OVERVIEW
Through presentations, school programs, extracurricular sessions, and more, OWC reaches kids with fun, hands-on, instructional activities to learn about the watershed and the environment around them. Students learn real-world applications of what they are taught in school and gain a deeper connection to their watershed and better understanding of environmental science. The OWC also offers workshops to equip educators to deliver water- and climate-focused lessons. Interested in one of our programs? Contact Sofie Forsström, OWC’s Educaton Program Manager.
In addition to offering the programs listed below, OWC appears at public outreach events throughout the year, using games and activities to educate kids on topics like native fish, invasive species, responsible recreation, and native pollinators. Sign up for email updates or follow OWC on social media to learn more.
Available programs
The Virtual Watershed Stewardship Training program is a virtual reality (VR) experience created and developed by OWC. It transports participants to a real-world location in the Oldman headwaters, allowing them to plant willows, put out campfires, and remove invasive species in a safe, virtual setting. By using VR, participants experience the sights and sounds of the watershed in a controllable and accessible format, and gain knowledge and skills that deepen their relationship with their watershed and encourage place-based learning.
Project WET (Water Education Today) is a workshop for educators in the watershed. It equips teachers of grades K-12 students with new resources, a certification, and greater confidence to deliver fun, hands-on water‑ and climate‑focused lessons.
X-Stream Science is a free curriculum-based stream monitoring school program for grade 8-12 classes. This program was first developed by the Battle River Watershed Alliance and the Red Deer River Watershed Alliance. In it, students participate in scientific inquiry by conducting hands-on sampling, collecting biological, chemical, and physical data from a local creek and surrounding land. Content is curriculum- and place-based and the program is led by local experts.
Caring for Our Watersheds is a contest that asks students in grades 7-12 to submit a proposal answering the question, "What can you do to improve your watershed?" Cash prizes and funding are available to implement students’ ideas! The OWC offers free classroom presentations as part of this program.
In Deep Roots: The Story of Alberta’s Grasslands, students in grades 4-7 embark on an interactive guided virtual tour of Alberta’s grasslands. Learn more about this distance learning program here.
Watershed: A Freshwater Odyssey is an interactive program for grades 3-7. Join OWC on a journey of discovery about Alberta’s freshwater, including its uses and distribution, and the watershed we call home. Developed in partnership with Alberta Parks, this program can be delivered virtually or in person. It is a great introductory program for students to get their feet wet, and ‘flows’ well into the Caring for our Watersheds presentation!
SUPPORTERS, FUNDERS & PARTNERS
School program delivery and survey development are supported in part by the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation Grant, the Alberta Conservation Association’s Conservation, Community, and Education Grant, the Alberta Branch of the Canadian Water Resources Association, Alberta Prairie Conservation Forum, Waterton Biosphere Reserve, and Battle River Watershed Alliance
The core work of the Virtual Watershed Stewardship Training program was possible in part through the RBC Foundation’s Tech for Nature program.
