To support schools, Engage with Nature-Based Solutions initiative has created unit plans about Urban Streams & Watersheds. These lesson activities are created with the BC school system in mind, but can easily be adapted for communities across the country. The lessons vary from creating puppets of the salmon life cycle, to on-location nature journaling, to designing solutions using biomimicry. Students can collaboratively connect Indigenous perspectives and ways of knowing to scientific evidence, as they contribute to finding solutions to local watershed issues. 

• Intermediate Grades (4–6) — available now! 
• Environmental Science 12 — available now! 
• Middle Grades (7–8) — expected to be available August 2025

For Intermediate Grades (4–6)

Intermediate Grades explore the topic through keystone salmon and other aquatic species, providing an engaging way to connect students to their local watersheds.

• Lesson 1 — The Importance of Salmon in our Coastal Watersheds & Food Webs
• Lesson 2a — Salmon Life Cycle Introduction
• Lesson 2b — Salmon Life Cycle Puppets
• Lesson 2c — Salmon Life Cycle Script & Performance
• Lesson 3 — Salmon Urban Stream Design
• Lesson 4 — Urban Stream Design Challenge
• Lesson 5 — Be an Environmental Steward to Protect Salmon in Urban Streams
• Lesson 6 — Urban Stream Town Hall

→ DOWNLOAD the Intermediate Grades unit plan.
(10 MB PDF of 36 pages)

→ DOWNLOAD the Intermediate Grades associated files.
(63 MB ZIP, containing multiple files in various formats)

For Environmental Science 12

An Environmental Science 12 classroom explores local case studies and applies this knowledge to global scenarios and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

• Lesson 1 — Introduction to Urban Streams & Watersheds
• Lesson 2 — Indigenous Relationships to Freshwater
• Lesson 3 — Human Impact on Streams
• Lesson 4 — Eutrophication Case Study
• Lesson 5 — Eutrophication Lab
• Lesson 6 — Evidence of Climate Change in Watersheds
• Lesson 7 — Stream Survey Investigation
• Lesson 8 — Stream Solutions & Stewardship Projects
• Lesson 9 — Urban Stream Biomimicry Design Challenge
• Lesson 10 — BC Urban Stream & Watershed Final Assessment

→ DOWNLOAD the Environmental Science 12 unit plan.
(10 MB PDF of 48 pages)

→ DOWNLOAD the Environmental Science 12 associated files.
(110 MB ZIP, containing multiple files in various formats)