/galiano-survivor-eco-challenge/

Get your  hands dirty in our cutting-edge Food Forest, through activities like planting, weeding and harvesting. It’s a great chance for city kids to discover where our food comes from—and to discover what sustainable farming looks like. You’ve probably never seen anything like a healthy Food Forest in action!

Adapted to high-school curriculums, participants will discover the environmental, social and economic significance of sustainable agriculture and gain practical experience with renewable food systems. This program includes in depth lessons on edible and medicinal species, soil health and permaculture!

Curriculum link: Sustainable Resources 

Where: The Millard Learning Centre on Galiano Island

When: This program is available at your convenience. It takes about 5 hours and yes, you can do it in a day trip from Vancouver or Victoria. 

The Edible Forest (Gr. 3-7): https://galianoconservancy.ca/product/edible-forest-gr-3-7/

The Future of Food (Gr. 8-12): https://galianoconservancy.ca/product/the-future-of-food/

Cedar Coast Field Station offers K-12+ curriculum-based programming for school groups, specializing in multi-day, overnight trips perfect for graduation groups (elementary/secondary school) and teacher capacity building. Students and teachers alike will reconnect with nature through place-based education, cultural teachings and guided scientific inquiry. Guests learn alongside Cedar Coast staff in participatory, ecological research programs while immersed in the Clayoquot Sound with the goal of students being able to conduct their own ecological research in their own local ecosystems! Just a fifteen minute boat ride from Tofino, education groups will stay in canvas wall tents and share meals in a 5000+sq foot, off-the grid facility. Seasonal monitoring programs include juvenille salmon monitoring, stream assessments, bird surveys and intertidal biodiversity surveys, or, hike through BC Parks routes to one of the off-property field sites for micro plastic surveys and sunset camping, such as Ahous Bay! Further, Cedar Coast is working with School Districts to develop for-credit-coures, dual credit courses, work experience opportunities and professional development days for teachers as well! To stay up to date, visit our website and join our mailing list! 

Starting on Shell Beach (a First Nations midden) we will journey through a beautiful forest, past a tidal lagoon and along a shoreline, learning about First Nations practices and their significance to the island as we walk. Settling at the intertidal zone, we’ll use nets and buckets to catch, identify and release a remarkable diversity of animals. After a beachside lunch, we hike over to a new marine environment to participate in a “Teaching Train”- where the students become the teachers, showing each other the creatures they have learned about.

“I learned to be more aware of my actions and surroundings and how they affect others.”- Rhys T, Age 13, Brockton School

“I learned about the many creatures there are in the ocean and the different plants on Galiano.” – Rahim D, Age 13, Brockton School

Curriculum Links: Habitats and Communities (Gr 4), Water Systems on Earth (Gr. 8) 

Note this program’s availability depends on the timing of low tides—please contact us to discuss your program’s time.

What a Marine Life (Gr. 3-7): https://galianoconservancy.ca/product/marine-life-gr-3-7/

Marine Investigations (Gr. 8-12): https://galianoconservancy.ca/product/marine-investigations/

Tuesdays | October 1, 2019 – June 15, 2020 

Thursdays | October 3, 2019 - June 17, 2020

Discover the Gallery’s Permanent Art Collections, focusing on handmade prints by First Nation artists. Using real artworks from the collection, students will make comparisons of the different techniques and elements of meaning in the works. The class will consider the significance of the ecosystem and environment which are represented in the selected First Nations works. Students will create their own art piece inspired by their connection with the environment and explore how different mediums work together.

In this new program students explore the process of erosion by investigating the Fraser River. Using a stream table, the class will build a re-creation of the Fraser River. They will us scientific inquiry to hypothesize changes over time. Students will spend a good portion of the day outdoors examining sections of the Fraser River in order to draw conclusions. Students will learn why this waterway is significant to Canadian history by examining the ecological environment and community around it.