Past Projects

Great Lakes In-Class Aqua-Links Program Blue Schools Freshwater Mussel Surveys

Great Lakes In-Class

The FREE, curriculum-based, IN-CLASS and VIRTUAL education program was built with the mission statement in mind: “Keep Our Great Lakes Great.”

This education program was designed to encourage students, educators, and families to act in keeping the Great Lakes great while learning about species at risk (SAR).

Since the Toronto Zoo’s Great Lakes program began, we reached an estimated 20,000 educators and students annually, with an additional 3,000 participants from public programs (libraries, camps, university events, and water festivals).

Explore presentation slides designed for in-classroom learning, highlighting the importance of protecting aquatic ecosystems for both animals and people. These resources are tied to the Life Systems strand of the Ontario Science and Technology curriculum.

Online Learning Resources

Aqua-Links Program

In an effort to further make our Great Lakes great, the Toronto Zoo also began the Aqua-Links Program.

For ten years, the Aqua-Links Program participated in the Lake Ontario Atlantic Salmon Recovery Program (LOASRP).

In partnership with the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH) and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, the Zoo distributed 100 Atlantic salmon eggs to participating schools each year. Approximately 500 eggs were also kept at the Toronto Zoo for rearing. In the spring, participating students personally released their salmon fry with Aqua-Links program staff at specific locations in designated tributaries of Lake Ontario to help restore this extirpated species.

In 2019, during year 10, 26 schools participated in the classroom hatchery program thanks in part to a partnership with the Toronto District School Board. Toronto Zoo program staff facilitated a pre-program workshop to introduce new teachers to the salmon rearing program, demonstrate hatchery set-up and maintenance, and facilitate idea sharing among participants. In total, 3,000 Atlantic salmon fry were released in spring 2019 into Duffin’s Creek, Credit River, and Cobourg Creek through the Aqua-Links program. The students felt a personal connection to the fish and were invested in the entire process.

While the Classroom Hatchery Program through the Toronto Zoo’s Aqua-Links program has come to an end, you and your classroom can still participate in larger project through the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH) and their Lake Ontario Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program. Click the link below for more information on the program, how you get involved, and for resources for primary, junior and intermediate classes.

LOASRP Classroom Hatchery Program

Blue Schools

The Blue Schools Program encouraged primary and secondary school students, as well as school staff, to help protect aquatic ecosystems by implementing actions to decrease their water consumption as part of a year-long certification process.

With support and resources from Great Lakes Program staff, participating schools completed various hands-on, curriculum-linked activities during the academic year to learn about water resources, track their own usage, and develop an Action Plan to reduce consumption. Following the implementation of the goals in this Action Plan, schools received official certification. By engaging not only students but also faculty, other staff, and board-level representatives, the program fostered a deeper appreciation of water resources across the school community and facilitated institution-wide changes to water use.

Students conducted school-wide water audits in the fall by collecting baseline data on the volume of water used in different areas of the school on a daily and annual basis. This included faucets, drinking water fountains, toilets, showers, as well as water use for cleaning and any sprinkler systems. Working with staff, students then identified target areas to reduce consumption and created an Action Plan with specific measures to be implemented over the winter and spring. Certified Blue Schools could then continue to participate in the program by targeting water use at the community and national levels.

Some of the school- and community-level actions implemented by participating schools included:

• Installation of a rain garden
• Installation of water bottle refill stations
• Posters and announcements promoting water conservation among students and staff
• Bake sale fundraiser to address water supply issues affecting First Nations
• Behind-the-scenes tour of school waterworks for community members

Despite the Blue Schools Program ending, we have made our Blue Schools Teacher Guide and Student Worksheets manual available for download. This manual contains curriculum connections and activities assist teachers in continuing to promote water conservation in their classrooms and schools.

Freshwater Mussel Surveys

Freshwater mussels have historically been overlooked for their important role in aquatic ecosystems. Unfortunately, with increasing threats to their critical habitat, such as poor water quality, siltation, nutrient loading, and introductions of invasive species, they are considered one of the world's most endangered assemblages.

With over 65% of our freshwater mussel species being endangered here in Ontario, and a lack of knowledge of distribution and abundance of freshwater mussel species in the Rouge River Watershed, our Great Lakes Program began regular freshwater mussel surveys in 2011.

Freshwater mussels play a crucial role in our ecosystem by serving as indicator species for environmental health, filtering water to maintain clean aquatic habitats, and providing a food source for other wildlife. Given their ecological importance and the ongoing decline in their populations, continued monitoring of species is more vital than ever.

The population assessments conducted by our Great Lakes team will serve as a valuable data resource for freshwater mussel research for years to come. The data collected by the Great Lakes team was even presented at the Canadian Freshwater Mollusc Research meeting in 2023. This great work will continue to live on in future research. This data has also been shared with the Rouge National Urban Park in support of their multi-species action plan.