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Internationally Recognized for Excellence!
On World Wetlands Day, February 2, 2011 two of our Wetland Centre of Excellence partners were recognized for their outstanding contribution to wetland education. This prestigious international award was presented in Mexico on the 40th Anniversary of the signing of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, an international agreement to protect wetlands and promote their conservation worldwide. The Award acknowledges their programs for “schools promoting the wise use of wetlands in the Americas.”
- 1st Place – Tantramar Regional High School, Sackville, NB
- 2nd Place – East Elgin Secondary School, Aylmer, ON
Wetland Centres of Excellence
Research in environmental education shows that involving students in action projects, and providing realistic models that other students can emulate, has significant value in creating positive changes in attitudes and behaviour. Ducks Unlimited Canada staff work with students and educators to support Wetland Centres of Excellence whenever funding and resources allow. This program is designed to help support secondary school classes involved in their own long-term wetland conservation projects and to encourage more students to pursue related careers.
Current Wetland Centres of Excellence:
- Clarence Fulton Secondary School, Vernon, BC
- Nellie McClung Collegiate, Manitou, MB
- Virden Collegiate Institute, Virden, MB
- Fort Richmond Collegiate, Winnipeg, MB
- East Elgin Secondary School, Aylmer, ON
- Timiskaming District Secondary School, New Liskeard, ON
- Wellington Heights Secondary School, Mount Forest, ON
- École secondaire du Mont-Sainte-Anne, Beaupré, QC
- The Tantramar Wetlands Centre, Sackville, NB
By 2016 we hope to have an additional 11 partnerships with secondary schools in selected communities across Canada. If accepted, wetland teams work with DUC staff to develop a plan and budget. Based on this they may then receive funds for field and lab equipment, infrastructure, field trips, student internships and more.
For more information about your school becoming a Wetland Centre of Excellence please email us at project_webfoot@ducks.ca
The range of projects undertaken by our partner schools is diverse and includes:
Studies or monitoring (water quality, species inventories, bird banding)
Students at several Wetland Centres of Excellence are involved in bird banding and provide this information to researchers. The students at Timiskaming Secondary School in northern Ontario have built special bird banding stations for their on-going program.
Stewardship (nest boxes, wetland creation, planting, annual cleanups)
After students Clarence Fulton Secondary School in Vernon, British Columbia carried on a wetland clean-up they then decided they needed to do more. Working with members of their community they restored the wetlands, built boardwalks and carried out other improvements to create their own peaceful retreat and outdoor classroom.
Interpretation (interpretive trails, educational signs, construction of a small nature centre or mentoring elementary school students).
Secondary school students share their knowledge and enthusiasm with the students they mentor.
“I can just remember the high school students delivering the program. They seemed excited and the things they were showing us were really awesome . . .as soon as I got back to school, I knew it was something I wanted to do.”
- student, Tantramar Wetland Centre Sackville, N.B.
