Project Description

  • School bus parked at Cedar Haven.
  • View of Cedar Haven Eco-Centre
  • Two people, one child and one adult, looking into a nest box to inspect eggs,
  • Swallow landing on nest box.
  • Person in a blue jacket, walking away from the camera through a field with trees on either side of them.
  • Forest floor and trees.

We offer field trips on a variety of topics that connect children (and youth) with the natural world! We believe in hands-on and science-based education that fosters lifelong curiosity about nature.

Each of our field trips include immersive, science-based nature experiences and up-close encounters with living things. We’ve designed our field trips to compliment the various age appropriate learning goals outlined in the Ontario Science Curriculum, and we are more than happy to collaborate with you to reach your group’s specific learning objectives. Please see the form below for more details about the field trip topics we offer!

Pricing

The cost is $15 per student (with a minimum total cost of $90).

Field Trip Length

Field trips are 3 hours in length and can typically be booked within the hours of 9AM and 3PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays (excluding holidays).

Group Size

We are only able to accommodate a max of 30 students per field trip as to ensure that our educators are better able to facilitate field trip lessons and care for the natural setting. If your group exceeds 30 students, we ask that you split the group up and book multiple field trips.

Book a Field Trip

Booking for our spring (April – June) is tentatively full. Please use inquiry form below to make a field trip request, and we will get back to you to confirm details and schedule your field trip, if and when programs become avaialbe. Contact us at cedar.haven@arocha.ca if you have any questions.

Field Trip Inquiry (ARON)

Thank you for your interest in a field trip with A Rocha Ontario! Please fill out the form below, and we'll get back to you to confirm your visit to the Cedar Haven Eco-Centre.
Group Information




Field Trip Information



In the box above, please let us know if a there is a specific day or a particular month that works best to help us narrow down our available dates. Please note that booking is typically only available on Tuesdays and Thursdays (holidays excluded). Click here to view available dates.

Celebrate the Seasons! Animal and Plant Adaptations

May, October, November | Grades: JK - 4

Depending on the season (spring or fall), students will encounter how various species adapt when the season changes! How do plants grow in the spring? What is dormancy in plants? What creatures at Cedar Haven hibernate? Who is staying awake all winter and how do they survive? Who wakes up in the spring? Students will get a close-up nature immersion experience while exploring our property at Cedar Haven.

All About Soil!

May, June, September, October | Grades: JK - 8

In this encounter, students will learn about the “ingredients” needed for healthy soil. As they explore soil, students will be challenged to see how soil connects and contributes to the health of the ecosystem, which includes us! Students will build their own soil sample, as well as take time learning various ways of testing soil in different locations on site. We will also take time to learn about and discuss the importance of decomposers in the soil. As we take time to hike in our Cedar Forest, we will pay close attention to the soil under our feet, investigating the plants, decomposers, moss and fungi that live there.

All about Birds!

Late May, June | Grades: JK - 11

In this encounter, students will get to observe various bird species up close! They will learn about our bird monitoring efforts while getting a close up look at birds at various life stages in our nest boxes! Students will learn about the lifecycle of birds and how to determine bird species by observing flight patterns, different types of nests, eggs and chicks. They will learn about bird species at risk, and what birds need to thrive here in Ontario. 


Pollinator Power!

May, June, September | Grades: 1 - 4

In this encounter, students will have the opportunity to get close up to pollinators by spending time netting insects in a flower-filled meadow. Students will learn how to put insects into a vial so they can closely investigate its characteristics. We will discuss the importance of pollination and how it connects to us and the food we eat. We will also spend time looking closely at wildflowers and learn how to identify the species of flowers at Cedar Haven. 


Everything Breathes!

May, June, September, October | Grade 4 - 11

In this encounter, students will learn how everything around them requires a respiratory system to survive! Through a series of science lessons, hands-on activities and science experiments, we will explore and observe the respiratory systems of plants, insects, birds and fish! How do fish breathe underwater? Do plants breathe? After we learn about the amazing respiratory systems around us at Cedar Haven, we will test our own respiratory systems by engaging in a fun “lung olympics” activity. 


Biodiversity!

May, June, September, October, November | Grades: 6 - 8

In this encounter, students will deepen their understanding of biodiversity. Through hands-on learning activities, we will focus on learning the importance of classifying biodiversity through genetics, species and ecosystems. We will look closely at the biodiversity in soil, and species biodiversity at Cedar Haven. We will also discuss the threats to biodiversity and think through what actions we do that can impact (positively and negatively) the biodiversity we find around us. We will go on a “biodiversity hike” where we will consider the biodiversity in the forest, and will have an activity at the end for the students to contribute to the health of biodiversity at Cedar Haven. 


Other


Contact Information

Availability

The calendar below shows our spring availability (April – June). In the calendar below, available dates are marked with an event titled “Programs Available”. We currently are offering booking for this program between 9AM and 3PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Please note that our program schedule is (tentatively) fully booked, but we still encourage you to submit a field trip inquiry form (above) so that you can be contacted about field trip dates as they become available.

We recommend viewing the month(s) you are interested in booking for then using the week-view to check out our available dates in this calendar. If you have any questions about our availability, please reach out to us at cedar.haven@arocha.ca.