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 High School students.
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Find our program offerings below!
Pre K to Grade 3 Field Trips
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 Pre K- Grade 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.
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 Pre-K – Grade 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.
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 Pre-K- Grade 3, “Winter Birding” is a 1.5-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.
Visit the Lumberman’s Arch beach at low tide and explore the incredibly diverse and abundant life in the intertidal zone.
Low tide offers us a glimpse at fascinating animals and plants that have adapted to life in and out of the sea. Hunt for crabs, sort seaweeds, and find out what else lives or eats on the seashore, while students discover important human connections to the oceans.
Beach Explorers is a tide-dependent program and is available in spring between April and June. For Pre-K – Grade 3, Beach explorers is a one-and-a-half-hour program.
Read the Beach Explorers Teacher Information Package for information on curriculum connections, meeting location, preparing for the program and more.
Interested in this program? You can book here.
What is responsible for much of the food we eat? Pollen!
Discover how pollinators are powerful in this engaging program for Grades 1-3! Learn about the process of pollination and the amazing creatures that make it happen. Dance like a bee and look at flowers up close while uncovering the plentiful bounty pollinators help to create.
One-and-a-half-hour program for Grades 1-3. This program is available in spring between April and June.
Read the Pollen Power Teacher Information Package for information on curriculum connections, meeting location, preparing for the program and more.
Interested in this program? You can book here.
Investigate a stream and discover how salmon are deeply connected to their environment.
How do salmon find their way back to their home stream? What do salmon eat? Why are they such an important part of an ecosystem? Dive into the world of these amazing creatures and the streams they call home.
Note: this is NOT a salmon release program. One-and-a-half-hour program for Grades 1 – 3.
This program is available in spring between April and June.
Read the Salmon & Streams Teacher Information Package for information on curriculum connections, meeting location, preparing for the program and more.
Interested in this program? You can book here.
Beaver Lake is one of Vancouver’s last natural wetlands, and it is home to incredible plants and animals.
What makes the wetland ecosystem a good place to live? How do diverse communities of animals eat their way along the food chain? Roll up your sleeves and explore Beaver Lake wildlife up close with dip nets, magnifiers and games.
This program is available in spring between April and June. For Grades 1- 3, Wetland Wildlife is a one-and-a-half-hour program.
Read the Wetland Wildlife Teacher Information Package for information on curriculum connections, meeting location, preparing for the program and more.
Interested in this program? You can book here.
Grade 4-7 Field Trips
Visit the Lumberman’s Arch beach at low tide and explore the incredibly diverse and abundant life in the intertidal zone.
Low tide offers us a glimpse at fascinating animals and plants that have adapted to life in and out of the sea. Hunt for crabs, sort seaweeds, and find out what else lives or eats on the seashore, while students discover important human connections to the oceans.
Intertidal Insights is a tide-dependent program and is available in spring between April and June. For Grades 4-7, Intertidal Insights is a two-hour program.
Read the Intertidal Insights Teacher Information Package for information on curriculum connections, meeting location, preparing for the program and more.
Interested in this program? You can book here.
Beaver Lake is one of Vancouver’s last natural wetlands, and it is home to incredible plants and animals.
What makes the wetland ecosystem a good place to live? How do diverse communities of animals eat their way along the food chain? Roll up your sleeves and explore Beaver Lake wildlife up close with dip nets, magnifiers and games.
This program is available in spring between April and June.
For Grades 4-7, Wetland Wildlife is a two-hour program.
Read the Wetland Wildlife Teacher Information Package for information on curriculum connections, meeting location, preparing for the program and more.
Interested in this program? You can book here.
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.
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.
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.
High School Field Trips
Wetlands store carbon, buffer the effects of extreme weather, reduce temperature extremes, support biodiversity and help to clean our freshwater but they are rare in our urban environment. In this new program, participants will join us at Beaver Lake to learn about the roles that wetlands play in mitigating climate change and supporting biodiversity. They’ll see the plants and animal species that wetlands support, and learn about parameters of water quality. Participants will test several parameters of water quality themselves, such as pH, turbidity, and temperature. They will also learn about indicator species for wetland health and find and identify macroinvertebrates in Beaver Lake.
This is a two hour program for students in Grades 8-12.
Read the Wetland Wildlife Teacher Information Package for information on curriculum connections, meeting location, preparing for the program and more.
Interested in this program? You can book here.
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 is a great for any curious high schooler.
Urban Ecosystems is a two-hour program for 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.
Visit the Lumberman’s Arch beach at low tide and explore the incredibly diverse and abundant life in the intertidal zone.
Students will investigate the unique adaptations of plants and animals that thrive in both marine and terrestrial environments. From hunting for crabs to identifying seaweeds, this hands-on exploration offers a close look at intertidal organisms.
Intertidal Insights is a tide dependent program; therefore, opportunity is limited. This is a two-hour program for Grades 8-12.
Read the Intertidal Insights 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
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. Great option for Grades 3-7.
Bring your class for a self-guided half-day Park program or extend your field trip for $60 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 inquire with school@stanleyparkecology.ca by sending your interested trip date, time, grade level, and group size (max of 30 per group).
For Online Program information, click here.
Program Fees
For the 2024-2025 school year, the fees are as follows:
- Pre K-Grade 3 – 1.5 hour program: $285 for up to 30 students
- Grade 4 -12 – 2 hour program: $355 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 (school@stanleyparkecology.ca).
Looking for additional financial support? Daytrippers Children’s Charity, is an organization that raises funds for field trips, to make field trip programming accessible to lower-income schools and groups. You can apply for funding directly through their platform at this link 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. In 2020-2021, COVID-19 pushed us to create new programs online and bring our programming out of Stanley Park and into green spaces near schools. These new approaches have become a regular part of our diverse educational offerings for schools.
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