The Meewasin Valley Authority is a non-profit organization that cares for the South Saskatchewan River valley and natural areas in and around Saskatoon, SK. The group has recently introduced a new resource to help secondary (grades 9-12) teachers engage in place-based education with their students at one of the city’s conservation areas. I was particularly excited about this as I was involved with a bioblitz that brought elementary school children to the swale for tours, exploration, and pond-dipping activities. The swale is an interesting landscape that was once part of the river valley many years ago and is home to a number of wildlife species and even some rare prairie plants.
From the site:
‘These new digital resources create curriculum connections to a section of content in the Meewasin App called “Indigenous Connections to the Northeast Swale” as well as physical interpretive panels located at this site. They also include links to a variety of other content and have been designed to encourage teachers and students to take part in land-based activities throughout the Meewasin Valley with a focus on Treaty Outcomes, Arts Education, Social Studies, History, Indigenous Studies, Environmental Science & Health Science.’