Engage your Students with Experiential Learning
We offer high school students experiential learning through our Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) programs. Sign-up your students for courses offered at various CVC conservation areas and urban parks in the watershed.
Programs Offered
Why do plants live where they live? Students will learn to recognize flora and what conditions they prefer to live in based on climate, soil conditions, habitat factors and more. They will also learn why some plants, like invasive species, aren’t always beneficial. Students will take action to reduce the impact of invasive species in nature or plant native plants to increase biodiversity and improve habitats in an urban greenspace or conservation area.
What does it take to succeed in the workplace? Many employers look for strong leadership skills that are adaptable in today’s ever-changing world. Through experiential learning, students will develop hard and soft skills to build their own leadership style. Through hands-on stewardship projects, students will understand what it takes to accomplish common goals using their and strengths as well as their peers.
By the end of this course, students will learn how to use a compass and GPS to navigate confidently. Activities include the basics of map interpretation and navigation skills, an outdoor compass scavenger challenge and using a GPS to monitor stewardship projects. Students will take part in a stewardship project to understand how this technology is used by environmental professionals.
CVC staff will lead an experiential learning activity and hands-on stewardship project at a local green space or conservation area. Students will learn how to communicate environmental science and concepts using props and equipment. They will apply their learning and plan an interpretive activity for their peers.
Can you see the forest for the trees? In this program, students will understand what it takes to manage individual trees and forest habitats. CVC staff will provide a tour of our nursery, learn how CVC manages forests and tap into technical and soft skills to assist with a habitat restoration project in an urban greenspace or conservation area.
CVC Certifications and Relevant SHSM Sector Links
SHSM Sectors | Leadership Skills | Plant Identification | Nature Interpreter | Forestry 101 | Compass/Map/GPS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Agriculture | ✔included | not included | not included | ✔included | ✔included |
Arts & Culture | ✔included | not included | not included | not included | not included |
Aviation/Aerospace | ✔included | not included | not included | not included | ✔included |
Business | ✔included | not included | not included | not included | not included |
Construction | ✔included | not included | not included | not included | not included |
Energy | ✔included | not included | not included | not included | ✔included |
Environment | ✔included | ✔included | ✔included | ✔included | ✔included |
Food Processing | ✔included | not included | not included | not included | not included |
Forestry | ✔included | ✔included | ✔included | ✔included | ✔included |
Health & Wellness | ✔included | not included | not included | not included | not included |
Horticulture & Landscaping | ✔included | ✔included | ✔included | ✔included | ✔included |
Hospitality & Tourism | ✔included | not included | not included | not included | not included |
Information & Communication Technology | ✔included | not included | not included | not included | not included |
Justice, Community Service & Emergency Services | ✔included | not included | not included | ✔included | ✔included |
Manufacturing | ✔included | not included | not included | not included | not included |
Mining | ✔included | not included | not included | not included | not included |
Non-profit | ✔included | not included | ✔included | ✔included | ✔included |
Sports | ✔included | not included | not included | not included | not included |
Transportation | ✔included | not included | not included | not included | ✔included |
Photo Gallery
![Three people looking up at a tree using a clinometer.](https://files.cvc.ca/cvc/uploads/2024/07/SHSM1-1024x859.jpg)
![People kneeling at the side of a river with tools in their hand working.](https://files.cvc.ca/cvc/uploads/2024/07/med_com_Cedarvale-Park-Georgetown-District-High-School-Tree-Planting_hh_20230428-3-1024x1024.jpg)
![A group of people posing for a photo while wearing hip waders.](https://files.cvc.ca/cvc/uploads/2024/07/med_img_StreamStudy-and-Invasives-St-Martin-SS-at-FredKlinePark_16052024-37-1-1024x1024.jpg)
![People wading in the river wearing hip waders and holding nets](https://files.cvc.ca/cvc/uploads/2024/07/SHSM4-1024x862.jpg)
![Two people standing in the water in hip waders smiling for a photo. One is hold a net](https://files.cvc.ca/cvc/uploads/2024/07/SHSM5-1024x861.jpg)
![A person standing in the river wearing hip waders and holding a net while smiling for a photo](https://files.cvc.ca/cvc/uploads/2024/07/med_img_StreamStudy-and-Invasives-St-Martin-SS-at-FredKlinePark_16052024-56-1024x1024.jpg)
![A group of people standing on a path in the trees while posing for a photo](https://files.cvc.ca/cvc/uploads/2024/07/med_img_TCCA-GPS-SHSM-and-Buckthorn-Pull_20240412-5.jpg)
![Two people smiling at the camera standing in a forested area with garden tools in their hands](https://files.cvc.ca/cvc/uploads/2024/07/SHSM6-1024x853.jpg)
![A group of people in a room standing around tables with compasses](https://files.cvc.ca/cvc/uploads/2024/07/med_img_TCCA-SHSM-GPS-and-Mapping_20240325-1-1024x1024.jpg)
![Three people standing in a wooded area holding compasses](https://files.cvc.ca/cvc/uploads/2024/07/SHSM7-1024x859.jpg)
![A group of people looking off into the distance while standing at the edge of a wooded area](https://files.cvc.ca/cvc/uploads/2024/07/SHSM8-1024x870.jpg)
![A group of people standing in a circle outside by a building holding compasses](https://files.cvc.ca/cvc/uploads/2024/07/med_img_TCCA-SHSM-GPS-and-Mapping_20240325-30-1024x1024.jpg)
Upcoming Events
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