Instructions:
The teacher takes students outdoors and asks them to think of an area or green space that they have visited throughout their lives (could be a street, city park, conservation area, etc.). Ask students:
- To reflect on why the spot is special to them.
- How did you discover this space?
- How has the space changed over the years?
- What was it like when you first visited it? Do you think it will remain the same?
- What kinds of changes might take place in the future? Why?
- What do you think it will it be like in 5 years? 10 years? 20 years?
- What might it have been like before you first visited this place? (Have students consider what the land was like 150 years ago eg. settler farmland and 300 years ago eg. pre-settlement forests).
- Who could you ask to find this information (parents, teacher, someone who works there, etc.)?
In their Outdoor Learning Journals (introduced in Teacher’s Guide) students write about:
- Why this special place should remain the same for future generations to enjoy ?
- Why you think it should change?
- How it could improve?
- Students also record one thing they want to share with others about this place in the future?
Teachers then leads a discussion with students regarding the changing climate. Have students reflect on weather patterns they have seen change over the years ie: warmer winters/summer in the region etc. (ie: Ontario- drought and flooding).
Optional Extension:
Students read article: https://rb.gy/hhidy found in Outdoor hockey traditions under shadow of climate change.pdf. Article explains how climate change could cause the disappearance of backyard skating rinks in our lifetime.
