A National Parks Odyssey

Lesson, Student Section

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Your Challenge • Your Essential Information • Your Instructions • Assessment Rubric

Your Challenge
A kind but eccentric, anonymous patron of national parks has offered to pay for a trip for you and a few friends this summer. There are just a few of conditions: the trip must be to several national parks representing different natural regions; you must thoroughly research the significance and ecological health of each national park as well as what you can see and do there; and you must explain how you will visit the parks in a sustainable manner as a responsible visitor. We’ve made it easy for you to meet this challenge. Just follow the steps below.

Your Essential Information
Print one worksheet for each student. Use the other resources on-line.
Worksheet: "All About My Park" (print one per person)
National Park System Plan
National Park Fact Sheets
National Parks Glossary
National Parks Spreadsheet (PDF 39Kb) (Excel Spreadsheet 24Kb)
Parks Canada Photo Gallery
Ecosystem Processes and Stressors Fact Sheet and Glossary
Species at Risk
Assessment Rubric


Your Instructions
Are you ready for the trip of a lifetime? Then let’s go!

1. As a group, learn more about the natural regions you have selected. Consult the National Park System Plan. In your notes, identify what is important about each region, which parks represent each region and what landscape features, plants, animals and ecosystems are special in each region.

2. Divide up the work. Take a look at the list of parks that represent your regions and select one that interests you. Ensure each group member selects a different park.

3. On your own, fill out Part 1 (My National Park’s Basic Information) of the worksheet. To do this, visit the individual park Web pages, and check out the National Park Fact Sheets and Ecozone Fact Sheets.

4. As a responsible traveller, you need to know what stressors your park faces so that you can take appropriate sustainable tourism measures. The National Parks Spreadsheet has the information you need. Find your park, then complete Part 2 (My National Park’s Ecological Integrity Indicators) of your worksheet.

5. Once everyone in your group has completed Part 2, share your findings with each other and work as a group on the following items:

i) Discuss what is important about each park, regionally, nationally and internationally.

ii) Identify some specific issues facing each park.

iii) Create your own rating system and then assess the health of each park using the indicators from the National Parks Spreadsheet.

iv) Rank your parks according to ecosystem health.

v) Make a list of factors that contribute to a park’s ecosystem health, and of those that detract from it.

vi) Based on your findings, decide how you will visit your parks as responsible visitors. Consider ideas such as low-impact camping, hiking only on trails and avoiding specific endangered species nesting grounds. See Get Involved for more ideas.

6. On your own, complete Part 3 ( Change to: My Plan for a Sustainable Visit to My National Park) of your worksheet. Based on the information you have gathered about the park and its ecosystem health, write down how you would visit your park as a responsible visitor. Clearly describe:

i) what you would do there,

ii) what you would like to see, and

iii) how you can minimize your impact on the park’s environment.

7. Now that you’ve done your research, create your itinerary! As a group, review what you have learned about what you can you see and do in each park and how you would visit them in a responsible manner. Agree on what your group would like to see and do in each park and then think of the practical side of your itinerary. Plan:

• where you will start and end your visit,
• in what order you will visit each place,
• how many days you will stay in each place,
• whether you will all travel together or you will do and see the things that interest you individually?

Once you have made your plan, decide how you would like to present this itinerary to your class: as a PowerPoint presentation, as a brochure, or in another format approved by your teacher. Make sure that, as well as presenting your itinerary, your presentation also communicates the uniqueness of each park, the challenges facing it, and your ideas for how your visit will be responsible. To create a presentation that will inspire your friends and make them want to visit your parks, use the Parks Canada photo gallery to find pictures of your parks.

8. As a group, present your itinerary to the class. Then listen to the itinerary presentations of the other groups. After the presentations, be ready to discuss which park(s) you would most like to visit and why, and what you will do as a responsible visitor the next time you visit a national park. Maybe you can convince your parents to visit your favourite parks on your next family vacation

Happy travelling!

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