In-person Field Trips

camp kids in a circle making newspaper flower pots

Our Programs

  • Our school programs are offered between May 8th - June 16th, and September 14th - November 10th 2023, for Grades K-12 as garden visits. School outreach programs will be available from January to April 2024.
  • Programs take place outside! Suitable clothing and footwear are necessary, programs continue in rain or shine.
  • Bookings are available Monday to Friday.
  • We can host up to 60 students at a time, depending on the requested date and the staff available.


 

Program Options

Basic Program | Cost: $5.00 per student | Duration 1.5hr

  • Interpretive nature hike
  • Tour of the gardens

Half-Day Program | Cost: $8.00 per student | Duration 3 hours

  • Basic Program
  • 1 hour of supplemental activities
  • 30 mins for students to eat their snacks

Full-Day Program  | Cost: $10.00 per student | Duration 5 hours

  • Basic Program
  • 2.5 hours of supplemental activities
  • 15 mins for students to eat their snacks, 45 mins for lunch

 

 


Additional Activities

 

We offer additional activities for half-day and full-day bookings.

 

  • Half-Day Program has 1 hour of additional activities

  • Full-Day Program has 2.5 hours of additional activities

 

Activity Choices:

Composting (30 mins)
Let’s talk about compost! Why is it important? What lives in our old food? This activity covers regular compost and vermicomposting with an exciting game to wrap it all up. Discover the secrets to composting and its far-reaching benefits.

 

Newspaper Flower Pots (30 mins)
Are you looking for a creative, environmentally-friendly craft that your students can watch grow? Making flower pots out of newspaper is a simple and inexpensive way to make starter pots while also reusing newspapers. We provide all materials, take care of your seeds to watch them grow!

 

Nursery Tour (30 mins or 1 hour)
Take a tour through our lovely nursery and experience our wide variety of native and non-native plant species. In the extended tour, we will have a look at what goes on behind the scenes for different parts of the garden, including our different nurseries, growing beds, and even the compost that supports the botanical garden.

 

Themed Story Time (30 mins)
Great for children in grades K-3, we can sit and read a few stories on a theme of your choice. Some fun puppets might be able to join us for story time!

 

Plant Pressing (1 hour)
Come see our 40 year old preserved plant samples, learn how all sorts of plants are preserved, and even press plants collected from our trails, to take back to the classroom after your tour.

 

Lookout Hike with Binoculars (1 hour)
The longest trail hike in the garden, we will explore different habitats as we make our way to the very top of the lookout, and see what we can spot with our binoculars. Each student will be supplied with a pair of binoculars to use.

 

Click Here to Link to the Booking Request Form  

 

To book a school program at the Botanical Garden, please use our online form, or contact Education Staff at bgprograms@mun.ca or 864-4418

 

 

Themes

 

Our school programs are customizable to each class's educational needs, and we also have program material developed based on provincial science curriculum goals from grades K-4, 7, and 8.

 

If there is a specific topic you would like covered in your school’s booking, be sure to let us know when filling out the registration form! Below are some options of themes, or programs we are able to offer schools. Please note that any theme can be adapted to fit any age group.

 

Signs of the Season

How is the weather changing?  How are the animals changing?  How are the plants changing?  Answer all of these questions and more on our interactive walk.

Living Things

What is a living thing, and what makes living things different from each other? Students will tour our trails and gardens discussing physical characteristics of plants and animals, how they meet their needs, and how they help humans meet their needs.

Animals
Join us as we explore the life cycles, physical attributes and growth and changes of our creepy crawly friends!

Plants
What better place to learn about the wonderful world of Plants than MUN Botanical Garden? We will learn all about plant anatomy, plant life cycles and what plants need to grow and thrive. Two green thumbs up!

Habitats
Come explore the habitats in our own backyard! We will take a walk through the various habitats at the MUN Botanical Garden observing the flora and fauna that reside there.

Painted Lady Butterfly Release Program
If you are raising Painted Lady Butterflies in your classroom, the Botanical Garden is a perfect place to release them! Students will learn about some common Newfoundland butterflies and how we can help create an ideal habitat for them. The life cycle and mutualistic relationship between flowers and butterflies will be investigated. Students will participate in a hands on release of their butterflies.

Halloween Howl
The Halloween Howl program is a special program offered every October. It examines the changes of the season and how nature prepares itself for winter. Students explore the relationship between Halloween and nature and why things like witches' brooms, crows, and spiders aren't scary after all. This program can be adapted to suit children of any age.

Newfoundland Ecology

With a short growing season, cool weather, and lots of RDF how do we get things to grow?  Learn all about our indigenous plants, how our wetlands help us, and where to find the best berry picking spots!  

Find some real world examples of producers, consumers, and decomposers; See 4 of our provinces 5 Eco Zones, and get up close with our provincial flower: the pitcher plant!