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
Andrew Mahon Foundation
GMR Foundation
Heritage Study Guide
Our easy-to-use Heritage Study Guide contains a wealth of resources that connect to the BC curriculum. The guide helps educators to incorporate heritage and local history in the classroom and make place-based connections to the community beyond the classroom.
The Heritage Study Guide links to a wealth of VHF resources as well as the many online resources created by local organizations, communities, and institutions.
The focus is on place-based learning to help students understand their local environment and how it fits into our evolving city. The guide helps educators unpack complex concepts and explores intangible and tangible aspects of local heritage to create an understanding of why these places matter.
We are excited to announce that a re-designed Heritage Study Guide with additional resources will be launched in Fall 2022.
In the meantime, please download our original Heritage Study Guide and let us know how you are using it with your students.
Heritage Study Guide PDF
Friday October 21, 9am - 3pm
Hastings Park
$60+tax for full day or $30+ tax for 1 tour
+ Add bento lunch (optional)
Join VHF, the Nikkei National Museum's Carolyn Nakagawa, the Japanese Canadian Hastings Park Interpretive Centre Society and civic historian John Atkin for a day at Hastings Park. Explore Hastings Park's varied histories and the site of the 1942 Japanese Canadian detainment with fellow teachers in a three-part professional development session for educators.
Morning and afternoon walking tours are available separately with a special lunchtime session inside the Livestock Building. All proceeds go to support VHF’s Heritage in Schools Program.
Tour with Nikkei National Museum Education Program Developer, Carolyn Nakagawa
Walk through the grounds of Hastings Park where over 8000 Japanese Canadians were detained in 1942. Learn about who was detained in Hastings Park, the site’s makeshift transformation into a detention centre,how Japanese Canadians organized to make it more liveable, and the ways that later generations have fought to make this aspect of the park’s history visible for visitors today.
Choose the morning or afternoon session.
Tour with Civic Historian, John Atkin
Over the PNE’s almost 140 year history the site has seen significant changes. Together we will explore how the fair ground has evolved to become both a neighbourhood park and home to the annual fair.
Choose the morning or afternoon session.
Japanese Canadian Hastings Park Interpretive Centre Presentation*
Members of the Japanese Canadian Hastings Park Interpretive Centre will present their plans for a public interpretive centre inside the Livestock Building from 11:30am – 12:30pm. Consultation and feedback from the public, in particular educators, are welcome.
*If you intend to only book an afternoon tour but would like to join this presentation, please arrive by 11:30am. During this time, further educational resources on Hastings Park will also be shared.
Fujiya Bento Box Lunch Option
Add on a fresh bento box at checkout to enjoy during the lunch break. Participants are also welcome to bring their own packed lunch or go off-site during the lunch break from 11am – 1pm.
Questions? Please email jessica@vancouverheritagefoundation.org
Field Trip Grants
Our popular Field Trip Grants will re-open for the 2022-23 school year for Vancouver School Board educators and classes.
For up to date information on our Field Trip Grants, please subscribe to our eNews, follow us on social media, or contact Projects Manager, Jessica Quan jessica@vancouverheritagefoundation.org
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. For the 2022-2023 school year, VHF is planning a variety of site-specific Professional Development sessions in different Vancouver neighbourhoods.
If you wish to invite VHF to present to your staff, arrange a walking tour of your school and neighbourhood, or to be on the Professional Development Days email list, please contact: jessica@vancouverheritagefoundation.org
Vancouver Heritage Fairs
VHF is proud to support the Vancouver Heritage Fairs. The Heritage Fairs Society is a non-profit organization that promotes the education of Canadian history amongst BC Students. Every year, the society plans fairs across the province in which students showcase their projects on a certain aspect of our past.
The Heritage Fairs Society 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 (for virtual and in-person fairs).
If you wish to participate, please contact: vanregionalhf@gmail.com
Select Resources
- Places That Matter Community History Resource
- Heritage Site Finder Interactive Map
- VHF Map Guides
- Indigenous Heritage
- Vancouver House Styles (Coast Salish Plank House to current styles)
- Vancouver House Styles drawings (Printable PDFs)
- VHF YouTube Channel
- About Here
- Black Strathcona (Website/video projects with lesson plans)
- Chinese Canadian Museum
- Chinatown Storytelling Centre
- Cross Cultural Walking Tours
- Historic Joy Kogawa House
- hua foundation
- Jewish Queer and Trans Oral History Project
- Komagata Maru – Challenging Injustices ebook
- Komagata Maru Journey website
- Landscapes of Injustice: Japanese Canadian Internment
- 360 Riot Walk
- Musqueam Teaching Kit and Teacher’s Resources website
- xʷməθkʷəy̓əm: qʷi:l̕qʷəl̕ ʔə kʷθə snəw̓eyəɬ ct “Musqueam: Giving Information about our Teachings”
- Squamish Atlas
VHF Strathcona School tour. Photo credit: Clara Conrado.
VHF Field Trip Grant 2021 Punjabi Market. Photo credit: D. Conrad.
Pro-D for teachers walking tour. Mountain View Cemetery. Photo credit: Clara Conrado.
Pro-D walking tour for teachers. Photo credit: Clara Conrado.
Students on a local walking tour- VHF Grant.
VHF Book Grant 2022.
2020 Book Grant Recipient
2020 Book Grant Recipient
VHF Strathcona School tour. Photo credit: Clara Conrado.
VHF Field Trip Grant 2021 Punjabi Market. Photo credit: D. Conrad.
Pro-D for teachers walking tour. Mountain View Cemetery. Photo credit: Clara Conrado.
Pro-D walking tour for teachers. Photo credit: Clara Conrado.
Students on a local walking tour- VHF Grant.
VHF Book Grant 2022.
2020 Book Grant Recipient
2020 Book Grant Recipient