Welcome to the Watersheds Canada Resource Library!
Here you will find a comprehensive collection of free educational resources dedicated to helping rural shoreline property owners, families, municipalities, lake groups, and educators protect their lakes and restore natural habitat. Explore guides, best practices, case studies, lesson plans, and tools to become a freshwater protector. All resources are freely shareable so please include them in a newsletter, on social media, or printed for a community booth!
Funding support thanks to Peterborough K.M. Hunter Charitable Foundation, and S.M. Blair Family Foundation.
Grade 3-4 Native Plants Unit: video module #1
Why are shorelines important and how can people protect them by planting local plant species? Monica from Watersheds Canada discovers the different parts of a plant and what things they need to grow strong and tall. Each part of the different plant plays an important job, like providing food or a home for local animals and people. Meet local Ottawa plant species like the white water lily, purple coneflower, black-eyed susan, and common milkweed.
Life Systems Biodiversity activity book
This activity book is designed to teach young students (grade 4-6) about biodiversity, particularly around lakes and rivers. It includes activities such as BINGO, word searches, and matching games as water quality, bioindicators, and community biodiversity topics are explored.
My Favourite Fish Lesson Plan
This handout accompanies the My Favourite Fish lesson plan.
My Freshwater Diary Lesson Plan
The document discusses the importance of water in the human body and the challenges of finding clean freshwater. It highlights the need for children to drink 6-8 cups of water a day. The handout encourages you to track their water usage and find ways to use less freshwater!
Roll to Build a Fish activity
This activity sheet guides you through building a 3D fish cube. You will learn to colour and cut the fish body parts, fold, and glue them together. Once the cube is built, you will roll and draw a part of a fish, repeating the process until an entire Largemouth Bass is created.
Service Learning Project activity
How can you take action in your community to protect the environment and local lakes and rivers? Consider leading a service learning project with your class, family, or friends using this activity!
Simon Says Move like a Turtle Lesson Plan PDF
This lesson plan is designed for students to demonstrate the stages in the life cycle of a turtle. Students will learn to move like a turtle in different stages, including swimming, hiding in their shell, walking slowly, basking in the sun, burying eggs, and hatching.
Something's Fishy Puzzle activity
These activity cards feature sunfish, walleye, yellow perch, largemouth bass, and brook trout.
Teacher Information Sheet – Fish Habitat Lesson PDF
This reference documents helps teachers understand the basic needs of different fish species and their habitat needs. This document is helpful for teachers who want to deliver fish-centred programming in their classroom and want to increase their comfort level before delivering lessons. This document covers various fish species, including walleye, largemouth bass, sunfish, yellow perch, and brook trout. By understanding the unique habitats of these fish, teachers can appreciate the importance of preserving the natural environment and instil this knowledge in their students.