Discover Heritage

Heritage in Schools

Our program includes a Heritage Study Guide, Field Trip Grants, and Professional Development support for educators

Support this Program

Vancouver Heritage Foundation’s Heritage in Schools Program includes our Heritage Study Guide that is full of helpful resources for teaching about local heritage, our popular Field Trip Grants, and Professional Development support for educators.

The Heritage in Schools Program aims to:

  • Increase students’ and educators’ awareness and knowledge of local heritage places and history by providing learning opportunities inside and outside the classroom.
  • Encourage students and teachers to engage with Vancouver’s diverse heritage places, and contribute to meaningful discussions around their histories and future legacies.
  • Support the professional development of educators in order to promote place-based heritage education in Vancouver public schools.  We do this by collaborating with educators and students to develop accessible resources and self-directed inquiry-based projects, and through support of Vancouver Heritage Fairs.

Thank You to Our Project Partners

The Christopher Foundation

Andrew Mahon Foundation

Laura Saimoto

Shigeo Saimoto

GMR Foundation

Friends of VHF

Vancouver Historical Society

In Kind Sponsor

Starbucks
COBS Bread Main St

Pro-D for Educators | South Asian Stories: A Day in Historic Punjabi Market

Monday, April 22nd, 9am - 4pm
Punjabi Market
$100+tax

Join VHF for the last full Pro-D for educators of the 2023-24 school year and spend a day delving into the history of the Punjabi Market and exploring South Asian stories and their connections to Vancouver. Beginning at Sunset Community Centre (6810 Main St), the morning will include a walking tour by the Punjabi Market Collective featuring colourful murals and visits with local shopkeepers. After a buffet lunch at Himalaya (6587 Main St), the afternoon will feature an engaging lunch-and-learn session with guest speakers who will touch on a variety of topics such as the Komagata Maru, Punjabi language and the importance of keeping intangible history alive. Registration cost includes lunch with vegetarian/vegan options available.

This Pro-D is presented with: Punjabi Market Collective 

Photo caption: Tour of Punjabi Market by the Punjabi Market Collective. Credit: Rattan Singh Prakash


About the Speakers

Jag Nagra is a queer Punjabi visual artist who is passionate about community development and ending the stigma against LGBTQ+ people within the South Asian community. She focuses her art practice on concepts that depict a sense of confidence and fearlessness—she unapologetically celebrates darker skin tones and South Asian garments and motifs. Her artworks have been acquired by the Museum of Vancouver for their permanent collection and she has been featured in the multi-award winning internationally acclaimed LGBTQ+ documentary Emergence: Out of the Shadows.

Jas Lally is a valued curator, art historian and arts professional with over 10 years of service to the Vancouver art community. For the past three years, she has curated Murals in the Market through her role as Board Member at Large for the Punjabi Market Collective where she has woven a visual tapestry of present day voices steeped in history in the Punjabi Market. Her independent practice and research focuses on contemporary artists from the South Asian diaspora in Vancouver. Through mentorship and consultation, Lally is building pivotal relationships with care, understanding and cultural recognition.

Gulzar Nanda is a second-generation Punjabi settler who lives, learns and works in the unceded, ancestral lands of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. He is a co-manager of Hi-Class Jewellers, the founder of Ms Tiffin, and a co-founder of the popular Vancouver sports podcast The Larschcast. Gulzar is a child of the Punjabi Market. His parents immigrated to these lands in the eighties and founded Hi-Class Jewellers. Shortly after this, Gulzar was brought into the world and the Punjabi Market became his home. He co-founded the Punjabi Market Collective as a way to honour the legacy of his parents and the elders who helped shape the Punjabi community residing in Greater Vancouver. He hopes that the Collective will usher in a new era of understanding, solidarity, and community for South Asians living in Vancouver.

Anu Chouhan is a Punjabi-Canadian illustrator and art director. A trained animator with a background in game development, Anu often combines her love of her cultural heritage into her art, as well as always being inspired by anime, nature, and global fashion. Upon completion of her Bachelor of Arts degree in Media Arts from Simon Fraser University, Anu developed her skills at Capilano University to obtain her Commercial Animation diploma. She is the author and illustrator of the picture book Hair Oil Magic, and recently illustrated the first volume of the graphic novel adaptation of the New York Times bestselling book Whatever After. Her unique, edgy, and energetic art has been featured by the CBC, the BBC, Harper’s Bazaar Bride India, The Times of India, and The Times of London.


Professional Development Day (“Pro-D Day”) sessions are intended for current educators focusing on enriching their K-12 lesson plans/programming. VHF recognizes educators as a diverse field and not exclusive to district school teachers. We welcome all those whose field of work or employment/volunteer position impacts the education of K-12 children and youth. Please contact jessica@vancouverheritagefoundation.org if you have any questions regarding our Pro-D sessions. If you are not a current educator but are interested in the event, please sign up for the event waitlist.

