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The Peel District School Board has a long and strong history
celebrating over 40 years
of environmental, outdoor, and historical based education
at its five field centres.
The Jack Smythe Field Centre,
located just north of the village of Terra Cotta in Caledon,
is the oldest and one of the largest of the facilities.
The property is located on the Niagara Escarpment
with the Bruce Trail winding through the scenic, mature hardwoods.
Numerous programs on ecology, science, history and more
are offered year round.
In spring, the sugar bush is active with classes each day
learning about the science of maple syrup –
while also learning about how the First Peoples,
and the early settlers, made syrup
before stepping into a modern sugar shack.
In the last few years more and more secondary school classes
have utilized the staff and the site
for science, geography, and even English studies.
With open fields, mature hardwoods and vernal ponds,
Smythe is a wonderful resource for anyone interested in fieldwork.
The G.W. Finlayson Field Centre, located north of Alton,
is found on the southern shores of Caledon Lake
near the headwaters of the Credit River system.
Aquatic studies in the pristine creek and wetlands on the property
are popular for students of all ages,
whether studying habitats, diversity, or secondary school biology.
Finlayson is also home to the high ropes
and low ropes challenge courses.
These popular team building and self actualization opportunities
are for students and staff groups alike.
The high ropes sit 25 to 30 feet in the air.
Individuals are capable of learning exactly what one can accomplish.
Originally opened in the 1850s, the Old Britannia Schoolhouse,
located next to the central board office,
was used as a school for 107 years before shutting down.
In 1982 it was reopened to provide pioneer
and earl settler studies to the students of Peel.
Students immersed themselves in history
with the help of a schoolmistress, or master,
helping pupils learn about life in Peel County
well over a hundred years ago.
Students focus on grade three early settlers studies
and the grade seven and eight dramatic arts unit.
However, a grade ten history program has also been developed.
Students sit in century old desks
and write their lessons upon slates while learning
and may even have their eyes open
to an antiquated discipline technique or two.
Right next door to the schoolhouse is the Britannia farm.
In the early 1990s it operated as a working farm program
but now offers character education focused on alternative program
and special education classes.
As well, on the McLoughlin side of the property
another sugar bush can be found, specializing in primary programming
for kindergarten to grade three in particular.
This half-day program is very popular with southern schools
and offers a great experiential
and uniquely Canadian program to young students.
This city based oasis is an excellent place
for local high schools to study urban wilderness
and even island geography.
Riverwood is another gem in the middle of Mississauga,
located along the Credit River on the north side of Burnhamthorpe Road.
This property is unique
in that the elementary focused Education Naturally
and the secondary based Exploration Naturally programs
are organized by the Riverwood Conservancy
in partnership with both the Peel District School Board
and the Dufferin-Peel Catholic School Board.
These science based programs offer programming
that cannot currently be taught at other board field centres
since this site offers such wonderful access
to the Credit River and other unique habitats.
Over the last few years the field centres have also offered
many in-school or community based programs –
programs and presentations from team building,
to stewardship, to careers,
to building butterfly gardens and outdoor classrooms.
The field centres are a vital and natural resource for teachers
in the development of their environmental
and truly cross-curricular educational plans.
The Peel District School Board field centres –
curriculum outside the classroom.
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