Outdoor education brings classroom studies to life. The St. Clair Region Conservation Authority (SCRCA) is excited to welcome students to the Lorne C. Henderson Conservation Area for traditional in-person field trips during the 2025-2026 school year. Most programs are 2 hours in length but can be modified to suit your needs.
Forest Inventory
Available anytime! September-June
Learn the history, geography, and biology of the space you call home During this program, students will take a critical look at their own watershed, learning more about human impact through time and space. Using the Conservation Area as our classroom, students will learn inventory techniques designed to assess the health of a forest system. Observation highlights the impacts of deforestation and agriculture on the plants, animals, and people of this place.
Curriculum Links: SNC1W, SNC2D, SNC2P, SBI3U, SBI3C, SCH4C,SVN3M, SVN3E, CGC1D, CGC1P, CGR4U, CGW4U, THH3E
Healing Hike
Available anytime! September-June – Connects specifically to Mental Health and Student Well-Being
Research continues to grow connecting time spent in nature with human health. Studies have shown that time spent in the forest improves both physical and mental health. Join us for a guided ‘healing hike’ where St. Clair education staff teaches a series of awareness-building, stress-reducing activities. Students record heart rate, breathing rate, and stress rate before and after the hike to add a measurable component to the student’s experience.
Water Quality 101
Available September-November and May-June
Students participate in a stream assessment, modelled after the Ontario Benthic Biomonitoring Network (OBBN) protocol. Students will learn the basics of water quality based on three data sets – physical characteristics, water chemistry, and benthic invertebrate communities. In this ‘field lab’ students will use real-time observations, specimen collections, and data sets to complete their own water quality study.
Curriculum Links: SNC1W, SNC2D, SNC2P, SBI3U, SBI3C, SCH4C, SVN3M, SVN3E, CGC1D, CGC1P, CGR4U, CGW4U, THH3E
Instincts for Survival
Available anytime! September-June – Also available in French – Disponible en français.
‘Survival of the fittest’ is nature’s law that assists the balance of nature. This simulation game teaches students about species inter-dependencies, predator/prey relationships, survival adaptations and tactics, and natural and human impacts on wildlife.
Geocaching
Available anytime! September-June – Also available in French – Disponible en français.
Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunt using a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver along with Latitude and Longitude coordinates to find hidden caches. Students will learn how to ‘mark’ waypoints, ‘hide’ a cache, and ‘find’ hidden geocaches in the Conservation Area.