Professional Development Support

As part of our Heritage in Schools Program, we provide professional development support to educators by offering a variety of in-person and virtual sessions as part of organized professional development days.

Pro-D Sessions 2024

  • February 16thExploring Black Histories
  • April 22nd South Asian Stories: A Day in Punjabi Market (registration opens March 13th @ 12pm noon)
  • October 25th – Places That Matter Study Guide Launch and Pro-D sessions

If you wish to invite VHF to present to your staff or class, arrange a walking tour of your school and neighbourhood, or to be on the Professional Development Days email list, please contact: jessica@vancouverheritagefoundation.org

Past Pro-D for Educators Sessions

  • February 16th – Exploring Black Histories: Fran Morrison, BC Black History Awareness Society on Black Histories of British Columbia: Explore-Discover-Learn-Share’, Joy Russell, Writer, Poet, Artist and MA Student at SFU entitled Swimming Against the Tide: The Archive, Regulation and Resistance in Aquatic Recreation at Crystal Pool and ‘Brown Skin Beach’ and City of Vancouver Archives. False Creek Ferries to lunch at Juke’s Fried Chicken. Walking Tours with Hogan’s Alley Society and John Atkin.
  • February 17  – Family & Stories: Vietnamese-Canadian Stories from Vancouver’s Little Saigon with Andy Pham, Ba Le, Anh and Chi,  H.P. Fraser, Chrystal Phan and Liz Crocker, Royal BC Museum
  • April 24 – Kuwentuhan (storytelling) on Fraser Street’s Filipino Connection presented with Mubuhay House Society, Leonora C. Angeles, Sammie Jo Rumbaua, Joseph Planta, Shameless Buns, O’Taho and Mable Elmore’s Constituency Office, Migrante BC, and retired teachers from Tupper Secondary
  • October 20 – Chinatown Connections with Chinese Canadian Museum exhibit and heritage tour, and Indigenous/Chinese-Canadian workshop and walking tours by Larry Chin and John Atkin. Lunch from Tato’s Kitchen and tarts from New Town Bakery.
  • February 18 – Special walking tour for Mackenzie Elementary staff – neighbourhood and Mountain View Cemetery
  • April 25– Virtual Session with Musqueam Elder Larry Grant. ‘Discover Chinatown’ with Chinatown Storytelling Centre, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, BC Dragon Boat Society, and Chinese Canadian Museum
  • October 21Hastings Park with the Japanese Canadian Hastings Park Interpretive Centre Society, Nikkei National Museum, John Atkin, Fujiya and the PNE
  • February 12 -Place-Based Learning: Inquiry & Connections with History & Heritage (VHF)
  • April 26– Virtual Session full day:  John Atkin, Dr. Leonora Angeles, Aynsley Wong, Lama Mugabo I Dream Library, and Jeff Chiba Stearns. Musqueam Language and Culture Department speakers: Vanessa Campbell, Courtenay Gibson and Mack Paul.
  • October 22– Hidden Heritage with VHF and John Atkin: looking at your school and school communities, neighbourhood context and making observations.
  • February 14Vancouver Japanese Language School- JC history with Carolyn Nakagawa of Nikkei Museum and walking tour of Paueru-Gai area with Laura Saimoto. Lunch at Dosanko. Walking tour of Gastown with John Atkin.
  • October 23– Virtual: Step Outside and Get Online – Connecting Educators with Local Heritage and History, Speakers John Atkin, Vancouver educators sharing resources and projects, VSB Head TL, SFU Bill Reid Gallery curator, Historic Joy Kogawa House and Paneet Singh, playwright.

Field Trip Grants

The application form for the 2023-2024 school year is now closed. Please visit the Field Trip Grants page for more information.

The 2024-2025 Application Form will be open in the fall and close before December 15th, 2024. Please follow VHF’s e-newsletter and social media for communications or email to be added to an educator’s mailing list.

For inquiries, please contact jessica@vancouverheritagefoundation.org

Learn More

Vancouver Heritage Fairs

VHF is proud to support Vancouver Heritage Fairs part of the BC Heritage Fairs Society, a non-profit organization that promotes the education of Canadian history amongst BC students.

Vancouver Heritage Fairs is always looking for volunteers. They are currently looking for English and French speaking adjudicators who are interested in history and heritage, and enjoy working with children. Participation in the annual May Regionals is the summation of a year-long inquiry-based project on a topic related to the BC Social Studies Curriculum.

If you wish to participate or assist with sponsorship, please contact: vanregionalhf@gmail.com