School Water Stewards Program
School Water Stewards
What is the School Water Stewards Program?
The SWS program was created by The Nanaimo & Area Land Trust Society (NALT) to help foster a culture of stewardship in students by providing them with opportunities to learn about and interact with local freshwater resources and their associated ecosystems.
The SWS program was created by The Nanaimo & Area Land Trust Society (NALT) to help foster a culture of stewardship in students by providing them with opportunities to learn about and interact with local freshwater resources and their associated ecosystems.
The program was piloted in SD68 in the 2020/2021 school year, thanks to eager collaboration with teachers at Coal Tyee Elementary School and Nisaika Kum’tuks Elementary Centre. Since then we have expanded into SD69 and are delivering lessons to 39 classes in 13 schools. We are excited to improve and expand the program in subsequent years.
The program offers Core Lessons and Stewardship Capstone Projects. Core Lessons are curriculum-linked lessons that provide a basis for understanding freshwater stewardship, nature and our place within it. Stewardship Capstone Projects provide students opportunities to take their stewardship education one step further and complete a stewardship action (e.g., invasive plant species removal, amphibian monitoring).
Who is it for?
SWS is available to elementary schools and teachers within School District 68 & 69. If you are interested in having your class participate or have any questions, please contact NALT at sws1@nalt.bc.ca
Who is it for?
SWS is available to elementary schools and teachers within School District 68 & 69. If you are interested in having your class participate or have any questions, please contact NALT at sws1@nalt.bc.ca
This year of the program was made possible thanks to the Nanaimo Foundation, Regional District of Nanaimo, and Job Creation Partnership program, funded by the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia.
Class Features
Here are some of the classes we have worked with so far in the 2022/2023 school year!
Ms. Barritt-Flatt's Grade 6/7 Class
ECOLE HAMMOND BAY
Ms. Mathieson's Grade 2 Class
SYUW̓ÉN̓CT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Ms. Mathieson's class of excited water stewards helped us mulch some freshly planted native species in a riparian area near Northfield Marsh.
Ms. Hooyberg's Grade 2 Class
FRANK J NEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Ms. Hooyberg's class of eager water stewards helped with some in-stream restoration on Walley Creek. They helped remove debris that was preventing the creek from flowing naturally!
Ms. Weiss's Grade 2/3 Class
ARROWVIEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Ms. Weiss's class of budding water stewards learned how natural materials help filter the water around us and has an effect on water quality.
Ms. Rae's Grade 4/5 Class
ARROWVIEW ELEMEMENTARY SCHOOL
Ms. Rae's class did an excellent job identifying native and invasive plant species near their school.
Ms. Edgar's Grade 2/3 Class
ECOLE HAMMOND BAY
Ms. Edgar's class have become excellent water stewards who learned all about watershed health and how we can protect the water around us!
Ms. Tye's 4/5 Class
SYUW̓ÉN̓CT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Ms. Tye's class helped out with 2 stewardship projects near Northfield Marsh! They helped restore a riparian area by planting native plants, and helped collect data for an ongoing amphibian monitoring project.
Ms. Kilshaw's Grade 2/3 Class
ECOLE HAMMOND BAY
Ms. Kilshaw's class of water stewards loved doing microscope explorations! They had the chance to look up-close at both native plant materials and live aquatic macroinvertebrates!
