Photo by Wayne Kaulbach, Keats Island

The Átl’ka7tsem/Howe Sound Biosphere Region Initiative offers a wide range of opportunities for place-based learning – through case studies, through research and monitoring initiatives, and through field experiences for students and others.

The UN’s UNESCO Biosphere Reserves (Regions in the Canadian context) focus on connecting people and nature through place-based initiatives related to sustainable development, biodiversity conservation, and reconciliation.

With approximately 46,000 people living in the Howe Sound area located on the doorstep of a growing metropolis, the biosphere region provides a unique ‘learning lab’ situation that connects people and nature for place-based learning through partnerships related to its comprehensive land and marine use planning work. The place-based learning initiatives established with a diversity of partners will guide the future stewards of Átl’ka7tsem/Howe Sound in their efforts to lead its sustainable management for generations to come.

Read about our partnership with Capilano University and the many opportunities the biosphere region offers for students and faculty.

For more information and/or questions about the opportunities, please Contact Us.

The Squamish River Watershed Society loves to get youth out onto the land. In a typical year, over 1,000 students take part in a variety of programs based in the Squamish Estuary living lab.

“Went on a herring egg monitoring field trip with some awesome Howe Sound Secondary School students today in the beautiful Squamish Estuary. We were so grateful for the clear blue sky and for bird song and cottonwood buds full of medicine and the smell of spring. We were also surprised to find most of the herring spawn in the Central Estuary hatched and the rest ready to make their way into the world today or tomorrow. Good luck little "big" fish and thank you for filling the Salish Sea with life.”

 
 

A variety of camps across the region are dedicated to getting youth out onto the land and closer to nature.