Raincoast Field School
“The goal of the Raincoast Field School is to increase outdoor learning opportunities for students in our local public schools.”
Raincoast Field School is an outdoor education program designed to meet BC curricular outcomes while providing hands-on learning opportunities for students in our local public schools. It is a collaborative program developed by the Raincoast Education Society (RES) and the teachers at the Tofino and Ucluelet elementary schools.
Field trips and activities are led by a qualified full-time instructor with extensive experience as a science educator, and encompass multiple aspects of curricular outcomes including science, numeracy and literacy. The program is constantly evolving, with lessons being built or recycled to best fit with the unique themes of each class as determined by the teacher.
Making Connections
Raincoast Field School is designed to complement classroom lessons taught by each class’s teacher. The program provides education about the environment in a natural setting and incorporates physical education while reviewing mathematics, English language, arts and social studies concepts that students have learned in class.
Ultimately, the material covered in each class is based on specific requests from the teacher which the Field School instructor then incorporates into a unique activity or lesson plan.
Progress
Full programming is provided to the Wickaninnish Community School in Tofino (since 2014) and the Ucluelet Elementary School (since 2018) through Raincoast Field School. Each and every student from K to grade 7 gets to participate in at least one field trip per month during the school year – that’s over 200 Raincoast Field School trips delivered per year!
Follow along
Raincoast Field School programs are currently being run in Tofino and Ucluelet elementary schools (K-7). Follow along with our programs below.
#tofinofieldschool
This school year, Mr. Redican`s class has been learning wilderness survival skills, and today`s activity focused on finding forageable foods in the forest and on the beach. 🌊
Students went on a scavenger hunt to find edible plants, mushrooms, berries, and shellfish in the wild. 🦀
After the scavenger hunt, students worked on building their own shelters using their new knot-tying skills from the last field school. ⛺
Groups were given nothing but ropes and tarps and used their surroundings and new skills to build spacious, warm, and protective shelters. 🌲
Field School Lesson: Foraging food/ survival skills
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Plankton are incredibly diverse and even more important. Often overlooked are these microscopic heroes. 🔬
But not in Ms. Morris` grade 7 class! We took a walk to the crab dock to collect samples of the plankton drifting on its way out of the inlet. 🌊
Back in class, students took some time to learn how to operate dissecting and compound microscopes. Once they were set up, we took to the samples to uncover the myriad of different plankton forms, summing up their findings in a few scientific drawings. 🦐
Later in the year, we will take some more samples and compare our findings! 🦀
Field School Lesson: Plankton
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Did you know that carbon dioxide, when dissolved in water, creates an acidic solution? Increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere directly leads to ocean acidification. 🧑🔬
To explore this issue more deeply, Ms. Morris`s grade 7s conducted a series of experiments and demonstrations. To start, we learned about pH and tested the pH of various household substances using purple cabbage! 🧪
Once we had a solid understanding of acidity, we investigated how CO2 lowers the pH of water—just by blowing bubbles into a glass of water. 🫧
For the final part of our lab session, students combined seashells and vinegar, hypothesizing what might happen. The resulting bubbles revealed a chemical reaction breaking down the shells. 🐚
To wrap up, we moved outside and played games that highlighted the effects of ocean acidification on shell-building organisms.
Field School Lesson: Ocean Acidification
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Ms. McIver`s grade 3s were encouraged to back-talk this class—learning all about vertebrates :)! 🐚
We began by sorting bones, shells, and other exoskeletons into categories of vertebrates and invertebrates. 🦴 Each student took a turn deciding for themselves where a specimen fit. We then discussed the broad categories, highlighting the similarities and differences both between and within groups, relying on the meanings of their names for easier classification. 🐋
Later, we spread out a few bones from the RES collection, encouraging students to reason and guess in groups which animals the bones once belonged to. The students had impressive ideas behind their guesses—factoring in the size of the bones compared to their own bodies and observing the types of teeth they saw! 🦷
Field School Lesson: Vertebrates
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The Raincoast rocks! Yes, it`s awesome here, but take a closer look at the rocks! 🪨 They weather, they erode, and they change forms. ⏳
At Pettinger Point and Cox Bay, Mr. Reynolds` grade 4s explored the process of coastal erosion and connected it to the rock cycle! 🌧️ Pettinger Point offered stunning views and even better examples of coastal erosion. From the cliffs to the sea caves and sea stacks, we imagined the slow yet powerful process of erosion shaping coastlines all over the world. 🌊
Back on the beach, we jumped into the Rock Cycle Game, where students became chunks of rock moving and transforming between metamorphic, igneous, and sedimentary rock types! 🌋
Field Shool Lesson: Erosion and the Rock Cycle
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What do you think of when you are looking for signs of fall? Smells? Sounds? Sights? 👃🖐️👀👂
Ms. Avila`s class took to the Tonquin Trail for a sensory scavenger hunt, paying close attention to their ears, noses, eyes, and finger tips as they went along. 🫐 At the beach we played the resource collection game where students transformed into different animals in preparation for winter.
