Education

Meewasin leads hands-on educational tours at Beaver Creek Conservation Area (BCCA) for grade 5 school groups.

Considered a microcosm of the Meewasin Valley, BCCA offers educational programs that provide visitors with opportunities to discover nature along a selection of nature trails winding through prairie, forest, sand dune, creek and river valley habitats. Every year, BCCA offers interpretive programs for thousands of Grade 5 students.

Please note that due to the pandemic we have had to minimize our current program offerings. We are currently offering full-day programming for Grade 5 students at the Beaver Creek Conservation Area (BCCA) on Thursday & Fridays only.

Fill out this form to book a program at Beaver Creek Conservation Area.

If you have any questions about the Grade 5 Education Programs in the meantime, please contact Beaver Creek Conservation Area at 306-374-2474.

Meewasin leads hands-on educational tours at the Northeast Swale for grade 3 school groups.

The Meewasin Northeast Swale contains considerable areas of native prairie grasslands and offers high quality biodiversity, proximity to urban areas, economic benefits for recreation and education and a natural filter for our air and water. The swale contains wetlands that provide a means of flood control for the surrounding community.

Please note that due to the pandemic we have had to minimize our current program offerings and are not currently taking bookings for this site.

If you are a group or educator interested in future programming at this site, please help us better understand your needs by completing this survey.

Click here for a location map of the Meewasin Northeast Swale.

Meewasin leads hands-on educational tours at Saskatoon Natural Grasslands for grade 2 school groups.

The Saskatoon Natural Grasslands (SNG) is a 34 acre (13.8 hectare) parcel of native Saskatchewan grassland persisting in a surprisingly natural condition.  It lies within the area known as Silverspring.  This fescue grassland is not just grass, but an ecosystem – a complex association of grasses, flowering and non-flowering plants, birds, animals and insects representing 10,000 years of natural history since the glaciers receded.

Please note that due to the pandemic we have had to minimize our current program offerings and are not currently taking bookings for this site.

If you are a group or educator interested in future programming at this site, please help us better understand your needs by completing this survey.

Thanks to education programs provided by the University of Saskatchewan Centre for Continuing and Distance Education, the Saskatoon Nature Society, the City of Saskatoon, the Greater Saskatoon Catholic School Division, the Saskatoon Public School Division, Meewasin  and others; and the stewardship by the Silverspring community, the SNG continues to provide habitat, aesthetic and recreational opportunities, soil protection and gene pool for future medical and agricultural research.

Related resources at Meewasin: SNG brochure (223 KB pdf), SNG Ecological Education Guide (29 MB pdf).

Meewasin hosts an annual celebration of International Bat Week with our Dark Skies at the Creek event at Beaver Creek Conservation Area. Take part by joining Meewasin interpreters, astronomers and local naturalists and learn about the importance of dark skies, the amazing diversity of nocturnal animals, and how both are affected by global light pollution.

The Saskatoon Dark Sky Initiative is both a monitoring and educational program aimed at educating the public about the negative effects of light pollution on nocturnal wildlife within Saskatoon. The program was designed to engage public and students of all ages through in-class programming, Dark Skies at the Creek public awareness events, and citizen science projects aimed at collecting valuable information on local light pollution within the Meewasin river valley. Thanks to our partners the Saskatoon Nature Society, and the Royal Astronomical Society Saskatoon Centre for the ongoing support of Meewasin’s Dark Sky event.

With over 20% of the terrestrial surface of our planet experiencing light pollution in its many forms, we are now beginning to understand the importance of maintaining dark skies for human health, plant physiology and nocturnal wildlife populations. Many studies have identified the negative effects of light pollution on human health, correlating greater light pollution with disrupting sleep patterns, negatively affecting the regulation of a variety of hormones, and lessening memory retention.

