Use the power of image recognition technology to identify the plants and animals all around you. Earn badges for seeing different types of plants, birds, fungi and more!

District approved app.

SEEK user guide (pdf)

Bee’s & Pollinators

Choose the best mason bee home or make one - David Suzuki FoundationEverything you need to know before keeping Mason Bee’s.

Utilize this link to help guide you through caring for a mason bee house and mason bee’s.  Below are some helpful resources to guide you through the process further.  Remember Mason Bee ADS kits are now available in the district.

***David Suzuki Foundation Pollinators & Native Plants

*** VI Native Pollinator Plants – Guide

***SEED Bombs:   

Materials

1 cup compost OR potting soil & compost mixture

1/2 cup of flour

1 tsp of seeds (or 1/2 tsp for very small seeds)

Instructions

1) First mix the compost and the flour together thoroughly.

2) Then add seeds and gently mix together

3) Add water one tablespoon at a time so that the mixture bonds together like a good dough.  (Add more compost if mixture is too wet).

4) Once the mixture has the right consistency, divide mixture into small pieces and roll into a ball (small marble). A smaller seed ball is much more likely to have better contact with the soil and as the small ball crumbles it provides the start for the root system, but is still heavy enough to anchor the emerging seeds to the ground.

5) Let dry overnight or for 24 hours.

***Ideally, seed bombs should be made the day before rain is forecast and then cast 24 hours later – hopefully before the rain has started! If it doesn’t rain then no matter, the seeds will be fine for a few days.

Why Bee’s are disappearing

Mason Bees

Introduction to Solitaire Bees

How to keep Solitaire Bees

ADST Kits & Resource Package

Mason Bee HouseGr. 7

Pollinator Planter Box – Gr. 4

Tree’s & Forests

 Looking up in a forestHow Trees Communicate

Imagine a forest full of trees. Each tree stands tall and solitary. It has its own trunk, branches and leaves. But did you know that those trees are connected by a complex network hidden underground?

Click the image to find some resources and video’s to bring to life the interconnectedness of trees working together as a community.

Vancouver Island Trees– This guide will help you identify some of the most common native trees found on Vancouver Island, British Columbia

SD71- INED link to Cedar Tree-The Tree of Life

Sierra Club- Mother Tree – Two eyes seeing approach to learning about the forest, Indigenous Ecological Knowledge and Scientific approach.

How to plant a Tree Seedling Guide and tips to a successful planting of trees seedling planting in BC

DV8 EducationConnect with DV8 education in the Comox Valley for a supported program all about Trees.

HCTF-Education:  Ready to use printable on trees- scroll to bottom of page

UBC Cool It!:  Urban Forest’s and Climate Action-Lesson plans and hands on activities to explore our urban forest.

Project Learning Tree– Urban Forest Resource for educators

Comox Valley’s Trees of the Year nominations 2021- Map & article from Comox Valley Nature

Can you Hear the Trees Talking

By Peter Wohlleben

Are Trees Alive 

By Debbie S. Miller

Instead of a Person

By Courtney Defriend

Listen to the Language of the Trees

By Tera Kelley

Pictures By Marie Hermansson

Fungi & Decomposers

Vancouver Island Mushrooms

A list, information, and vivid pictures of Vancouver Islands common mushrooms.  Use this website to help identify some of the mushrooms we can find in our school forests and school grounds.  

Connect with DV8 education in the Comox Valley for a supported program all about Fungus

Two Mushroom & Decomposer Kits at the LRC


Plant ID & Invasives

DIY Wild Flower Seed Balls

Seed balls are a great way to reclaim areas of your garden that have become thin or barren! The clay vessels that you create for your seeds and compost offer a fun way
to plant your seeds while providing protection for the exposed seeds.

  Comox Valley- Naturalists Society

The Comox Valley Naturalist Society is made up of dedicated volunteers from scientists, stream-keepers to educators.  They are committed to restoration and rehabilitation of our natural environmental around the Valley.

Comox Valley Broom Busters

The Comox Valley Broombusters work in the areas of Courtenay, Cumberland, Comox and the CVRD.  If you would like to find out more about Broombusting in the Comox Valley, please contact Bev at cvbroombusters@gmail.com 

Invasive Species Council of BC

 ISCBC helps concerned stakeholders work together to stop the spread of invasive species in BC.  This site has a search to find what species are invasive to your area and has a special youth/educators link.  

Winter Wonders

A Warm Winter Tail

Over and Under the Snow

The Story of Snow

Under the Snow

Wild Kratts- Subnivean Zone

Sierra Club BC - Have you checked out our new EcoMap yet?... | FacebookExplore Sierra Clubs EcoMap of BC to dive deeper into the flora & fauna of our amazing province.  This EcoMap will help you learn about the amazing plant and animal beings in your ecoprovince and those of other ecoprovinces of BC, too! You can read about each being’s appearance, life cycle, the habitat they share with other beings, if they are endangered and other interesting information.

EcoFriendly Sask: Introducing Nature Companion: An Entry-Level Nature App for Canada's Four Western ProvincesNature Companion is a free app and website produced by EcoFriendly Sask that provides interesting and easy-to-understand information about >300 plants, trees, birds, animals, insects, reptiles, and amphibians found in Canada’s four western provinces.

Each short description includes colourful photographs and a Did you know? section with fun facts about each species. The tool is available on or offline and is a great way to connect kids with nature.

Vancouver Top 20 Birds

How to attract, the right foods, great information on migration and nesting habits and more. 

  • Chickadees
  • Woodpeckers
  • Jays 
  • Finches
  • Robins  ……. and many more

World Biodiversity Day - A Coastal B.C. Perspective | Pacific WildBiodiversity of the Central Coast

An interactive field guide to the species of the incredibly beautiful diverse central coast of British Columbia.  Resource Includes ID tools for:

  • Plants
  • Fungi and slime molds
  • Seaweeds
  • Plants
  • Land mammals
  • Marine Mammals
  • Specifies at risk
c4a1204e7c47fb86a7349503bb2f9b04.jpeg
 
A wide range of nature and conservation topic lesson plans available from K-high school​.  Resources available in French too.

logo (2).pngHabitat and Conservation Trust Foundation – WildBC

Free well-established lesson ideas on a broad number of topics, Grades k-9

  • ​​​​​​​​Energy, Atmosphere, climate
  • ​​​​​Earth, eco-systems, ecology​
  • ​​​​​​Plants Animals Habitat
  • ​​​​​Water, wetlands, Watersheds
  • ​​​​​Outdoors Projects and places
  • ​​​ Teachers Tips and Tricks
project-wild-logojpg-a356e8197efde5e0.jpgGUW-cover-web_000_000_000.jpglogo-aquatic-wild.pngimages (2).png
Project WILD is an interdisciplinary conservation and environmental education program that focuses on wildlife and habitat. The goal of Project WILD is to develop awareness, knowledge, skills, and commitment resulting in informed decisions, responsible behavior, and constructive actions concerning wildlife and the environment. 
If you would like a project wild workshop brought to your school register with HCTF- Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation​​