Later, students had a blast with the leaf guessing game, where blindfolded students had to use only their sense of touch when trying to identify many different leaves. 🍂 Before long, time was up and we had to take our walk back to the school!
Field School Lesson: Signs of Fall
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#raincoast #outdooreducation #stem #steam #learning #learnoutside #outdoored #experientiallearning #naturebasedlearning #nature #forestschools #placebasededucation #natureschool #tofino #explorebc #explorecanada #britishcolumbia #beautifulbc
While the `bomb cyclone` caused many power outages recently, it also sparked the curiosity of Mr. Redican`s grade 6 class. ⚡️
Building on their investigations into storms and explorations on windy.com, we spent a morning uncovering the physical processes at work within storms.
Down at 1st Street Dock, we explored the relationship between temperature and density. 🌡️ By dyeing cold and hot water different colors, we created a model of temperature stratification in our oceans. We connected this to personal experiences swimming and expanded it to understand temperature patterns in the atmosphere. Taking it further, we examined the relationship between pressure and density. Using a balloon, we modeled high- and low-pressure systems and how air moves between them—what we call wind! 💨
Finally, back at the school, we used the merry-go-round to demonstrate the Coriolis effect—the reason for the spiraling patterns we see in weather systems. 😵💫
Field School Lesson: Temperature, Pressure, Weather
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Ms. Comtois` class joined Chris and Ali at the Tofino Museum for a morning filled with local history. ⚓️⛴️
The class split into groups, alternating between exploring the museum`s fascinating artifacts and enjoying a walking tour that highlighted historical periods and events alongside the many monuments around town. 🏘️
We discussed the long history of the Tla-o-qui-aht, early contact and trade, the development of the town of Tofino, and the War in the Woods. 🌲
Field School Lesson: Local History. @tofinomuseum
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#raincoast #outdooreducation #stem #steam #learning #learnoutside #outdoored #experientiallearning #naturebasedlearning #nature #forestschools #placebasededucation #natureschool #tofino #explorebc #explorecanada #britishcolumbia #beautifulbc #tofinomuseum
#ukeefieldschool
Ms. Sigmund`s grade 1/2 class visited @thorntoncreek with Sophia and Savannah. The group was so appreciative that Dave Hurwitz shared the space with us and even managed to have some live male Salmon for the students to admire! 🐟 -
🎡 The grade 1/2`s demonstrated their knowledge by taking a turn at the Spinning Wheel of Life and Death of a Salmon. Students were not surprised that only 2 of our Salmon made it to the smolt stage, this lead to an informative discussion highlighting some key facts about the life cycle and habitat of our 5 local Salmon species.
🪱 Students not only got a chance to observe a live Salmon swimming around, they also investigated the tiny invertebrates that Salmon snack on and even recognized the final stage of the life cycle when a Salmon skull was seen on the edge of the creek. 🙏🏽 again to Dave & all the Thornton Creek Hatchery staff and to the grade 1/2`s for a great field school!
#ukeefieldschool #raincoastfieldschool
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#raincoast #streamecology #outdoored #experientallearning #naturebasedlearning #nature #forestschools #learningoutside #natureschool #ucluelet #explorebc #explorecanada #britishcolumbia #beautifulbc #outdooreducation #learning #learnoutside
Mr. Floucault`s grade 5/6 students executed a simple machine challenge with Ms. Brinkman guided by Savannah at Big Beach. 🌊
📐 To kickoff the field school, the class played a matching game to classify examples of simple machines. Students quickly matched slide with inclined plane but took time to examine how totem poles are raised before classifying it as a pulley.
