August 2018
Ontario Invading Species Awareness Program
* Grant awarded for the Keep our Lakes Great: Educating Youth on Invasive Species program.
Project objectives:
Our goal is to introduce the concept of invasive species to youth and to promote the concept of stewardship to protect our environment by preventing the introduction and/or spread of invasive species. The leading public education role of the ISAP is well-established and ISAP seeks to continue to broaden its reach by engaging youth. Youth are the future stewards of the environment and have a great stake in protecting Ontario’s ecosystems and biodiversity from invasive species. There are limited curriculum-linked programs available to teachers looking to educate their students on invasive species, and ISAP has been working to build opportunities and relationships for student/teacher engagement. Between January-March 2018, ISAP visited 22 schools, delivering programming to 41 different classes, reaching approximately 950 students; however, over 200 classrooms were not visited due to limited capacity and time. This project will create more opportunities for teachers and students to become involved in preventing the introduction and spread of invasive species in Ontario via the continued development and delivery of targeted, relevant, curriculum-linked educational materials for students and teachers to introduce the concepts of invasive species and the importance of prevent their introduction and/or spread.
