Toronto and Region Conservation Authority’s (TRCA) At Home With Nature activity sheets and homeschool resources are designed to help families deepen their knowledge of nature, ecology, the environment, and their place in it.
Click here for online learning resources for Teachers and Schools.
Homeschool Resources:
For Families & Kids
INDOOR NATURE WALK
For Kids Only!
| Stand up and get some exercise! Come along on a short nature walk with Raya Papaya and explore the outdoors right in your living room – using your imagination! |  |
A COLOURFUL MEADOWAY WALK
For Ages 4 to 8
| Kids! Explore The Meadoway with Raya Papaya and help her find all kinds of colours there! Will you spot purple petals or a red beetle? Will an orange-winged butterfly make an appearance? Can we find all the colours of the rainbow in a meadow? |  |
MEADOWAY SCAVENGER HUNT
For Ages 4 to 8
| Let Raya Papaya take you on a virtual nature walk through The Meadoway. She’ll show you what there is to discover – and how to discover it in a way that doesn’t hurt the wildlife! Watch the Video. |  |
ANIMAL DETECTIVE: WINTER CLUES
For Ages 6+
| Discover the wonders of winter wildlife! Learn how wildlife survive chilly weather and how to recognize their tracks and signs. |  |
BIRD SOUNDS AT HOME
For Ages 6+
| Listen to the sounds around you! Learn and discover the bird sounds around your neighbourhood with these fun activities. |  |
EARTH HOUR AT HOME
For Ages 6+
| Earth Hour isn’t just about doing good for one hour a year – it’s about discovering ways to do better every day! Find out what Earth Hour is and how it got started, and discover fun Earth Hour activities you can do as a family! |  |
FROG WATCH
For Ages 6+
| Listen to the sounds of spring! Learn about Ontario’s frogs and toads and how to identify them by their unique calls. Afterwards, try creating the calls at home and building a toad shelter for the garden! Watch the Video. |  |
GERMINATION – IT’S IN THE BAG
For Ages 6+
| Learn how to germinate seeds, in a fun and visual way, and find out how students have been helping to green up The Meadoway. Watch the Video. |  |
POLLINATORS AT HOME
For Ages 6+
| What are pollinators? Why are they important? Learn all about butterflies, bees, and other pollinators, and find out how to attract and support these species at home with pollinator-friendly gardening tips. |  |
SIGNS OF SPRING
For Ages 6+
| Check out the video, then fill out the worksheet to explore signs of spring and the changing seasons. Activities include: Word Scramble, Nature BINGO, “Signs of Spring” Challenge, and more! Watch the Video. |  |
THE WONDERS OF WATER
For Ages 7+
| Did you know more then 70 percent of the earth is covered by water? Come learn with us about the wonders of water! Discover where we find water, and explore our planet’s water cycle. Watch the Video. |  |
GETTING TO KNOW YOUR BUDS!
For Ages 8+
| Get to know the buds of your local trees. Learn how to identify different trees by looking at their buds, and find out what makes these often overlooked parts of a plant different from each other. Watch the Video. |  |
LEAFY LESSONS
For Ages 8+
| Did you know trees are the world’s largest plants, covering approximately one-third of the Earth’s land surface? Learn about their fascinating world! Identify the parts of a plant, discover the keys to photosynthesis, and more! Watch the Video. |  |
LEARN ABOUT LICHENS
For Ages 8+
| Lichens are living creatures all around us, but where do we find them? This package will teach you about what a lichen is, the story they can tell us about the environment, and how to identify some of the most common types. Watch the Video. |  |
RAIN TO RUNOFF: A Stormwater Story
For Ages 8+
| Where does the rain go? When rain falls, roughly half of the water soaks into absorbent soil – except in urban areas, where there are more hard, paved surfaces. Join us as we explore stormwater‘s story in the city using the Enviroscape model! Watch the Video. |  |
RAIN TO RUNOFF: Road Salt in Our City
For Ages 8+
| Canadians use more than five million tonnes of road salt every winter! Find out how road salt makes its way into our rivers, wetlands and lakes, and how it can affect the wildlife and plants that live there. |  |
UNBELIEVABLE BEAVERS
For Ages 8+
| Beavers are unique creatures with a very special role in our ecosystems! “Busy as a beaver,” they say — but busy doing what? Let’s find out! Watch the Video. |  |
ALL ABOUT ASIAN CARPS
For Ages 10+
| Maybe you’ve heard of the Asian carp species, which are considered a major threat to the Great Lakes. What are they? How are they different than other carp species? What threat do they pose to our environment, and what can we do? Watch the Video. |  |
MICROPLASTICS
For Ages 10+
| Microplastics: tiny but dangerous! Fill out this worksheet to learn more about what microplastics are, and how they enter our environment. Watch the Video. |  |
MONITORING ASIAN CARP
For Ages 12+
| They’re big, they’re destructive, and they might be coming our way! A group of invasive fishes called the Asian carps are some of the greatest threats to the Great Lakes! Learn why we need to stop the spread of invasive species in our waterways, and how you can play a part! Watch the Video. |  |
Homeschool Resources:
For General Audiences
ALL ABOUT BATS
For General Audiences
| Did you know that one little brown bat can eat more than 1,000 insects in a single hour? Learn more about bat species in the Toronto area and how to identify them! We bust common myths about these incredible creatures and reveal how to support their declining populations. |  |
HOOT AND HOWL
For General Audiences
| Whoooo goes there? Learn about owls and coyotes in the Greater Toronto area! Discover their unique calls and amazing nighttime adaptations. |  |
MEADOWAY ECOLOGY
For General Audiences
| Learn how planting native plants in The Meadoway is restoring an ancient food web and ecosystem. Topics include: How native and non-native plants differ from each other, and why native plants are so important to the meadow ecosystem. |
MEADOWAY MAGIC
For General Audiences
| Learn how to create a welcoming environment for birds and pollinators in your own backyard! Topics include: replacing turf grass with native plants, and the benefits of leaf piles and leftover winter scrub. |
NOCTURNAL SENSES
For General Audiences
| Learn how night vision, echolocation, and their senses of smell and touch help different animals to go about their business when the sun goes down! |  |
RAINWATER HARVESTING
For General Audiences
| Learn to harvest rainwater with a rain barrel! You can save money on your water bill and divert stormwater runoff by using rain water in your garden. Let us show you how to choose, install, and maintain a rain barrel in your yard. Watch the Video. |  |
READY, SET, BIOBLITZ!
For General Audiences
| A Bioblitz is a fun way to get a sense of the amazing diversity of living creatures in your yard, on your street, or anywhere! The idea: Look for as many living things as you can! Consider sending the information on what you find to a project like iNaturalist or eBird where scientists can use it for their research! Watch the Video. |  |
Looking for in-person learning opportunities?
Explore TRCA’s Outdoor Education Centres.