“Connecting the Drops” Takes Students From Classroom to Shoreline to Lead Conservation Efforts
June 26, 2025, Mississauga, ON – A new program led by Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), Connecting the Drops, is giving Peel Region students a hands-on role in protecting their local environment.
Funded by the Government of Ontario’s Great Lakes Local Action Fund, this initiative blends classroom learning with real-world conservation, helping students understand the complex challenges facing freshwater systems and equipping them to take meaningful action.
More than 280 students from three elementary and three high schools rolled up their sleeves to tackle issues such as pollution, urban runoff, and the impacts caused by climate change on local rivers and streams.
Students gained a deeper understanding of watershed health through shoreline cleanups, habitat restoration, and interactive and informative workshops.
Learning tools such as a Giant Water Map brought geography to life, showing students how small creeks and rivers flow into the Great Lakes and ultimately impact our drinking water.
The Giant Water Map is a learning tool that helps students understand the importance of protecting local waterways.
A key component of the program was the Indigenous Connections workshop, led independently by facilitator Kandy Kennedy of Kandy Kennedy Indigenous Consulting. This session offered cultural perspectives and historical context on Indigenous relationships with land and water, enriching students’ appreciation of the region’s natural and cultural heritage.
Peer-to-peer learning shaped much of the experience, with older students mentoring younger peers on topics ranging from pollution prevention to climate resilience. This approach enabled students not only to advocate for the environment but also to take on leadership roles.
Direct interaction with local waterways helped students learn about the natural systems they live alongside and inspired them to protect and enhance these environments for future generations.
In Peel Region, where urban development and climate change are placing increasing pressures on local ecosystems, programs like Connecting the Drops are essential to building a generation of passionate leaders ready to face environmental challenges ahead.
Connecting the Drops is part of a larger network of local conservation projects supported through the Great Lakes Local Action Fund, which helps communities protect and restore freshwater ecosystems by prioritizing actions that improve water quality and raise public awareness.
The initiative also advances TRCA’s long-term goal of building climate-resilient communities by championing grassroots efforts and inspiring environmental leadership.
By anchoring environmental education in real-life action, Connecting the Drops is preparing the next generation to protect Ontario’s water systems, starting right in their own backyards.
Quotes:
“Our government is proud to support Connecting the Drops, which will help today’s generation of students understand the challenges facing freshwater systems and inspire them to take action through hands-on activities, showing youth that change is truly within their grasp. By enabling innovative and impactful projects like this one, the Great Lakes Local Action Fund is helping to make a lasting impact on the health of our waterways and the strength of our communities – both here in Mississauga and across the Great Lakes Basin.”
– The Honourable Todd McCarthy, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
“Connecting the Drops inspires youth in Peel Region to take ownership of their environment. By actively engaging with and learning about the waterways in their own neighbourhoods, these students are becoming leaders in local conservation. We are grateful that the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks recognizes the importance of grassroots projects like this in protecting the long-term health and vitality of the Great Lakes and in building a stronger, more resilient Peel community.”
– John MacKenzie, Chief Executive Officer, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA)
About Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA)
Since 1957, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), as enabled through the provincial Conservation Authorities Act, has taken action to enhance our region’s natural environment and protect our land, water, and communities from the impacts of flooding and increasingly extreme weather events – Ontario’s leading cause of public emergencies.
As the region’s first line of defence against natural hazards, TRCA maintains vital infrastructure and provides programs and services that promote public health and safety, protecting people and property. TRCA mobilizes a science-based approach to provide sound policy advice, leveraging its position as a not-for-profit operating in the broader public sector to achieve collective impacts within our communities and across all levels of government.
TRCA’s dedication to its employees and sustainability has earned it recognition as both one of Greater Toronto’s Top Employers and one of Canada’s Greenest Employers. These distinctions highlight TRCA’s commitment to fostering a supportive, innovative, and environmentally responsible workplace – dedicated to driving meaningful change and create lasting positive impacts in the communities it serves.
TRCA’s jurisdiction includes nine watersheds and their Lake Ontario shorelines, spanning six upper-tier and fifteen lower-tier municipalities and representing almost five million people, approximately 10% of Canada’s population.
To learn more about TRCA, visit trca.ca.
Media Contacts
Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA)
Afiya Jilani
Specialist, Communication and Media Relations
Communications, Marketing and Events
afiya.jilani@trca.ca
media@trca.ca