The Harvest Moon Society is developing a package of field-trip educational programs that complement and supplement current provincial curriculum. We aim to provide a diversity of entry points to learn about sustainable agriculture, society, environment and the economy. Learning activities are still in the early stages of implementation, led by volunteer facilitators and local experts. Most of our activities have been designed for grades 6-12, however we can develop a program for younger students as well. Our programs tie together land-based learning and community-based learning giving children and youth hands-on tools to learn about sustainability issues they build life-long skills for being sustainable citizens and community-members.
Urban Youth Field Trips
Located in a town of approximately 70 residents, the Harvest Moon Learning Centre offers a unique learning environment. For an urban student experiencing rural life for the first time, the lack of traffic lights and ATMs, and the night sky lit up by thousands of stars, can awaken a new awareness of the world. The smallness of the town makes community and volunteerism of utmost importance. The history of Clearwater mirrors that of so many small towns on the prairies. When students learn about how the changes to agriculture, rail transportation and the global economy have affected these communities, they learn about resilience and how communities persist in changing times.
Our sustainability programming helps to bridge urban and rural communities. Building connections between rural and urban communities, we offer the experience of a small town addressing the explore the issues that connect us, including watersheds, food production and prairie ecosystems.
Rural Youth Field Trips
One of our goals is to increase the diversity of learning opportunities available to rural students. Engaging local experts with specialized local knowledge of the land, its history and its community, we educate our youth in our own backyard.
Field-trip packages can be tailored for day trips, or include an overnight camp-out to fully appreciate the dynamics of the land and sky.
If you are ready to plan your field trip, please contact firstname.lastname@example.org for more information. This project is possible with funding from the Co-operators IMPACT! Fund.
What do we offer?
- Reclaimed Sustainable Design: Beginning with a tour of the Clearwater Cabins and students learn about how the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) were incorporated in the buildings’ design and construction. Participants will then use the principles of sustainable design to build their own structures from natural and recycled materials.
- Plant-Based Dyes: Participants will collect plants from the garden and produce a colour tie-dyed project. Along the way, they will compare natural and synthetic dyes and learn some basic chemistry.
- Predator-Prey: An interactive game of tag that simulates the basics of ecology and the food web.
- Lessons From the Land Scavenger Hunt: Participants will learn to pay attention to their surroundings and use their senses as they uncover ecological lessons in the prairie meadow, riparian forest and aquatic ecosystem of the Lessons From the Land Interpretive Trail.
- Food & Ecosystems: Participants explore the garden to find evidence of ecosystem components and interactions involved in the creation of our food. Working in grips they will answer the question: in what ways do we depend on ecosystems for our food?
- Garden to Table Snack: In this hands-on kitchen activity, participants learn the basics of canning and food preservation techniques.
- Yes, You Can!: In this hands-on kitchen activity, participants learn the basics of canning and food preservation techniques.
- Food Miles: Using both ingredients from the grocery store and ingredients from local farms, participants will calculate the distance the food items travelled, before baking a nutritious snack together.
Planning Your Trip
With the space and resources of the Harvest Moon Learning Centre we can host groups for the day or overnight and tailor education programs lead by our skilled volunteers. Overnight lodging may include our dorm rooms, the Clearwater Cabins, or a good ol’ fashioned camp out.
If you are ready to plan your field trip, please contact email@example.com. Ask about possible funding from the Co-operators IMPACT! Fund.
New Moon Kids Camp
The New Moon Kids Camp is an all-day camp for kids ages 7 to 11, held at the Harvest Moon Learning Centre in Clearwater, Manitoba.
The camp program is be based around themes of local food and agriculture, the natural environment and sustainable living, and rural communities. Activities include fast-paced outdoor games, hands-on science experiments, educational simulation games, creative arts and crafts, food preparation and more! We make sure to keep the campers constantly engaged in educational fun and games for the whole three days!
Both local and out-of-town children are welcome to register! Camping and cabin rentals are available for families wishing to come and stay in Clearwater for the 3 days. There are many local sights and activities to entertain parents and other family members while the child is enjoying the New Moon Kids Camp. Coordinators will be happy to provide suggestions!
Registration for New Moon Kids Camp is accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Spaces are limited! Please check back in Spring 2017 for more information.
The Eco-Challenge is an annual outdoor education event for grades 7 and 8 students in the Prairie Spirit School Division. Through experiential workshops and trail stations, the students explore themes related to soil and water conservation, forest ecology, geography, sustainable food systems and resilient communities. The activities and interactions with conservation experts offers the teenagers a glimpse of possible careers in environmental fields.
To inquire about registering your school, or if you would like to be a workshop or station facilitator, please send us a message on our Contact Page.