Water Education Resources

The 2022 Hamilton Children’s Water Festival will take place virtually in May 2022. Educators can sign up to receive a water festival activity package that can be completed in-class or at home. There will be 20+ activities in the package provided by many of our community partners such as Green Venture, the Royal Botanical Gardens, the City of Hamilton, McMaster University and many more! Please visit www.hamilton.ca/ChildrensWaterFestival for the most up to date information.

Did you know that 2.4 billion people worldwide lack access to basic sanitation like a toilet or latrine? In places without toilets where waste isn’t safely managed, drinking water becomes easily contaminated leading to illness, malnutrition and even death. World Toilet Day, held on November 19th each year, was created by the United Nations to bring worldwide sanitation issues to light.

Taking part in World Toilet Day is easy. Just send your class information to [email protected] and you will receive an electronic activity package designed to increase your students’ knowledge of their water, wastewater and related worldwide issues. Along with the package you will also receive a class challenge that you can complete for a chance to win a water bottle and other cool swag for each of your students! Show our community that we can make a difference by signing up today. 

Hamilton Water aims to make a difference every World Toilet Day by raising awareness by educating Hamilton students on water and sanitation issues and by collecting donations from generous local organizations. Every dollar that is raised goes directly to Water for People Canada, a charity working in struggling communities around the world to increase lasting access to clean water and sanitation.

Register your class by November 1 to receive the electronic activity package containing a lesson plan, activities and other resources designed to teach your students about:

• The importance of clean water and sanitation (like toilets, sewers and wastewater treatment)
• Where our wastewater goes and how it is treated in Hamilton
• Global issues caused by lack of access to proper toilets and infrastructure

For more information or to register, please email [email protected]. When registering, please include your name, school, grade and number of students participating.

Take advantage of your hydration stations and green your school by ordering reusable water bottles for your staff and students. Schools within the City of Hamilton can order bottles with a custom logo on one side and the City of Hamilton logo on the other. We combine orders from schools across the City to provide you with the best possible price.

The best part? Your school only pays 50% of the cost!

Program details:

• Orders are placed twice per year. Order deadlines are February 1 and October 6
• 900mL BPA-free plastic and 500mL stainless steel bottles available
• Each bottle features a custom logo of your choice (1-colour)
• 100 bottle minimum order
• Historically, schools have paid between $2 - $3 per bottle
• Average delivery time is 4-6 weeks. Manufacturing time varies by vendor.

To order, access the online water bottle order form 

Bring awareness to your school’s hydration stations during the school year with colourful posters featuring designs created by your students. Hamilton Water provides the template and your students provide the designs that promote the benefits of drinking tap water and using reusable bottles.

This poster contest can be run at any time during the school year and provides a great opportunity for eco-teams or individual students to develop skills and confidence gained by running a school-wide program.

How does it work? This program can be run by your eco-team, staff or students and everyone in your school can participate! Each student in your school can create a poster design related to drinking water (or a water topic of your choice). Your school then picks up to 3 winners and Hamilton Water will have those designs professionally printed and mounted for you to hang above drinking fountains in your school.

Download the poster contest guide to get started today

Green Venture offers engaging, fun, and informative waste & water workshops for kindergarten through grade 8 with links to the Ontario curriculum. Each workshop is set up to run for about an hour, and many can be extended. Workshops can be run completely outdoors on site at EcoHouse, virtually, or in combination. Green Venture is constantly updating how they operate so that they can run all programming safely, and within the current public health guidelines. Check out the "For Educators" section on their website or contact them for more information or to book a FREE workshop.

Website: www.greenventure.ca
Email: [email protected]

Bring BARC into your classroom. All of BARC’s education programs are free and curriculum-linked. Take part in fun and engaging programs like Classroom Mini Marsh, Stream of Dreams, Home to Harbour and more. Visit their website to learn more.

Website: www.hamiltonharbour.ca/education_programs
Email: [email protected]

The RBG offers accessible, diverse and entertaining learning opportunities for all ages. Our award-winning digital school programs are growing. New resources being added each week, in English and French. Visit the RBG online to take advantage of school programs and resources such as virtual field trips, lesson plans, educational videos and more.

Website: www.rbg.ca/things-to-do/rbg-at-home/rbg-at-home-for-teachers/

Hamilton Conservation Authority provides hands-on, curriculum-based Aquatic Studies at the Dundas Valley Conservation Area for Grades 7 to 12. These Environmental Education Aquatic studies include: Stream area measurement & mapping, Benthic collection, Identification and Interpretation of results. Students investigate the health of the aquatic ecosystem, working in teams with dip nets; hip waders and equipment kit bags. For schools and independent learning groups there is a fee-for-program & deposit required. For schools within the HWDSB, programs are pre-paid. Contact the HCA to arrange for a booking.

Website: https://conservationhamilton.ca/environmental-education-home/
Email: [email protected]