A few months ago my class took a field trip to a small part of the Credit River to do a stream assessment. The workshop took place at The Riverwood Conservancy. I must say I was pretty excited.

Birds: They pollinate, eat mosquitos, spread seeds, poop fertilizer… oh yeah, and they’re dinosaurs. They are a fascinating way to get your feet wet in the wonderful world of citizen science. Read on to learn just some of the reasons why birds are awesome, and how you can help them!

Now that you have finished your stream study get active in your local schools and communities and try out some of these cool projects.

If you have not yet heard, EcoSpark is offering various curriculum-linked environmental projects for teachers and students through our School Watch Program where teachers and students can learn how to lead citizen science projects with their students on school grounds.

The damselfly is a fascinating benthic macroinvertebrate that will undergo incomplete metamorphosis involving the following phases: the egg, the nymphal stage, and the adult stage. The life cycle of a damselfly usually lasts one year and most of this time the damselfly is in the nymphal stage.

The aquatic moth is a fascinating benthic macroinvertebrate that goes through a complete metamorphosis, involving the complete four stages of the life cycle; the egg, larval, pupal, and the adult stage. Today we will explore what happens after the aquatic moth pupa leaves the safety and familiarity of the water.

Benthic Macro Invertebrates (BMI’s) are important environmental indicators of the health and integrity of watersheds and for this reason, can be effectively utilized in urban stream studies. EcoSpark assembles preserved BMI study sets that are used to teach students how to collect and identify these species.

Hellgrammites are fascinating benthic macroinvertebrates that go through a complete metamorphosis, involving the complete four stages of the life cycle; egg, larval, pupal, and adult stage.

Interested in birding and citizen science? Join Friends of Sam Smith at this year’s annual Family Christmas Bird Count on Boxing Day at Colonel Sam Smith Park!

The no-see-um is a fascinating benthic macroinvertebrate that goes througha complete metamorphosis, involving the complete four stages of the lifecycle; egg, larval, pupal, and adult phase.

Action Research in education involves teachers identifying a question focused on their own teaching practice and then planning to take action with their students to help answer that question.

Lynn Short is a Professor and Researcher at Humber College in Horticulture. She is also the owner of a cottage in Tiny Township on Georgian Bay, where she developed an innovative technique to remove invasive Phragmites (common reed) without herbicides.

The blackfly is a fascinating benthic macroinvertebrate that thrives in running clear, unpolluted water bodies. Today we will explore: What happens after the blackfly pupae leaves the safety and familiarity of the water?

Student participants had a lot to say about the 2018 Sparking Science through Mentorship Conference! This EcoSpark blog is by two students who wanted to share their experiences.

To celebrate the upcoming 2018 Sparking Science through Mentorship Conference, EcoSpark is featuring two STEM mentors from last year’s conference. Sparking Science is an annual event that showcases women working in STEM who will mentor grade 9 girls from Durham Region.

To celebrate the upcoming 2018 Sparking Science through Mentorship Conference, EcoSpark is featuring two STEM mentors from last year’s conference. Sparking Science is an annual event where women working in STEM mentor grade 9 girls from Durham Region.

Kudos to you if you guessed bumble bees. It’s sad but it’s true that this genus of key pollinator is in danger due to human activities such as pesticide use, climate change, and habitat fragmentation.

Every year, International Youth Day takes place on August 12. This day was declared by the United Nations General Assembly on December 17, 1999 to promote the empowerment and inclusion of youth. Today, youth make up 1.8 billion people on the planet – the largest in history!

I had just looked up from the bug cupped in the hands of one eager student when I saw something that immediately brought a smile to my face. Another young girl who, unlike most of the other students, was not wearing rubber boots had decided to join her classmates in the water despite having only running shoes.

This blog was contributed by Milliken Mills students Shamar Brown and Thuvarakan Jeyasanthan. These students were inspired by the Changing Currents program to take action in protecting their local environments.