You might be lucky and your school has a dedicated outdoor classroom, or maybe it doesn't. Either way, you can, and should, be teaching outdoors! You don't have to be teaching about the environment - any subject will do!

If you've felt apprehensive about taking the plunge and mixing it up with the bugs and whatnot, you aren't alone. Taking your class outside does have extra distractions and challenges - but also many benefits! There is no "right way" to do it, and practice will make it easier each time you try.

You can bookmark our web page about it, but details are below:

This resource for the TDSB community was in response to the pandemic, although outdoor learning is nothing new at the Board! There are sections for administrators, teachers and parents. Links abound to many resources to help you get comfortable teaching just about anything in the glorious outdoors.

The Board has 9 Outdoor Education Centres that you can book a trip to (4 are Day Centres). Even better is their wealth of outdoor lessons you can use right now in your schoolyard or nearby green space. They also have special get outside lessons for May, including an archive from past years.

Their teacher guidebook is chock full of tasty ways to get yourself and your class outside safely and having fun! Oh, and learning, too.

Nothing is certain in this crazy world, but can we agree that the end of May should be nice enough to start biking?? Of course, you and your students don't have to bike - you can walk, scooter, skateboard, roll or run!

Bike to School Week is a celebration of active transportation and strengthens the joyful experience of propelling oneself. Schools participate in Bike to School Week by encouraging their students to walk and/or roll to school, and by holding events both inside and outside the classroom to promote the benefits of active transportation.

Read all about it here.

Make sure to tag @EcoSchoolsTDSB on Twitter, along with @OntarioAST to share your school's experience!

The sun is shining, the birds are singing - who wants to stay inside to learn in May?! Join TDSB educators Laura Thompson, Rachel Wagner, Wesley Craine, and Stefanie Hall from the Toronto Outdoor Education Schools (TOES) team as they share innovative ideas for taking math learning outside. This webinar will introduce K-12 educators how to connect math to nature-based learning in schoolyards, local parks and neighbourhoods, creating new pathways to support math learning for your students.

Part 1 provides an engaging introduction to teaching and ‘learning in, about, and for the environment’ for elementary and secondary teachers through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous sessions, workshops, guest speakers, and nature-based learning. 

Part 2 takes your learning of environmental education to the next level. You will be collaborating with other elementary and secondary teachers to explore the connections between systems-thinking, eco-justice, and eco-identity in relation to environmental education, sustainability and ecoliteracy.  

The best part? The TDSB's Sustainability Office subsidizes the cost of these courses for its teachers and ECEs (60% savings!) 

Summer Session 2022

Reserve a subsidy by emailing EcoSchools’ Jenn Vetter

Visit OISE’s AQ website to register now!

Be sure to use @EcoSchoolsTDSB on Twitter and @TDSBecoschools Instagram