Future Leaders is our environmental education program for students, teachers and youth of the Bow Valley.
We offer numerous programs to schools and community groups that cover topics from wildlife and ecology to vermicomposting and climate change. Our unique programs link students in the classroom to local topics and action projects. See the suite of program and resource offerings below.
In our work, we…
COLLABORATE with K-12 teachers, Indigenous Elders and community members to provide formal and non-formal educational programming in the Bow Valley
CONNECT students to environmental learning on topics such as ecology, climate change and wildlife
EMPOWER youth through environmental action projects based in the community
FOLLOW ALONG! @future.leaders.biosphere
Lesson PLans
Contact us to book an educator who can deliver a lesson plan connected to Alberta K-12 curriculum. The lesson plans are delivered throughout the school year in the classrooms, fields and forests surrounding your Bow Valley school. We welcome your ideas to link your classroom with local environmental topics and action.
To learn more, take a peek at the games and activities outlined on our Lesson Plans page
Contact Heidi to book a program.
Wildlife edukits
We continue to offer our award-winning Wildlife EduKits free of charge to teachers in the Bow Valley. The Kit is complete with bones, skulls, pelts, scat and track replicas as well as a powerpoint presentation.
The suite of EduKits are available in Wolf, Bison, Bear, Cougar or Elk. Please advise if you’d like to book an educator to guide your class through the EduKit.
Contact Heidi to book an EduKit and/or a visit
ways of the bison
Through a series of classroom sessions and field experiences, students will explore Bison artefacts and learn the ‘Ways of the Bison’ from non-Indigenous and Indigenous perspectives.
We offer a unique Grade 4 program for students from non-Indigenous and Indigenous communities to meet one another for a fun day at Star 6 Ranch. Students will share games, learn from the Îyarhe Nakoda Elders, sample bison stew and discover we are stronger together.
This interdisciplinary program is connected to Alberta K-6 Science and Social Studies with a Grade 9 program available as well. Your class will learn about the ecological and cultural significance of this keystone species.
environmental stewardship (ENS1020, 1040, 1910)
This Gr.10-12 high school credit course is part of the Career and Technology Studies, LearnAlberta.ca. In this deep-dive course, we partner with local teachers to co-deliver the course content and facilitate students’ action projects.
The 3 month experiential learning course includes classroom, field trip visits to energy, wastewater and waste transfer sites, hiking tours and most importantly, support on turning student concern into impact!
Future Leaders Youth Council
Are you a student in the Bow Valley in Grade 9-12? Are you looking to meet other youth and make positive environmental impact in your community? Get in touch! The Future Leaders Youth Council is a group of environmentally-minded youth who are actively seeking to connect with you, your Bow Valley peers, community experts and environmental action projects to empower your voice!
workshop facilitation
Future Leaders works collaboratively with K-12 teachers, educators and grassroots programs to curate unique workshops.
Our workshops can be curated to cover a range of topics including decolonizing teaching practices, navigating eco-anxiety, wildlife education, climate change and ecology.
Our workshops have been presented from grassroots movements to National conferences. Previous include K-12 teachers, academic researchers, administrators, educators and Bow Valley residents.
View this video for an example of an online presentation about decolonizing pedagogies.
more about our programs
WHAT programs does future leaders offer?
Future Leaders is an outreach education program offered as both Formal (K-12, in-school) and Non-formal (out of school) programs. In a highly collaborative approach, Future Leaders works with local teachers, Indigenous Elders, municipal governments and organizations to curate learning content that responds to a specific environmental topic or issue.
The program format is typically offered as 1-10 sessions in a 1-1.5hr long sessions, hosted either in a classroom, nearby forest or trail. Topics are diverse! The content ranges from water, birds, wildlife and climate change to Indigenous knowledge, ecology and waste management.
The Formal Education program content includes curriculum-connected activities and assignments as well as age-appropriate games, a science-informed presentation and oftentimes culminates in a community action project (think: students creating educational posters, students doing resident door-knocking campaigns, planting a garden, writing to the government, creating reusable tote bags etc.).
Non-Formal Education
After School Program (occasional)
Big Fun (occasional)
Into the Wild (occasional)
Pollinator Garden (formal and non-formal, core area)
Wildlife EduKits (formal and non-formal, core area)
Formal Education (click here to view all)
Kindergarten What a Wonderful World
Grade 1 Connection to Place
Grade 2 We are the Seasons (core program)
Grade 3 Soil Science
Gr.4 Ways of the Bison (core program)
Gr.5 Water Health
Gr.6 Imagination in Flight
Gr.7 Climate Stewards
Gr.8 Water Stewards
Gr.9 - Bison and Biodiversity (core program)
Gr.10-12 - Env. Stewardship (core program)
who are the programs for?
The programs are primarily repeat visits for a ‘deep not broad’ approach. The formal education programs are focused on supporting the Stoney Education Authority, Christ the Redeemer School Board and FrancoSud with programs upon request from Calgary Board of Education and Rocky View District. The non-formal education programs are available for community organizations, municipal services and other children/youth services. Free or low-cost programs are offered to students in Banff, Canmore, Mînî Thnî. Fee for service programs (case-by-case basis) are offered to schools are organizations outside of the Bow Valley.
WHY DO WE DO IT This way?
The Mission of Future Leaders is to “empower student and community leadership to address environmental challenges”. Our highly personalized and responsive programs enable us to address pertinent and emerging needs. We do this work for the future of the humans and non-humans on the planet.
Future Leaders is informed by a ‘two-eyed seeing’ (Elder Albert Marshall, Mi’kmaq First Nation) approach. This approach to teaching engages both a Western and Indigenous perspective for a more complete understanding. The program responds to developing science and information at a local, provincial, national and global level. We believe that by teaching students outdoors as much as possible in this holistic approach, students will learn to “love the Earth before we ask them to save it” Dr. David Sobel.
Our programs are possible by
