Join us for exciting virtual education programs, live from Jasper, Waterton Lakes, Banff, Kootenay, Glacier and Yoho national parks. Each program shares a unique story and will give you a look behind the scenes at these amazing places with Parks Canada experts. These fun and interactive presentations explore a variety of topics including wildlife conservation, archaeological history, protecting at-risk species and more!
Waterton Lakes National Park is a unique place where the prairie grasslands meet the mountains. It is often the towering mountains that pique people’s interest first, but the grasslands are an equally amazing ecosystem brimming with biodiversity as well as cultural importance for Siksikaitsitapi (Blackfoot) people. Join in to experience this ecosystem from a whole new perspective right from the seat of your pants!
The Waterton Glacier Dark Sky Preserve is a night-time paradise for nocturnal animals. Register now to discover who is hooting and howling when the sun goes down in Paahtómahksikimi.
Past Lessons
There is a big new bear boss in the park! A grizzly bear about-town has decided to make Waterton Lakes National Park his new home, but which of Waterton’s diverse set of ecosystems has the goods to become the New Grizzly Bear HQ? Join the park interpretation team for this digital program! We will explore the habitat needs of grizzly bears and discover the positive impact grizzlies can have on the land. Dive into three different ecosystems: wetlands, subalpine and grasslands, and watch as residents of these regions vie to become the new home for our big boss, the grizzly bear!
Wop-wop-wop-wop-wop-wop-wop…
What was that noise?!? A distant helicopter? A woodpecker? Or…a Columbia spotted frog! Listening and looking for amphibians is one way to monitor ecosystem health. Join Parks Canada LIVE from Kootenay National Park as we pull up our waders and explore a wetland. Help us search for frogs, toads, salamanders, and their unique egg masses. Get a behind the scenes look at what the Ecological Integrity Monitoring team does, and why it matters.
What happens to a snowflake that falls in Roger’s Pass, Glacier National Park? It’s an eventful place for a snowflake to land! We’ll follow our heroine on her wild ride, which will include being examined! smashed! avalanched! plowed! melted! carried! filtered! until she’s finally on her way back to the ocean. Along the way, we’ll cover the basic principles of the water cycle and winter mountain weather.
Approach, clamp, cut, steer, bunch—repeat. In a flurry of needles a feller buncher cuts the trees, a skidder gathers and moves them to where a processor trims branches, measures, and cuts the logs to length. But what is this work for?
The Lake Louise Community Fire Guard, of course!
Join us for a virtual adventure to see how these giant machines work, discover why fire guards are so important, and learn how they help to protect people, animals, and forests of Banff National Park. Bring your questions for our wildfire risk reduction expert—we love curious minds!
From 16 animals to over 160 a decade later, follow the hoofsteps of Banff National Park’s growing bison herd. Discover how and why the species was reintroduced to their historic habitat and learn about the effects they are having on the animals, plants, and people around them!
Step into the wild world of Rocky Mountain bears! This fun, interactive program introduces you to black bears and grizzly bears of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. We’ll explore what bears look like, what they eat, where they live, and the incredible “superpowers” that help them survive. Along the way, we’ll learn why bears need big wild spaces, how hibernation really works, and the challenges bears face from roads, trains, and people. Most importantly, you’ll discover simple ways you can help keep bears wild and safe in the mountains they call home.
What alien invaders threaten Banff National Park? Habitat Heroes battle aquatic invasive species, noxious plants, and animals that don’t belong in this delicate ecosystem. Students will discover how invasive species affect the environment, how we identify and manage them, and why everyone’s actions matter when it comes to protecting our special places.
Step into the wild world of the Canadian Rockies — where towering peaks, dense forests, and rushing rivers are home to some of North America’s most iconic wildlife! Meet the mighty moose, bugling elk, powerful bears, and more, while discovering how each species helps keep mountain ecosystems healthy. Together, we’ll discover the incredible diversity of animals that call these mountains home. Presented from Jasper National Park, one of the Rockies most wildlife-rich areas! Through stories, photos, and fun interactive moments, participants will learn how to spot the differences between horns and antlers, how many berries a bear can eat in a day, and how we can all help keep wildlife wild.
Deep in the mountains of Yoho National Park lies a window into Earth’s distant past — the Burgess Shale. Over 500 million years ago, this site was the floor of an ancient ocean, home to wacky, weird, and wonderful creatures that marked the dawn of animal life. Today, their delicate fossils reveal the story of how life on our planet began to take shape. Follow the journey of these incredible discoveries from the muddy slopes of the Rockies to the bright displays of the Royal Ontario Museum, where paleontologists work to piece together the mysteries of this extraordinary time in Earth’s history.
Mountain peaks are usually the first thing that catch everyone’s eye when they visit Waterton Lakes National Park but not everyone gets to explore the very tops of them. What would it be like to explore these mountains from a bird’s eye (and bear’s eye) point of view? And how do species, like the endangered Five-Needle Pine trees, survive that far up? Come experience the magic of Waterton’s mountains to find out!
Aquatic creatures are an important part of Waterton’s ecosystem. They are sometimes overlooked since their mysterious lives are hidden under the water’s surface. Come experience the magic of Waterton Lakes National Park by shrinking down and experiencing the joys and struggles these aquatic creatures are facing first hand!
Ever wonder what the animals of Yoho National Park are doing when humans aren’t around?!? Join Parks Canada for an exclusive look at some of our coolest wildlife camera photos! Learn about how we study and monitor elusive animals like cougars and wolves. Participants can ask questions of a member of the Ecological Integrity Monitoring team LIVE from Yoho National Park.
This year is the International Year of Glaciers Preservation. Get ready to chill and learn all about glaciers in this cool virtual adventure, brought to you by Banff and Glacier National Parks! How do these large masses of ice form? Why are they important? Carve out their science with us in the first episode of this 2-part series.
The study of glacier retreat in the Mountain National Parks was started by early national park visitors, the Vaux family over 125 years ago—North America’s first glaciologists! Their photography and research inspired others to care about and study glaciers. Learn how you too can change the world through citizen science in the final episode of this 2-part series.
What alien invaders threaten Banff National Park? Habitat Heroes battle aquatic invasive species, noxious plants, and animals that don’t belong in this delicate ecosystem. Students will discover how invasive species affect the environment, how we identify and manage them, and why everyone’s actions matter when it comes to protecting our special places.
There is a big new bear boss in the park! A grizzly bear about-town has decided to make Waterton Lakes National Park his new home, but which of Waterton’s diverse set of ecosystems has the goods to become the New Grizzly Bear HQ?
Did you know?? Marble Canyon has the largest known population of black swifts across Canada’s mountain national parks! Join us LIVE from this magical landscape in Kootenay National Park. Learn how we study and monitor the endangered, elusive black swift. Discover why these birds are so special, get a glimpse of icy waterfalls in the depths of the canyon, and meet a Parks Canada Wildlife Ecologist!
What does it look like when two national parks share an international border? Join a Parks Canada interpreter, and a US National Park Ranger to answer the question everyone is asking… Does a bear need a passport?
How can we bring a river that has been a shadow of itself for almost a century back to life? Learn the history of Cascade Creek in Banff National Park and how an at-risk species is on the road to recovery.
Yarr, who lurks in the deep? It be Aquatic Invasive Species, looking to dominate the lakes and rivers of the mountain national parks. Join the Clean Water Crew to keep these piratical plotters out of our waters!
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