Light pollution has been shown to negatively affect nocturnal wildlife and ecosystems as a whole by changing animal behaviours, disrupting seasonal movements, and altering the structure of ecosystems. Many native species residing in and around the City of Saskatoon depend on dark skies for their survival. Nocturnal species, such as the endangered common nighthawk and the big brown bat, rely on natural darkness for foraging and movement patterns. Northern leopard frogs and tiger salamanders, both given a status of Special Concern under the Species at Risk Act (SARA), depend upon dark skies for the their normal behaviours, such as the timing of their vocal calls during their reproductive seasons. Smaller aquatic macro-invertebrates that are a vital source of nutrition in wetland environments, depend on light-dark cycles to govern their feeding behaviors. Even small changes to the illumination of our natural areas can drastically affect their ecological health and the survivability of the species that encompass them.

Please note that due to the pandemic we have had to minimize our current program offerings. We are currently offering full-day programming for Grade 5 students at the Beaver Creek Conservation Area (BCCA) on Thursday & Fridays only.

We are currently gauging interest in and demand for additional programming and we’d like your feedback! If you are a group or educator interested in programming for other age groups and/or at other Meewasin sites, please help us better understand your needs by completing this survey.

One of Meewasin’s goals is to get students out in nature in hands-on, experiential learning experiences. We generally lead interpretive tours to most natural areas around the City of Saskatoon and provide in-class programming for a variety of topics, so we are pretty flexible in finding something that will work for your group. Here are the programs we are currently offering:

1) Meewasin Northeast Swale: Just on the outskirts of Saskatoon lies a unique ancient river ecosystem contains vital prairie-wetland habitats, full of native flora and fauna that call the swale their home. We invite students of all grades to explore the site through interpretive hikes and through stewardship by collecting valuable information through citizen science projects aimed at monitoring the health of the ecosystem. Students aid in collecting scientific information on the biodiversity of aquatic insects (pond dipping), larger animals (using binoculars), native plant abundance, or the water quality of the wetlands.

2) Saskatoon Natural Grasslands: The Saskatoon Natural Grasslands is not just grass, but an ecosystem – a complex association of grasses, flowering and non-flowering plants, birds, animals and insects representing 10,000 years of natural history since the glaciers receded. Join Meewasin interpreters on an experiential hike through the past, present and future of conserving natural areas within urban environments. Students will learn about why the grasslands are an important ecosystem, how humans effect the environments around them, and what sustainable practices we can implement in our daily life to aid in conserving these important habitats.

3) Beaver Creek Conservation Area: Located 13km south of Saskatoon, this important conservation area provides valuable refuge for numerous native species and habitats, including endangered grassland birds, colourful wildflowers, rare short-grass prairie and an abundance of mammals. The site offers many opportunities for your class to discover nature via the hands-on activities in the interpretive centre and the three nature trails. Join the interpreters on an educational hike along the creek and into the many valleys that are sure to inspire your students.

4) Visit to a Natural Area: Choose a natural area within the Meewasin River Valley and we will lead your class on an interpretive adventure looking at the flora and fauna that encompass it. Depending on the site and season, the interpretive staff will provide interactive activities, unique learning experiences, and site-relevant information pertaining to your current curriculum outcomes. Examples include visiting Chappell Marsh for a wetland fieldtrip or Cranberry Flats to learn about the South Saskatchewan River Watershed on the Meewasin Trail.

Founded in 1993 by Meewasin, Partners FOR the Saskatchewan River Basin (PFSRB) promotes stewardship and sustainability of the Saskatchewan River Basin, an international watershed stretching over the three Prairie Provinces and a portion of Montana. More than 3 million people live within the basin which includes the North Saskatchewan, Red Deer, Oldman, Bow, Highwood, South Saskatchewan, Battle, Saskatchewan, St. Mary, and Carrot Rivers.

Their focus is the Basin itself, however programs are most often delivered to all areas of the Prairie Provinces. To date, PFSRB has delivered over 20 major educational and informational projects. Partners FOR the Saskatchewan River Basin continues to strive for excellence, maintaining that their primary client is the River.

PFSRB is governed by a Board of Directors with members from the three prairie provinces. For more information on PFSRB please visit their website.