In 2009, Peninsula Streams Society, in partnership with a team of concerned community members, created an environmental education program for Gr. 6 students.  We called it “Creatures of Habitat – Days of Action” to reflect the program’s emphasis on proactivity in the face of our environmental challenges.  Every year since, we have brought a “Day of Action” to middle schools all over the Peninsula. With our team of volunteers, workshop providers and theatre crew, we engage 5-700 Gr. 6 and 7 students/year in environmental restoration activities, interactive theatre and workshops.  

We currently deliver the program to North Saanich, Bayside, Royal Oak and Colquitz Middle Schools.

This program is delivered in April. We visit each Gr. 6 student body for a full day and engage them in a number of indoor and outdoor activities.  

1. The indoor activities include an EnviroJeopardy presentation (modeled after the television gameshow ‘Jeopardy, but with questions about the environment; delivered with the help of the youth acting troupe from Acting Out) and workshops (delivered by LifeCycles, CRD Parks, Parks Canada, Victoria Compost Education Centre, etc).
2. The outdoor component is ecological restoration-based and involves the students in hands-on restoration activities on their school property. The nature of the activities depends on the school, but often includes invasive plant species removal (Himalayan blackberry, English ivy, spurge laurel, etc.), salmon fry releases, weeding, mulching, native species plantings, etc.

The success of Creatures of Habitat relies heavily on the support of volunteers, as each school location requires anywhere from 15-25 volunteers to help with the outdoor activities.