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 | Places That Matter: How to Look at Cities – Downtown

Friday October 25th, 9am - 3pm
Downtown Vancouver
$100 +tax

Join VHF and John Atkin, civic historian, for a full day of exploring the stories of Places That Matter in the heart of downtown Vancouver. From šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl'e7énḵ Square to the Roundhouse Community Centre, we’ll explore cultural landscapes, place names, everyday heritage while expanding the narrative on the city’s early people, places and events. Along with a full day of walking tours with a variety of stops, you will be workshopping a “Places that Matter mapping activity” and learn more about the Places That Matter Study Guide. We hope you’ll join us and share your experiences with place-based, local explorations and school community and neighborhood connections.

Register Here View Details

Join VHF for our first Places that Matter Pro-D on Friday, October 25, a full-day educators Pro-D workshop across downtown Vancouver, delving into how we look at cities. Please register by October 21st!

📆 Overview of the Day: This full-day session will take place rain or shine so please dress for the weather! Participants may encounter a variety of terrain including gravel, stairs, slopes. Please note that this tour will cover approximately 1.5 kms of walking over 5 hours. Further details, including information on parking and transit, will be provided to registrants closer to the event date. VHF will provide some snacks and a brown bag lunch midday.

Please note this is a mask-friendly event and that the starting and end points of this workshop are at different locations.

📝Supplies Needed: Weather-appropriate clothes, a reusable drink container with your own beverage, a Pen and/or Pencil, a hard surface to write on, and mobile or screen with Wi-Fi or data is optional.

Registration closes on October 21 at 5 pm or when sold out.

Heritage in Schools 2024/25

This will be the first of three unique Pro-D days in different neighbourhoods in Vancouver based on the original three municipalities of the city- Vancouver, Point Grey and South Vancouver. The Pro-Ds will focus on how we can look at cities through the lens of hidden heritage and evolving neighbourhood stories.

About the Speaker

John Atkin is a civic historian, author and heritage consultant. He offers an interesting and offbeat insight into the city’s architecture, history and neighbourhoods through a variety of programming. These combine his interests in urban planning and development, a love of architecture and a fascination for the curious.

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.

Resources for Educators

As our Heritage in Schools program grows, we have created a new digital space designed for educators interested in engaging with VHF produced resources, from study guides, videos, map guides and more.

In addition to the Heritage Study Guide, the Places that Matter Study Guide (currently in development) will be a digital hub of learning resources that encourage site-specific and virtual explorations of the PTM sites and increase awareness about our city’s diverse heritage places.

We are also working on creating a Heritage Education in Action page for educators to share ways to connect local heritage to curriculum with examples of local, place-based learning projects.

Learn more

Professional Development Support

We are offering the following Professional Development Days for 2024-25:

  • October 25th 9am-3pm: Places That Matter: How We Look at Cities- Downtown (registration opens Sept 18th)
  • November 22nd 9am-3pm: Strathcona School and Neighbourhood Explorations (through VSB)
  • January 15th 9am-3pm: Places That Matter: How We Look at Cities – Granville Island (registration opens November 2024)
  • February 14th 9am-3pm: Places That Matter: How We Look at Cities – South Vancouver (registration opens December 2024)

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.
  • April 22, 2024- A Day in Historic Punjabi Market with South Asian Stories. Sunset Community Centre, Joe Wong. Punjabi Market Collective’s mural and history walking tour with Jag Nagra and Jas Lolly. Lunch buffet at Himalaya Restaurant with Manny Pabla. Afternoon sessions: Gulzar Nanda, Hi-Class Jeweller and Punjabi Market Collective. Jag and Jaz on 2nd Ave Gurdwara Kits, Komagata Maru and Paldi. Anu Chouhan, animator and illustrator
  • 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 Connections 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 21 – Hastings 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 14– Vancouver 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

Field Trip Grant applications open on September 18th and closes on December 6th, 2024. Please visit the Field Trips Grants page for additional information. If you are new to the program or have any questions about the field trip criteria, please reach out to jessica@vancouverheritagefoundation.org as soon as possible.

Learn More