Discover Stanley Park’s wild side as your students roll up their sleeves and connect with nature in hands-on and interactive programs exploring forest, beach and wetland ecology. We offer a diversity of curriculum-based school field trips for Pre – K to grade 7 students and one for high school.
Click here to register for fall bookings
Quick Links
- You can also subscribe to SPES’s teacher newsletter to stay up to date with our latest programs and any special offerings.
- Looking for a summer booking? Email us your enquiry at enviroed@stanleyparkecology.ca.
- For Online Program information, click here.
Program Info
These are the programs offered for fall 2023! Please come back to this page in January for spring program offerings.
Jump to the section or program you are most interested in:
- Program Fees
- Nature Detectives (Pre K – Grade 3)
- Beautiful Bats (Pre-K – Grade 3)
- Winter Birding (Pre K – Grade 7)
- Forest Fundamentals (Grades 4 – 7)
- Urban Ecosystems: High School Program (Grades 8-12)
- Self Guided Tour: Discovery Kit (Grades 3-7)
Program Fees
For the 2023-2024 school year, the fees are as follows:
- Pre K-Grade 3 – 1.5 hour program: $235 for up to 30 students
- Grade 4 -12 – 2 hour program: $309 for up to 30 students
Each year, we try and accommodate some schools with greater financial need; if this applies to you, and these costs are prohibitive, please inquire and email us (enviroed@stanleyparkecology.ca).
Nature Detectives
(Pre K – Grade 3)
Discover the hidden secrets and stories of the forest in this sensory journey through nature.
Awaken your senses as you explore the temperate rainforest. Find tiny life forms with magnifiers, meet bugs, feed trees, and transform into a bat while learning how all of these forest elements are connected.
One-and-a-half-hour program for students in grade K-3.
Read the Nature Detectives Teacher Information Package for information on curriculum connections, meeting location and preparing for the program.
Interested in this program? You can book here.
Beautiful Bats
(Grades Pre-K – 3)
Discover the many wonders of the only mammal that can fly. Find out how bats live, hunt, echolocate and adapt to their habitat using their unique bodies. Because bats are nocturnal, we will not see any live bats during the program. Instead, we will explore their habitat with unique props and activities. Bats really are beautiful; learn why in this interactive forest adventure.
One-and-a-half-hour program for grade Pre-K – 3.
Read the Beautiful Bats Teacher Information Package for information on curriculum connections, meeting location, preparing for the program and more. Pre-trip and post-trip lesson plans in development.
Interested in this program? You can book here.
Forest Fundamentals
(Grades 4-7)
The lush temperate rainforest is diverse, abundant and full of interconnected species.
Engage all of your senses to piece together the story of forest dwelling plants and animals and their important roles in the web of life.
Two-hour program for students in grade 4-7.
Read the Forest Fundamentals Teacher Information Package for information on curriculum connections, meeting location, preparing for the program and more.
Interested in this program? You can book here.
Winter Birding
(Pre K – Grade 7)
Lost Lagoon hosts a wide variety of over-wintering bird species in the Park. Flock to Stanley Park with your students to explore the Park’s birds! Use binoculars, learn how to identify winter bird species, and discover their many adaptations to survive the winters!
For grades 4-7, “Winter Birding” is a two-hour program.
Read the Winter Birding Teacher Information Package for information on curriculum connections, meeting location, preparing for the program and more.
Interested in this program? You can book here.
Urban Ecosystems: High School Program
(Grades 8-12)
Lost Lagoon is an urban treasure trove! Learn about the species that call this area of Stanley Park home and their interactions with the downtown core.
How do human and environmental systems interconnect in Vancouver? Dive into what makes a healthy urban ecosystem and how biodiversity and climate change affect Stanley Park. This fun and informational program will ignite curiosity for any high schooler.
This is a two hour program for students in grades 8-12.
Read the Urban Ecosystems Teacher Information Package for information on curriculum connections, meeting location, preparing for the program and more.
Interested in this program? You can book here.
Self Guided Tour: Discovery Kit
(Grades 3-7)
Are you as big as an eagle? What lives at Lost Lagoon? Do herons have an easy life? Do salmon visit Stanley Park? Discover the answers to these questions and more while leading your own adventure with our easy to use Discovery Kit.
Bring your class for a self-guided half-day Park program or extend your field trip for $40 for the day. This is a great option for two classes from one school who want to share a bus.
The Discovery Kit is a backpack containing:
- A class set of binoculars
- A detailed map
- An easy to follow teaching script
- Fun props, engaging activities and visuals
Read the Discovery Kit Teacher Information Package for more information on where to pick up the kit and preparing for the program.
Interested in this program? You can book here.
Not finding what you are looking for? Check out our other programs!
Stanley Park Ecology Society first delivered ecology education to elementary students in 1988 and we have been providing fun and informative experiences for children and teachers ever since. Today we deliver diverse educational programming to over 5,000 students annually – 2020-2021 being an exception given the restrictions due to COVID-19. Yet this exceptional year also pushed us to create new programs online and bring our programming out of Stanley Park and into green spaces near schools, removing the barrier of transportation for classes. We expect that these new approaches will become a regular part of our diverse educational offerings for schools.
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