TRACKS Youth Program
Founded in 2010, TRACKS is an educational program based on Michi Saagiig Anishinaabeg territory. We are hosted by Trent University within the Indigenous Environmental Studies and Sciences Program (IESS), and operate in partnership with founding partner organization Kawartha World Issues Centre and the First Peoples House of Learning.

TRACKS offers a variety of programming including school workshops, camp programs and the Oshkwazin Trailblazer Program.
About
School Programs
TRACKS offers a variety of school workshops throughout the year for your classroom! These workshops are for Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth of all ages. All of our programming is fun, hand-on, experiential, and braids multiple worldviews and scientific principles.

Indigenous knowledge and perspectives belong in all areas of the classroom, not just in traditional social studies lessons. TRACKS offers a unique opportunity to incorporate Indigenous knowledge into your science curriculum, enriching your students' learning experiences!

Through our programming, TRACKS aims to:

  • Create an awareness that Indigenous ecological knowledge is essential to comprehensive scientific approaches to environmental issues.
  • Provide youth with culturally rich, science-based outdoor education.
  • Help students understand the interconnectedness of all living things.
  • Introduce youth to diverse knowledge systems and fields of study
  • Connect youth with strong, motivated and dynamic mentors.
  • Encourage youth to think about math and science skills as valuable skills in achieving their future goals.

Explore our Workshops

Workshop Package: Coding Under the Canopy

Workshop Package: Coding Under the Canopy

In this unique workshop package, students will learn about coding, Anishinaabemowin, and Indigenous science! TRACKS Instructors will visit your class for 3 separate 90-minute workshops. Each workshop will build on the skills learned in the previous one to create a valuable and memorable learning experience for your students!

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Animal Attitudes: Besting Biases (Cybersecurity and AI)

Animal Attitudes: Besting Biases (Cybersecurity and AI)

In this workshop, participants will explore the role of bias in the development of social attitudes. Participants will play an interactive game where they create an argument to defend an assigned animal. Then, participants will explore AI labelling and how an AI system can become biased. Finally, participants will examine human bias in STEM. Miigwech to Actua for providing us with this program!

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Hawk and Hare Unplugged Coding Game

Hawk and Hare Unplugged Coding Game

Waaboz (hare) is looking for food, and Mshikekek (cooper’s hawk) is hunting for Waaboz. During this unplugged coding activity, students will work in teams to collect food and safely return home while learning about reciprocity, ecosystem balance, and sustainability . They’ll have to adapt to a series of obstacles that Waaboz and Mshikekek encounter in real life and listen to their teammate's coding commands!

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Manoomin Coding Connections Game

Manoomin Coding Connections Game

In this workshop, students will learn about coding, Anishinaabemowin, and Indigenous science! Students will use code and Anishinaabemowin to build a map for a small ozobot robot to follow. As the ozobot robot travels through the map, students will encounter different beings and learn about the relationships these beings have with Manoomin (wild rice).

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Toppling Towers

Toppling Towers

Book this workshop for a collaborative game all about the key components of a healthy ecosystem. Learn about what Indigenous Knowledge has to do with the balance of critical environments, all while engaging in a fun game with your class.

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River Race

River Race

In this workshop students will have the opportunity to see what it's like to be salmon, eels and sturgeon during spawning season in the Lake Ontario tributaries. This game engages with Traditional Ecological Knowledge and discusses some of the histories of this territory. Access to a large space, like a gymnasium, is necessary for this workshop.

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About
Camp Programs
TRACKS Camp Programs are offered on PA Days, March Break and throughout the summer season. We collaborate with the Camp Kawartha Environment Centre and host our camps from our shared tipi space at their location. We also host camps in Curve Lake, Hiawatha, Alderville and Missisauga's of Scugog Island First Nation upon request.

All of our camp programs are targeted to youth ages 6-12 and braid multiple worldviews and scientific principles.

Camps are offered based on capacity. The best way to stay updated on our camp offerings is to sign up for email list!
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About
Youth Programs
There are many ways that TRACKS is involved in community education outside of our School Programs (workshops, etc.) and Camp Programs (PA Days, March Break and Summer Camps). These offerings are encapsultated under our Youth Programs.

One of the main Youth Programs we offer is our Oshkwazin Trailblazer Program. Click the button below to learn more about it!

Stay tuned to this part of the website as we update our Youth Program offerings.

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Actua is a leading Canadian science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) youth outreach organization. Each year, the Actua network engages over 500,000 youth in 600 communities across Canada in transformative STEM learning experiences that build critical skills and confidence. Please visit www.actua.ca.