Teachers and Youth Leader – Stand up for your river
Ottawa Riverkeeper is proud to launch the first activities in our new educational initiative called River Friends. This new youth education program will teach youth about the importance of the Ottawa River, their local waterbody. The initiative deepens students’ understanding about the linkages between the community and watershed; how their actions are impacting the river; and how they can help protect and enhance its health. For more info: education@ottawariverkeeper.ca
The Ottawa River is a globally significant waterway that flows for over 1200 km through many cities, towns and villages, including our nation’s capital. It hosts rich wetland and forest habitats, is home to at least 24 provincially or nationally threatened species, and provides drinking water to over 1 million people. At the same time, the watershed is under growing pressure from increasing development, loss of habitat, municipal and industrial discharges, hydroelectric dams, agriculture use and runoff, as well as climate change. Despite these pressures, the River is actually in very good shape! We want to keep it that way – at Ottawa Riverkeeper we believe that we all have the right to swimmable, fishable, drinkable water.
While the program will eventually have something for all youth, our first activities are geared towards Grades 4, 7, 8 and 9:
- Short video (12 minutes) about the river
- The Jeopardy Game provides answers and questions from the video, which are suitable for Grades 4, 7 and 8 and is a useful activity to recall the information.
- Two role playing scenario activities that will provide action-learning opportunities for intermediate grades.
- A watershed fact sheet that can be copied or used in other lessons, as well as a primer on What You Can Do to Stand Up for Your River
Link to other Teacher’s Resources
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