Education

Rooted in nature, growing together

How the Nature Education Collective is transforming environmental literacy across Canada

By Kate Belmore November 04, 2025

When staff from Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) travelled to Montreal for the United Nations Biodiversity COP15 in December 2022, they saw an opportunity to drive real, transformative change with colleagues in the nature education space. Amid the global urgency around climate change and biodiversity loss, they asked the bold question: How can we work together to build thoughtful, engaged and resilient youth in Canada?

That question became a driving force behind the creation of the Nature Education Collective (NEC), a national alliance of five of Canada’s leading nature education organizations: DUC, the Canadian Wildlife Federation, Earth Rangers, Outward Bound Canada and Project Learning Tree Canada.

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Climate change and biodiversity loss are too big for any one organization to tackle alone. We’re stronger together. By combining our expertise and pooling our resources, we can amplify our impact and make real, lasting progress.

Michele Nicholson, DUC’s acting national director of science and education

A response to crisis

The timing couldn’t be more urgent. This past summer, Canada experienced record-breaking wildfires, floods and heatwaves — concrete reminders that climate change is not a distant threat but a present-day crisis. These events are having profound effects on young people’s mental health and outlook on the future.

That’s the heart of NEC’s mission: to champion quality, non-formal nature education that improves environmental literacy and helps young people build resilience, critical thinking skills and hope.

Members of the Nature Education Collective © DUC

Our approach

The NEC has launched our transformative pilot program in four provinces: Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and New Brunswick. We’re testing out an innovative three-pronged approach to bring meaningful non-formal nature education to students, educators and administrators. Our three pillars of work include:

Regional dialogues – Convening events that bring together educators, school administrators and community leaders to embed nature education into long-term school strategies and create lasting communities of practice.

Teacher training – Train-the-trainer models ensure that educators gain skills, confidence and resources to integrate nature-based learning into their classrooms and across curricula.

Student programming – From guided wetland field trips to forestry workshops and stewardship projects, NEC’s student programming reaches learners where they are and empowers them to take positive action.

A future worth investing in

The NEC is not just building a program; we’re leading a co-ordinated, national effort to ensure that every child and youth in Canada can access meaningful and high-quality nature-based education. By fostering environmental literacy, emotional resilience and community connection, the NEC is preparing the next generation of Canadians to be thoughtful and capable leaders in a world that urgently needs them.

The Nature Education Collective’s pilot project would not be possible without the generous support of Environment and Climate Change Canada, la Fondation de Gaspé Beaubien and the Consecon Foundation. A special thank you to Wildlife Habitat Canada for supporting teacher and student wetland programming in Calgary and Winnipeg. Visit Nature Education Collective to learn more.

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