PROGRAMS

Classroom Mini Marsh

Registration for Spring 2023 Classroom Mini Marsh is now CLOSED.

What is the Classroom Mini Marsh Program?

Since 1993, the Bay Area Restoration Council (BARC) and Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) have offered Classroom Mini Marsh kits free of charge to schools across the Hamilton Harbour watershed. The kits include a mini-marsh care guide, curriculum-linked activities, native marsh plants, a bowl, gravel, and a snail.

Students will plant the shoots in the gravel bowl, maintain the water level, and watch their Mini Marsh grow. At the end of the school year the kits are returned to RBG for planting in Cootes Paradise marsh, connecting students with the restoration of this Hamilton wetland.

Curriculum Links

Kindergarten • Science and Technology

Grade 1 • Needs and Characteristics of Living

Grade 2 • Growth and Changes in Animals; Air and Water in the Environment

Grade 3 • Growth and Changes in Plants

Grade 4 • Habitats and Communities; People and Environments
Grade 6 • Biodiversity
Grade 7 • Interactions in the Environment
Grade 8 • Water Systems

2023 Program Materials

Classroom Mini Marsh Background Information 2023

A Healthy Wetland Activity Sheet

Complete the Pattern Activity Sheet

Snail Comic Activity Sheet

Plant Growth Stages Activity Sheet

The Bay Area Restoration Council is a registered charitable non-profit organization. Formed in 1991, BARC represents the public interest in the restoration of Hamilton Harbour and its watershed. BARC is responsible for community engagement and educational activities in the implementation of the Hamilton Harbour Remedial Action Plan. BARC encourages public understanding and citizen action through school programs, volunteer participation, public workshops, evaluative reporting on current issues and opportunities for digital communications.