📿For the challenge the 5/6`s got into teams and had to create something to move a small plushy 1 meter in the water using only 2 large recycled items and some other building supplies. Simple machines were incorporated into the creations like pulleys with string to return the vessel to shore and inclined planes for the small plushy to get inside.
Savannah was impressed with the students creativity and had lots of fun playing in the snow with the class! 🙏🏽
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#ukeefieldschool #raincoastfieldschool
#raincoasteducationsociety
#raincoast #streamecology #outdoored #experientallearning #naturebasedlearning #nature #forestschools #learningoutside #natureschool #ucluelet #explorebc #explorecanada #britishcolumbia #beautifulbc #outdooreducation #learning #learnoutside
Ms. Tremblay’s grade 2/3 class explored the diverse algae that grows along Big Beach. This was the first field school for the students and the first in the series: The Intertidal zone shore is interesting! 🌊
🎭 While Savannah narrated, the students acted out a tidepool story to foster discussion on being “Tidepool Destructos” or “Tidepool Protectors.”
🔎 The students collected, sorted and categorized the seaweed and algae they found along the shore. Some of the student created categories included long or short, weird/unidentifiable, and bumpy vs smooth.
💡 During the reflection back in the classroom the students shared how they enjoyed using the ID pamphlets and how they would never forget the feeling of the various seaweeds.
The grade 2/3s were so engaged and creative, Savannah shore was impressed! 🙏🏽
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#ukeefieldschool #raincoastfieldschool
#raincoasteducationsociety #raincoast #streamecology #outdoored #experientallearning #naturebasedlearning #nature #forestschools #learningoutside #natureschool #ucluelet #explorebc #explorecanada #britishcolumbia #beautifulbc #outdooreducation #learning #learnoutside
Intro to Sustainability with Kira, Reddfish Restoration and The Den.
Ms. Wilson’s class is diving into a field school unit that will explore the nature of sustainable practices around BC’s resources. 🏞
To start off the morning the group and Kira met in the classroom to broadly define the idea of sustainability. The students in Ms. Wilson’s class shared some great connections and examples of sustainable practices in their own life. For example so many kiddos bike or bus to school! 🚲🚌
The first stop on their community leaders in sustainable practices tour was @reddfishrestoration. Mara and Jadyn of Reddfish welcomed the group and introduced part of Reddfishes mission: restore salmon habitat and community involvement through employment, volunteering, etc.! The students split into three groups and rotated through a stream table, art and outdoor activity stations that all explored salmon as an essential resource to our west coast community. The stream table at Reddfish is open to the public and an awesome resource to up your learning on watersheds, salmon and human habitat and natural or anthropogenic impacts effecting the above. 💦
After Reddfish, the group marched down to The Den, a sustainable goods shop and refill store. Diane Rudge, the owner, introduced key points of the stores mission: zero waste products, refillable products and selling/ promoting local products. ♻️ The students loved touring through the store and checking out the living wall. A lot of them recognized products that they had in their own homes. 🏠
🙏🏽Thank you everyone for making this intro to sustainability field school a great success! Ms. Wilson’s class can not wait to check out more sustainable practice examples in the community and grow their understanding of what it means to be sustainable.
