Get outside this May and take notice of the variety of life around you! Help One School One Farm raise awareness and funds for our important work to increase biodiversity. Sign up as an individual, a classroom, as an office staff, create a pledge page on Canada Helps for yourself or your team, raise funds, and go backpacking for an afternoon, a day, or several days!
Sign up or donate on Canada Help’s Backpacking 4 Biodiversity page.
Unsure about going for a hike on your own? Join us for a series of hikes in and around Saskatoon where we take some time to notice the variety of life around us. Hikes will be led by OSOF board members. Feel free to join one of the public fundraising teams on Canada Helps. All are welcome!
The Hikes (details below):
- Sat May 10, 10am – “Biodiversity in the City? YES!” @ Wiggins Park
- Sat May 17, 10am – “Marshing to the Beat of Our Own Drum” @ Chapell Marsh
- Sun May 25, 1pm – “The River Classroom” @ Rotary Park
Check out these OSOF resources to help enhance your B4B experience!
- Biodiversity Bingo Card (pdf) – how many squares can you check on your hike?
- Backpacking 4 Biodiversity Lesson plan for grades 4-8. Bring B4B to your classroom! Not a teacher? No problem! The lesson plan can teach anyone how to do a biodiversity audit.
- A Letter to Student Families Template (Word doc), for teachers to send home to parents explaining B4B and encouraging involvement
- Tips students who want to run a Student-Led B4B Campaign (pdf) in their school or classroom
Tell us about the biodiversity you find (or don’t find!): on Facebook, Instagram, or via email.
The Hike Details:
- Wear appropriate footwear.
- The distance and length of these walks will vary, depending on how much we stop to observe and discuss. If you have to leave early, that’s ok, don’t let it stop you from coming!
- There is no charge for these hikes, but this is a fundraiser to help fund OSOF’s work facilitating the planting of eco-buffers and prairie strips! Please consider donating or joining a fundraising team and fundraising on Canada Helps
Sat May 10, 10am – Biodiversity in the City? YES!
Starting point – Wiggins Park – meet at the Southwest corner AKA the corner of 1st Street East and Wiggins Avenue South (Google Maps)
Hike leader: Joanne Blythe (donate to Joanne’s B4B page)
The hike: We’ll look for biodiversity in this ordinary urban park in the Holliston neighbourhood, then take a short hike through the Holliston/Haultain neighbourhood in our quest for biodiversity, stopping at yard or two and a little boulevard forest. We’ll come to Joanne’s yard where she started growing native plants about 30 years ago and just kept adding more. There we’ll also see a mini nursery of trees and plants destined for OSOF sites and find out about the wonders of leaf mould.
Sat May 17, 10am – Marshing to the Beat of Our Own Drum
Starting point – Chappell Marsh parking lot, off Range Rd 3062 (Google Maps)
Hike leader: Andrew Johnson (donate to Andrew’s B4B page)
The hike: Feeling a little bogged down? Swamped at home or work? Get out of the city for a nature walk! The shallow wetlands of the “Prairie Pothole Region” are an important contributor to Saskatchewan’s biodiversity. What kind of biodiversity will we observe on the trails around this city-adjacent wetland? Known as a local birding hotspot, Chappell Marsh should be home to a lot of biodiversity – but has proximity to the city had an impact? Let’s find out.
Sun May 25, 1pm – The River Classroom
Starting point – Rotary Park – meet at the east end of the parking lot (Google Maps)
Hike leader: Evan Nienaber (donate to Evan’s B4B page)
The hike: Saskatoon’s river parks are a great natural asset for our city. What kind of biodiversity do they contain? Join Evan to explore along the river and hear his experiences teaching students about biodiversity and other topics in the area. Special focus will be given to the traditional uses of the plants we encounter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Didn’t B4B used to be in October?
A: Yes. We’ve moved this annual event to May to increase the observable biodiversity that participants may encounter, including “spring happenings” such as first blooms, nesting birds, pollinators, and the next generations of our natural neighbours.
Q: How can I be involved in B4B?
A: There are many ways to get involved!
- Go on a walk with family & friends, paying attention to the biodiversity
- Help fundraise through the B4B Canada Helps page or donate to another team or individual raising funds
- Join one of the public hikes organized by OSOF (details above)
- Perform a biodiversity audit (like the one described in the B4B Lesson Plan – you don’t have to be a teacher or classroom!)
- Repost OSOF posts on social media: Facebook | Instagram
- Play Biodiversity Bingo (pdf)
- Share info about OSOF & B4B with your friends and family
- Let OSOF know what you’re doing for B4B!
Q: What is biodiversity?
A: Biodiversity refers to the variety of life in a particular habitat or ecosystem. It includes all the different species of plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms, as well as the genetic differences within these species and the ecosystems they form.
Q: Why is biodiversity important?
A: Biodiversity is essential for the health of ecosystems, providing services such as pollination, water purification, and soil fertility. It also contributes to resilience, allowing ecosystems to recover from disturbances like natural disasters.
Q: What are some threats to biodiversity?
A: Habitat destruction, pollution, climate change, invasive species, and overexploitation are major threats to biodiversity. Protecting biodiversity is crucial for maintaining balanced ecosystems and the overall health of our planet.