Aquatic Species at Risk School Workshops
By Willow Beck, Project and Administrative Coordinator, Sea Smart
Attention BC teachers, we’re here to help you! Have you heard about Sea Smart’s Aquatic Species at Risk Workshops? These workshops are developed in partnership with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to foster environmental stewardship by guiding students through Youth Action Projects. Working in groups, students develop impactful projects that directly address threats to species at risk in the Salish Sea, including Southern Resident Killer Whales, Steller Sea Lions, Basking Sharks, and Leatherback Sea Turtles! Even better, workshops align with the BC Curriculum Core Competencies.
2019 - 2020 IMPACT
As the new school year begins, we are gearing up for our second year of delivering these workshops! Last year 20 schools participated, with 2435 students developing 397 projects. Proposed solutions are taken directly from DFO’s Recovery Strategies for Species at Risk. This ensures that your students are creating a real difference for these species at risk. Last year’s action projects ranged from organizing school-wide litterless lunches to creating art displays to raise awareness about sustainable seafood. We are in awe of the impact Youth Action Projects have - last year, student projects engaged an estimated 15,505 people! We were particularly moved by this poem that a Grade 5 student wrote after learning about Species at Risk and the threats they face.
The impact doesn’t stop there! Participating classes joined us in shorelne cleanups throughout the Lower Mainland. At 15 cleanups, we removed 387.76 kg of garbage, 34.6 kg of recycling, and recycled 7890 cigarette butts! These results prove the power of individual action. Your students can also take part in these workshops!
WHAT OTHER TEACHERS ARE SAYING
Species at Risk workshop at Point Grey SecondaryDon’t just take our word for it! Here’s a testimonial from a teacher who participated in these workshops last spring:
“My class participated in Sea Smart’s Species at Risk workshops this spring. I was impressed with how effectively Sea Smart’s educators engaged with students on complex environmental issues. Their use of hands-on, inquiry-based learning is highly effective at teaching students about environmental threats and motivating them to take action to reduce their impacts. My students were very engaged and felt empowered at the end of the program. With guidance from Sea Smart’s educators, my students collaborated to brainstorm and execute impressive projects that addressed environmental issues in our school. The ripple effect into the community from these projects was inspiring to see, as students excitedly talked about continuing their projects into the summer!
Sea Smart programs benefit the mental health of students and the community at large. Many students I teach are sharing that they feel anxiety about the state of their planet and communities. Empowering students to be positive change makers is a way to address this anxiety. I am confident that Sea Smart’s programs support students to feel more confident and build their capacity to communicate with each other and their communities about issues they feel passionate about.”
-Sarah Martz, Grade 7 Teacher
READY TO REGISTER YOUR CLASS?
The impacts of Youth Action Projects would not be possible without the incredible support of teacher champions. This year, we have adapted to deliver these workshops in a virtual format, much like our Virtual Sea School workshops. Virtual delivery means that we can expand our reach to schools across BC. Visit our Species At Risk workshops page to register your class today! Still have questions? Contact info@seasmartschool.com for more information.
