Education at TTPBRS

Educational programs at TTPBRS for local schools, the general public as well as student and professional ornithologists provide unique opportunities that are currently lacking in the Greater Toronto Area. Currently we offer two captivating educational programs: Winged Migration: Bird Studies and Conservation (schools) and A Bird in the Hand (general public).

Winged Migration: Bird Studies and Conservation

"Children retain 10 percent of what they read, 15 percent of what they hear, but 80 percent of what they do"

Through our Investigating the Living City Spaces initiative, Toronto and Region Conservation has developed and piloted a curriculum based education program at TTP for grades 4 - 7 titled Winged Migration. Many outdoor education experiences for children operate on a "high volume" basis; however Winged Migration is a low volume experience - only one class per day is involved. Students see birds-in-the-hand at the TTPBRS as staff and volunteers carry out their daily monitoring and bird banding activities. Then the kids take binoculars and actively engage in birdwatching activities designed to hone observation and data collection skills. Throughout the day students are exposed to the many environmental issues which arise when talking about bird conservation. Subjects like endangered species, toxic chemicals, air and water quality and climate change are discussed. Throughout the program, students are encouraged to discuss bird conservation issues in the Toronto area and voice creative solutions to the issues.

Pre & Post Lesson Plan for the Winged Migration program at Tommy Thompson Park

As taking part in the Winged Migration program at Tommy Thompson Park, it is recommended completing the following lessons to familiarize students with some of the birds they might see and some of the concepts they learn during their field trip. The lessons can easily be integrated into Science, Language Arts, Social Studies and Physical Education programs:
Pre-Lesson Plan | Post-Lesson Plan

Curriculum Ties

Winged Migration has been developed to meet the expectations of the Ontario Curriculum. Special focus has been placed on the Elementary Science and Technology Life Systems Strand for grades 4, 6 and 7 and the Secondary Biology Strand for grade10, academic and applied. This program also supports the National Healthy Living Strategy and the Province of Ontario?s Active 2010 initiative by engaging students in safe, physical, outdoor activities.

A Bird-in-the-hand: Program for TTP Visitors

We believe that effective conservation of birds and the environment is only possible through education. At TTPBRS we have an open door policy - we want to share the experience of a bird up close and personal with as many people as we can. We offer bird banding demonstrations and discussions on weekends and holidays during park hours. Visitors to TTPBRS can view our bird monitoring programs in action, ask questions and view bird migration at one of the premier sites in southern Ontario.

Caution: Bird Research Area

At TTPBRS we use mist nets to capture and band birds for monitoring and research. Visitors are free to explore the study area but are asked to refrain from approaching the mist nets. These nets are checked at least every 30 minutes and we need to minimize encounters between people and captured birds as this causes unnecessary stress. We also want to maintain consistency in our data, which is affected by human presence near the net lanes. We appreciate the cooperation of the general public in continuing to make the Migration Monitoring Program at TTP a success.