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#ukeefieldschool #raincoastfieldschool
#raincoasteducationsociety #raincoast #streamecology #outdoored #experientallearning #naturebasedlearning #nature #forestschools #learningoutside #natureschool #ucluelet #explorebc #explorecanada #britishcolumbia #beautifulbc #outdooreducation #learning #learnoutside
Spring Cove and Terrace Beach: Then and Now with Kira
Kira and Mr. Foucault’s Grade 5 & 6 class headed down to Spring Cove and then over to Terrace Beach for field school. The class is starting a unit on global community, which connected well with the global presence involved in the fishing community and BC packers camp at Spring Cove. 🌏 The group started learning about the time immemorial presence of the Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ and the pre and post World War II history of Japanese immigrants, which provoked a lot of thoughtful questions and discussion points. 🈁
At Terrace Beach the group made their way to the midden (ancient refuse pile) along the Terrace Beach Trail. At the midden they learned about the different traditional tools used by the Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ and the group had a great discussion on the differences and similarities between a midden and our modern-day landfill practices. 🐚 To finish off the field school the students tried their hand at making their own tools out of loose natural materials. ⚒️ They quickly realized how much time, practice, knowledge and skill it takes to create working tools out of natural materials. Furthermore, how we sometimes take for granted the materials we have at hand today. 🗻
Thanks for bringing your focus, respect and enthusiasm to the field school Mr. Floucault’s class! 🙏🏽
#ukeefieldschool #raincoastfieldschool
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Fall Detectives! with Kira. 🕵️♀️ Kira was SO excited to meet the new kindergarteners in Ms. Wilson and Ms. Williamson’s class! For both field schools the group put on their detective hats and using all their senses became fall detectives! At Big Beach they started with a nature colour wheel exercise where the kiddos found loose, natural items on the beach that matched almost every color on the wheel. 🎨 Some particularly interesting items were the kelp holdfast, colorful seaweed, leaves, beach glass and feathers. Afterwards they took to the forest for a fall scavenger hunt. With their findings they used magnifying glasses to take an close up look at the intricate patterns and details in nature. 🌊 Using the same gathered materials, they finished off the field school with a fun blindfolded sensory guessing game. 🤸🏿♂️ Thank you for the super fun times Ms. Wilson’s class and Ms. Williamson’s class! 🙏🏽
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#raincoast #streamecology #outdoored #experientallearning #naturebasedlearning #nature #forestschools #learningoutside #natureschool #ucluelet #explorebc #explorecanada #britishcolumbia #beautifulbc #outdooreducation #learning #learnoutside
A Journey Through Time with Kira. ⏳
In this field school, Ms. Lefevre’s Grade 7 class connected to their social’s unit on ancient civilizations. After an introduction in class they headed to Spring Cove and Terrace Beach to learn about the historical use by the Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ. 🌊 The class and Kira felt very grateful to learn about the history through the Spring Cove and Terrace Beach interpretive signs provided by the Ucluelet First Nation and the Wild Pacific Trail. 🪧
Some highlights from the morning were visiting the Elder Tree, seeing the pictures of Spring cove in the early 1900’s and spotting CMTs along the trail. The group also enjoyed learning Nuu chah nulth for Spring Cove and Terrace Beach, as well as seeing the history of travel between the two areas along the short cut and in traditional dug out canoes when on the water on the map at He-Tin-Kis park.
🙏🏽Thank you Ms. Lefevre’s class for the engaging morning!
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#raincoasteducationsociety #raincoast
#streamecology #outdoored #experientallearning #naturebasedlearning #nature #forestschools #learningoutside #natureschool #ucluelet #explorebc #explorecanada #britishcolumbia #beautifulbc #outdooreducation #learning #learnoutside
National Forest Week. 🌲 Mr. Garand’s Grade 4/5 class and Kira joined an awesome team of Foresters, Educators and Archeologists for a field school celebrating National Forest Week.
They made their way to the new Macoah Trail between Macoah and Secret Beach. Upon arriving they were introduced to Dennis Hetu, an archeologist and cultural educator from the Toquaht Nation. Dennis acknowledged the sacred Toquaht land the trail ran through and then walked them along the trail showing everyone the vast amount of Culturally Modified Trees (CMTs) in the surrounding old-growth forest. 🌱
It was unbelievably cool! They found evidence of pre-contact harvesting as well as post contact euro logging. At the half way point, they were led through a fascinating activity in the surrounding second growth forest by Erik Holbeck, Tracy Andrews and Mike Davis- all local foresters. Each forester took a group of kids and picked a tree sample a core from using an increment borer. The kids loved using the increment borer and observing the trees life through the sample. 📏
Huge shout out to Tracy, Erik and Dennis for everything you did to make this happen! Including actually planning and building the new trail! 🙏🏽 @toquahtnation
#ukeefieldschool #raincoastfieldschool
#raincoasteducationsociety#raincoast#streamecology #outdoored #experientallearning #naturebasedlearning #nature #forestschools #learningoutside #natureschool #ucluelet #explorebc #explorecanada #britishcolumbia #beautifulbc #outdooreducation #learning #learnoutside #toquahtnation
Support
Raincoast Field School is made possible with the support of the administration and teaching staff at local schools, and the generosity of organizations, businesses, and individuals within the community. The curriculum is designed to build upon itself each year, representing a long-term commitment to the students. Our instructors are highly skilled educators in a full-time position with the RES, committed to the program, and the community they teach in.
Need help?
If you have any questions about our courses, our events, or just us in general – we’re here to help!