Your Digital Ecosystem

As the world changes, we change.
We're constantly adding new stories, analyzing the latest news and posting new interviews.

QUICK START: Begin with Chapter One → Explore the Story → Complete an Activity → Build Toward Your Final Project

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By the end of this course, students will:

Tell more effective visual stories | Analyze media critically | Communicate ideas visually | Build portfolios | Apply design thinking | Connect storytelling to real-world issues

Select today's chapter

Chapter One

The System of Things

A Background

Chapter Five

Here’s How

Process

Chapter Nine

Own Your Hypocrisy

Constructive Criticism

Chapter Two

The Context of It All

The Full Story

Chapter Six

Your Turn

Your Project

Chapter Ten

Keep Going

Learn from Failure

Chapter Three

We Don’t Know What We Don’t Know

Perspectives

Chapter Seven

Dig Deeper

Critical Thinking

Chapter Eleven

One Last Thing

Apply Your Learning

Chapter Four

Hard Stuff is Hard

Decision Making

Chapter Eight

Be Better

Communication

Chapter Twelve

The End (of the Beginning)

Begin

The Latest

Breaking news. Fresh conversations. New stories. More lessons. 

First Weeks Back?

We've got it covered.

The first days of school is busy enough without scrambling to put together a lesson. That's why we've created Predicting Our Year Ahead - a ready-to-go activity that gets students thinking, discussing, and connecting with the world around them from the moment they walk through the door.

This lesson invites students to explore the biggest stories, trends, and issues shaping Canada and the world before making thoughtful predictions about what the year ahead might bring. Along the way, they'll practice critical thinking, recognize patterns, consider multiple perspectives, and revisit their predictions throughout the year to see how their thinking evolves as events unfold.

It's the perfect way to kick off a new school year with curiosity, conversation, and real-world learning.

Go!

Your Class and Your World: TODAY

News

Canada at a Crossroads: Asking Better Questions for the Canada We Want

It was a pleasure to bring a taste of Nature Labs to the Victoria Forum, moderating a fascinating cross-partisan discussion with four Canadian MPs about how Canada can grow our...

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Latest Conversations

Pete Smith

Podcasts
How do we move forward as a country if the urban-rural divide threatens national unity? It might be easier than we think and, according...
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Charlotte Gray

Podcasts
To understand where we’re going, we almost always need to learn from our part. And few understand the history of our nation than Charlotte...
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Visit your curated library

3500+ curated articles, journals, infographics and tools to help you with this course and your future.

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How To

Design Thinking

“I encourage the conversation to move away from either/or, but/and, and if/that and really start thinking about...
Read
How To

Design Thinking with Michael Kennedy

So, you’ve got a great idea for a class project; to launch a new business; to improve...
Read
How To

How to Plan an Assignment

Need a few tips to complete your assignment and ensure you're on task? Review these suggestions! Understand the...
Read
Career with Meaning

Resume & CV/Cover Letter Writing

What is a Resume? A resume is a concise document summarizing an individual's education, work experience, skills, achievements...
Read

See What You Made Upworthy

Nature Labs

Supporting nature literacy

Our belief is that too few people have a grounding, personal connection to the land and, far more troubling, even fewer have been schooled...
Nature Labs

The inspiration for Ghost Bear Institute

For two decades, Simon ran the Spirit Bear Youth Coalition - a non-profit organization that underscored the power of one person to learn, to...
Nature Labs

Let’s-not-call-it-a-top-image-countdown-countdown

After spending several months in the field for each year of the past 10 years – and roughly half the year in the field...
Nature Labs

Welcome 2024!

Are we ever glad to see the backside of 2023. It was a year where pretty much everything went wrong - we both had/are...
Nature Labs

Annual Report

Annual-Report-2021Download
Nature Labs

Hey! Remember that Nature Labs project we’ve been trying to build? Well….

https://youtu.be/ZIDJl2xnWVU Join us on Patreon!

Your Project

Goats were used to restore the wetlands in Mississauga🐐

Bias: none Source: City of Mississauga File Type: Video Overview: Goats were used to restore the wetlands in Mississauga Web Link: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C90AVvIubBm/?igsh=cHdod2Y2bm1udjBi

Ethan Mollick On The Four Rules Of Co-Intelligence With AI

Bias: none Source: Forbes File Type: Book Overview: Ethan Mollick On The Four Rules Of Co-Intelligence With AI Web Link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterhigh/2024/05/07/ethan-mollick-on-the-four-rules-of-co-intelligence-with-ai/

‘I think it’s awesome’: Hundreds of bats move into historic Nanaimo area schoolhouse

Bias: none Source: Chek News File Type: Article Overview: ‘I think it’s awesome’: Hundreds of bats move into historic Nanaimo area schoolhouse Web Link: https://www.cheknews.ca/i-think-its-awesome-hundreds-of-bats-move-into-historic-nanaimo-area-schoolhouse-1210818/?amp

Journalism and Storytelling

Online brain rot is undermining our ability to tell meaningful stories

Bias: Centre Source: The Conversation File Type: Essay Overview: Online brain rot is undermining our ability to tell meaningful stories Web Link: https://theconversation.com/online-brain-rot-is-undermining-our-ability-to-tell-meaningful-stories-248984
Read more

I hated writing—until I learned there’s a science to it

Bias: none Source: Science File Type: Essay Overview: I hated writing—until I learned there’s a science to it Web Link: https://www.science.org/content/article/i-hated-writing-until-i-learned-there-s-science-it
Read more

Life Lessons and Suggestions

Featured Podcasts

Camilla d’Errico

Have you ever attended a Comic Con festival? If so, the chances are you know the work of Camilla d’Errico. Camilla isn’t just a...

Mark Miller

How do you become one of Canada’s most successful storytellers? You ask questions. And Mark Miller asks a lot. Mark’s insatiable curiosity and thirst...

Michelle Valberg

Michelle Valberg is a world-renowned nature and portrait photographer, with images having adorned Canadian stamps, coins and even aircrafts. Her work has been featured...

James Michels

Visual storytelling can be a picture, a painting, a documentary or a plate of stunning food. It can also be a bent cedar box....

Trends and Career Tools

Visual Storytelling Slideshows

Definitions, concepts and examples

How To

Stories from rising leaders

How To
Young people can change the world. You can make a difference for people and nature today. But the path isn’t always as obvious or as easy as we...
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Annotated Bibliography

How To
Read more

Design Thinking

How To
“I encourage the conversation to move away from either/or, but/and, and if/that and really start thinking about what are the motivating factors and how...
Read more

Design Thinking with Michael Kennedy

How To
So, you’ve got a great idea for a class project; to launch a new business; to improve a community service; to change the world...
Read more

How to Plan an Assignment

How To
Need a few tips to complete your assignment and ensure you're on task? Review these suggestions! Understand the Assignment Requirements: Carefully read the assignment prompt. Note down...
Read more

Resume & CV/Cover Letter Writing

Career with Meaning
What is a Resume? A resume is a concise document summarizing an individual's education, work experience, skills, achievements and qualifications for a specific job application....
Read more
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The stories behind the stories

How was Nature Labs created? Want to meet your teachers? Have questions about your classroom?

Check it out!

 
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