Winter The Valley Voice 2019 Forest Valley Outdoor Education Centre’s Newsletter Forest Valley Facts Winter Whereabouts • One of 10 TDSB Outdoor Education Centres • Collective goal: to deliver curriculum-based programs which connect students to the natural world • Welcomed 902 classes (18 500+ students) in 2017 / 2018 • 1 000 TDSB staff work together to plan visits Groundhog White-Tailed Deer • 1 800+ volunteers help visiting classes each year Hibernates from Does not hibernate - relies October to March on fat reserves to survive Get Outside This Winter Enjoy our Canadian winter with your family and friends! Here are some ideas to help you start exploring all that Eastern Chipmunk Muskrat the GTA has to o er: Hibernates, but awakens Active in winter looking Winter Animal Tracks Hike every few days to eat for water plants below ice Our urban forests are still filled with creatures, even in the winter—look for their Valley Vignettes tracks in the snow. Snapshots of visiting students learning outdoors. Can you guess which tracks Using the inquiry process, students belong to whom? discover how to build debris shelters that will withstand the forces of Ice Skating wind and rain and help those inside has over 100 indoor, outdoor and natural rinks! to conserve heat. Make your way down to Harbourfront, Nathan Phillips Square or check out the Ice Skating Trail at Arrowhead Provincial Park in Muskoka. Students use GPS-enabled tablets and the Survey 123 App to record, Shop at Winter Farmer’s Markets plot and graph the biodiversity data Visit any of the markets at Dufferin Grove Rink, St. Lawrence Market, they observe in a variety of local Riverdale Market and more! ecosystems. Winter Night Skies Students apply the elements of art The crisp cool nights reveal a whole new night sky! by creating non-representational, Create a homemade telescope, bring binoculars, or simply look up in abstract, outdoor sculptures areas with less light pollution such as the , Christie inspired by Andy Goldsworthy

Pitts Park or around the . (outdoor artist) in our “Collaborating A=Deer, B=Squirrel, C=Coyote, D=Opposum, E=Raccoon, F=Skunk E=Raccoon, D=Opposum, C=Coyote, B=Squirrel, A=Deer,

Answers: Answers: with Nature” program.

60 Blue Forest Drive, Toronto 416-395-5110 schoolweb.tdsb.on.ca/forestvalley/Home.aspx

[email protected] @forestvalleyoec Winter The Valley Voice 2019 Forest Valley Outdoor Education Centre’s Newsletter Maple Syrup Open House Magnet Contest Please join us for Forest Valley’s Annual Event! Our thank you magnets help us appreciate all our visiting teachers and volunteers each year. Saturday April 6th, 2019 Visiting students can 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. submit an original, hand-drawn picture Hike the trails, visit the sugar shack, representing their day explore the displays, and taste maple goodness! at Forest Valley. The winning design is Pancakes! featured on our Thank You magnets for a year! All available until 1:30 p.m. or while supplies last. entries are displayed at our Maple Syrup Open House. $5 for 2 pancakes, maple syrup, 1 drink (exact change only) Visit our website to learn how to enter. Deadline for entries is February. 1, 2019 Please bring a non-perishable food donation for our food drive canoe Think Globally, Act Locally Thank you to all of our visiting classes for helping us show respect to nature every day. Global Competencies At Forest Valley, we hope to inspire Global Citizenship TDSB’s Vision for Learning includes a focus on Global Competencies (GC’s) by demonstrating how small actions can create big change! as a framework for deeper learning. This means providing opportunities for students to develop skills and values in: Forest Valley OEC is a Platinum EcoCentre Many of our staff are also EcoCoaches who support Critical Global Creativity Collaboration TDSB schools attempting to achieve Platinum status. Thinking Citizenship Communication Inquiry & & Problem & Character & Entrepreneur- City of Toronto Parks, Forestry & Recreation Solving Leadership ship In partnership, we are enhancing our forest with the donation of indigenous trees which are being planted How Do We Support throughout the site with the help of visiting students. Global Competencies? Canadian Wildlife Federation & EcoSchools Collaboration Here’s One Example Forest Hill CI students explored gobal competencies and eco-literacy by launching a student-designed eco Students investigate soil characteristics and the Forest Valley ecosystem, action project that will be eligible for a CWF grant. then work collaboratively solving a real-world challenge such as planting What steps can you take to create change? trees that will help stabilize and diversify vulnerable areas of our forest, further developing the skills of problem-solving and global citizenship.

60 Blue Forest Drive, Toronto 416-395-5110 schoolweb.tdsb.on.ca/forestvalley/Home.aspx

[email protected] @forestvalleyoec