The Rideau Eco-Literacy Centre for Children
Making a Difference
We are leaders in Eco-Education, making a difference by empowering the environmentalists of tomorrow.
Our programs are for children 6-12 and are offered free of charge through our local libraries.
The Eco-Literacy Center for Children is shared across a network of Ontario Pubic Libraries.
Created by the Rideau Roundtable, the Eco-Literacy Centre brings transformational and recreational hands-on experiences in library learning forums, and with recreational play & learn activities on the shores and waterways of the Rideau River System.
Our programs help kids understand the dynamic forces that create our environment. Each session is designed to build resilience in the face of climate anxiety. We do this by empowering children with knowledge and tools to create positive change to their own futures.
Learn The Basics Inside
Learners attend monthly sessions at their nearest participating library during the school year. They do hands on activities to explore facets of wetland management and factors that influence climate change.
Master the Basics Outdoors
Weekly during the summer months the enrichment activities move outdoors. These sessions allow the learners to explore their acquired knowledge in a real world context.
Apply the knowledge
The culminating activity for each location is a trip in a 20 foot voyager canoe with nature and history guides. Together they explore the wetlands of the Rideau Waterway to apply what they have learned.
How do Wetlands Work?
Clean-Up in Aisle 3! Wetlands play a vital part of purifying water, providing habitats for many endangered species, and preventing flooding. Come and see if you can make the water flow clean!
The Food Web
What’s eating you? Eco-systems are thriving webs of conspiracies. Help untangle this chain of who is eating who, while learning about hierarchies and the variety of life forms living right outside our doors!
Ride The Water Cycle
What goes up, must come down. Learn how water is the original transformer. It can take many forms and move around almost invisibly. (Beware- Cool Experiments in Progress)
What is a Watershed?
*Why did the water run off?* It was late for dinner! In this hands-on workshop, learn tips and tricks to avoid common run-off problems like flooding and erosion
Pollution Solutions
But what can I do? I am just a kid. From being an activist to an advocate, there are lots of small changes you can make. Practice some strategies that will make you a leader of tomorrow.
What is the Scoop with Carbon?
Let's break it down. All the way down- to the molecule!. Learn about the fickle friendships molecules can have, and how easily they can change. We will test these bonds in action!
Build a Mini-World in a Terrarium
Let's build a biome! Now we know a little about the water cycle, and some molecules, lets add some abiotic and biotic elements and build our own mini-worlds.
Invasive Species vs Native Plants. Death Match!
All plants are good, right? Sometimes No! Wetlands seem like very strong eco-systems, but what happens when a bad nieghbour moves in?