{"id":16591,"date":"2026-04-01T19:25:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T19:25:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/?p=16591"},"modified":"2026-04-08T20:34:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T20:34:41","slug":"nature-based-education-in-spring-the-thaw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/en\/nature-based-education-in-spring-the-thaw\/","title":{"rendered":"Nature-based Education in Spring: The Thaw"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>As winter loosens its grip and the landscape begins to thaw, April marks a time of renewed energy in Canada\u2019s ecosystems.<\/h2>\n<p>Meltwater flows through forests and wetlands, early plants push through cool soil, and wildlife becomes increasingly active. It\u2019s also the moment when we can begin to notice which species are returning and which may be taking hold \u2014 offering a perfect opportunity to explore the difference between native and invasive species. This season is rich with opportunities for learners to observe ecological change in real time.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-16593\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/file-folder-spring-thaw-en-640x484.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"484\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/file-folder-spring-thaw-en-640x484.png 640w, https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/file-folder-spring-thaw-en-1100x832.png 1100w, https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/file-folder-spring-thaw-en-768x581.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/file-folder-spring-thaw-en-1536x1162.png 1536w, https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/file-folder-spring-thaw-en-530x401.png 530w, https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/file-folder-spring-thaw-en.png 1706w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Teaching Resources<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/education.cwf-fcf.org\/library\/resources\/get\/286518\/An%20Overview%20of%20Plants.pptx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">An overview of plants<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 A PowerPoint presentation resource on plant anatomy.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/education.cwf-fcf.org\/library\/resources\/get\/252253\/Paper%20Plant%20Pots.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Paper Plant Pots<\/strong><\/a> &#8211; A hands\u2011on craft. Pair it with native seed starting or discussions on soil moisture and thaw timing.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Native or Invasive?<\/strong> Learn about native and invasive plants in your community with the <a href=\"https:\/\/cwf-fcf.org\/en\/resources\/encyclopedias\/native-plant-encyclopedia\/?src=menu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CWF Native Plant Encyclopedia<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/cwf-fcf.org\/en\/resources\/encyclopedias\/invasive-species\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CWF Invasive Species Encyclopedia<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/education.cwf-fcf.org\/library\/resources\/get\/228727\/Friends%20or%20Foes.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Friends or Foes<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 A classroom debate between native and non-native species.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/education.cwf-fcf.org\/library\/resources\/get\/228959\/CWF%20Assess%20the%20Mess.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Assess the Mess<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 Research native and non-native species in your area and discuss the effects on local wildlife.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hww.ca\/issues-and-topics\/invasive-alien-species-in-canada\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Hinterland who\u2019s who<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 A quick video and background on invasive species.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/canadasgrasslands.ca\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Grasslands Project<\/strong><\/a> &#8211; Though broad in scope, this fits nicely as grasslands undergo major regeneration in early spring\u2014new shoots, overwintered seeds germinating, and wildlife return.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>WILD Education Workshops<\/h3>\n<p>Have you taken a WILD Ed workshop? Check out these lesson plans and activities in the Project WILD Manual.<\/p>\n<p>Wish you had a Project WILD manual or want to tell a friend to sign up for a WILD Education workshop? Send them this link to sign up for our waitlist. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.surveymonkey.com\/r\/WILDEdSignup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sign up link<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Project WILD:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Turtle Hurdles (pg. 638)<\/strong> \u2014 As wetlands thaw, turtles begin moving from overwintering sites to basking spots and nesting areas. This activity explores the migration challenges turtles face\u2014especially road crossings in spring.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Aquatic Roots (pg. 327)<\/strong> \u2014 Investigate native and non\u2011native aquatic plants as water systems warm. Meltwater brings nutrients and disturbance, creating ideal conditions to study plant adaptations and invasions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>World Travellers (pg. 550)<\/strong> \u2014 Perfect for exploring how seeds, species, and materials travel across the landscape\u2014especially via spring water flow, wind, and human movement.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Water Canaries (pg. 160)<\/strong> \u2014 Explore spring water quality by studying aquatic invertebrates.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-16594\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/student-action-640x482.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"482\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/student-action-640x482.png 640w, https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/student-action-1100x829.png 1100w, https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/student-action-768x579.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/student-action-1536x1157.png 1536w, https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/student-action-530x399.png 530w, https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/student-action.png 1622w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Student Action Projects<\/h3>\n<p>&#8220;Caring about wildlife, restoring natural areas, and getting kids into nature is the best thing that we can do for our kids. [&#8230;] They do better in their cognitive abilities. They do better in science, technology, engineering, math, and the arts. They develop their social and emotional intelligence at higher levels than kids who are spending more time on screens. They&#8217;re less anxious and less fearful.&#8221; &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/YxT2ykl9i4s?si=X9jwYiGnS4mBKYBV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Collin O\u2019Mara<\/a><\/p>\n<p>As the world thaws and spring awakens, encourage your students outside to connect with nature and take meaningful action for wildlife. Here are a few simple ways to make a lasting impact together.<\/p>\n<h4>National Wildlife Week \u2014 April 5\u201311<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Many organizations celebrate <a href=\"https:\/\/cwf-fcf.org\/en\/explore\/national-wildlife-week.html\">National Wildlife Week<\/a>. Search to see what is taking place in your area.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Earth Day \u2014 April 22<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Encourage stewardship with: <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/en\/clean-up-your-shoreline-a-project-kids-can-feel-good-about\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">habitat cleanups<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/en\/planting-seeds-of-change\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Native seed planting<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Check out a nature-based education organization near you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><a href=\"https:\/\/www.citynaturechallenge.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">City Nature Challenge<\/a> \u2014 April 24\u201327<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>A global citizen science event inviting schools to document local biodiversity using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inaturalist.ca\/\">iNaturalist<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Spring thaw = ideal conditions for spotting early plants, insects, birds, and amphibians.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"post-excerpt\">As winter loosens its grip and the landscape begins to thaw, April marks a time of renewed energy in Canada\u2019s ecosystems. Meltwater flows through forests and wetlands, early plants push&hellip;<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16596,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[636,631,642,6,638,637],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-coasts-oceans","category-connect-with-nature","category-education","category-endangered-species","category-fields-forests","category-lakes-rivers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16591"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16591\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16621,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16591\/revisions\/16621"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}