Application Process & FAQ
- One application per person, per year. (Any educator currently working for an accredited educational institution in Vancouver, or teacher candidate, homeschool educator etc).
- Please note, based on limited funding, priority applicants will be VSB public schools, Vancouver-based homeschoolers who are committed and intentional in their continued learning and engagement with local history, diverse heritage and place-based knowledge.
- Heritage Field Trips could include honorariums for speakers, walking tour guides, museum or site visit admission. Please confirm at least one option for the year.
Maximum amount reimbursed is up to $250 total including taxes. All successful applicants must pay/show payment before receiving any reimbursement. This is the responsibility of the applicant.
FALL/WINTER 2025
VHF Heritage Field Trip Grants application opens October 1st and closes October 31st, All applications will be reviewed and notifications will be made mid-late November 2025.
November 2025 -June 2026: Grantees will book their field trip experiences and submit completion forms. VHF may request to join a field trip or observe a session. If any changes arise, the grantee will inform VHF.
June 2026: All successful grantees are required to submit their Field Trip Grant Completion Form to be considered for future grants. A hard deadline will be provided. VHF values each grantees’ feedback and evaluation of the field trip to ensure we are recommending experiences that students and educators are finding engaging, relevant and meaningful.
Please note the earlier you submit receipts and the completion form, the earlier you will receive the reimbursement. Completion forms in June 2026 will mean a reimbursement will not be send to the applicant/school until the summer months.
- If you are successful in receiving a VHF Field Trip Grant for 2026, you will be notified by email before the end of 2025.
- By accepting the grant you will be required to maintain a record and pay for the field trip experience in advance of the trip to ensure it is booked.
- VHF will reimburse you/the school the amount shown in the receipts/payments up to $250 total, once the completion form is submitted online.
- Between accepting the field trip grant and completing the field trip form, you will be able to liaise with the Community Engagement Manager on aspects of the field trip itself, and for additional suggestions, etc.
- An email exchange or phone call, or in person is required before the final field trip grant is approved.
Apply here Field Trip Grant Application Form
All successful grantees are required to submit their Field Trip Grant Completion Form by the end of June 2026, including photos or a document from the field trip/grant activity. Paid receipts must be provided to receive the grant.
Contact Community Engagement Manager, Jessica Quan.
Grant recipients may be asked to provide testimonials, feedback, and other information that can assist VHF to enhance and improve the Heritage in Schools Program.
Please see the below selection of field trip options in Vancouver, with a few exceptions. Ordered A-Z and by cultural themes. This is only a selection of contactable experiences- feel free to share others that you would recommend.
2025 Grantee from Nightingale Elementary: “The field trip was a culmination experience of our learning about Chinatown in the early 1900’s, discriminatory government policies and the anti-Asian riots in Vancouver. I would (and have) highly recommend working with the staff at the Chinese Canadian Museum. It is so well thought out and a hands-on experience for students. I recommend including a walking tour of Chinatown as part of the learning too.”
2025 Grantee: ” I would highly recommend this field trip experience to any educator. I think it is so important to engage in place based learning, and I adore experiential learning opportunities. The storytelling centre was very experiential. The two hosts greeted us with a presentation, moved to group work that lead the learners in groups throughout different sections of the centre. The groups then reported back with an artifact with their findings. This grade 5 class was engaged throughout. This centre is a valuable resource for grade 5 especially as it lends to a few big ideas in the B.C. Curriculum. ”
2025 Grantee “We came to understand that the Storytelling centre matters because it shares the stories of Chinese immigrants and how they found a sense of belonging here in Vancouver. This lead us to discover that most of the learners had parents or grandparents who themselves only immigrated to Canada in the last few generations from China, Vietnam, the Philippines, and from the Ukraine. This field trip moved us into the direction of sharing our own stories through the lens of a suitcase project. We all discovered that we are connected through our stories. I concluded this unit by easing into learning about Treaties and how we are all settlers to this land with the exception of the Indigenous people. It was a very powerful unit! The field trip and your website helped me build such an engaging unit.”
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden
2025 Grantee Nootka “This trip was incredibly beneficial for our students. They were able to experience cultural diversity firsthand, which is essential in our multicultural society. The immersive, real-world experience enhanced their understanding of history and social studies, and fostered an appreciation for different cultural practices and traditions, cultivating respect and empathy towards others. The parent chaperons were very appreciative of having such a serene experience and both were appreciative as they had never had the chance to visit the gardens.
Once we returned to the school, we held a reflection session where students shared their favourite parts of the trip through journal writing and a sharing circle. Many expressed fascination with the koi fish in the pond and the lucky turtle symbolism all around the garden. Many students remarked they were very happy to learn more about their own culture and history.”
Japanese Canadian Hastings Park Interpretive Centre Society
- Hastings Park 1942 | Internment at Hastings Park
- Please contact the email via the website for visits.
Vancouver Japanese Language School
- Walking Tours may be available upon request
- VJLS-JH — Contact
Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre
- TAIKEN Field Trips – Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre
- Resources – Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre
2025 Grantee from Killarney Secondary: “We would highly recommend the Taiken field trip to other educators. Their organization, professionalism, and high quality of the tour are to be commended. The price was very reasonable as well. The content could be easily connected to curricular content in a Social Studies class, but the trip could also stand alone as a fun activity to do with your class.”
2025 Grantee from Chief Maquinna Elementary School: “Immigration Nation” is designed to complement the grade 5 social studies curriculum. This hands-on activity brings the concepts studied in the classroom to life with actual artifacts from immigrants and memorabilia curated to represent the era. The museum’s suitcase discoveries humanize the time and issues that actual people experienced. The scavenger hunt-points collection game taught the students how immigrant applications are evaluated. The students were engaged the entire time. This program is most appropriate at the end of the unit, after the students have studied immigration.”
2025 Grantee from Henry Hudson for Reel 2 Reel: “This was a great field trip. It was super hands on and the students were able to create their own stop motion videos. Understanding how to tell stories in this way was very valuable, and now students are creating their own videos at school! The facilitators explained in detail the story of the Anti-asian riots and what a story board was. It would have been helpful to show an example from another school of storyboards and a finished stop-motion video.”
2025 Grantee from Simon Fraser Elementary :“The Cedar and Sealskins program was great for my grade 3 group. The children learnt about the lives of First Nations and Inuit people. They particularly enjoyed being archeologists completing a dig for Coast Salish artifacts. The parent volunteers who attended were impressed by the hands-on and gamified learning experiences.”
- Please contact directly. Previously the board had capacity for mural tours but are at limited capacity.
- Murals in the Market — Punjabi Market Collective
2025 grantee GEC educator, Grades 5-7 for Punjabi Market tour: “I would recommend this field trip to other educators because it was very informative and the guides were exceptional. My students thoroughly enjoyed seeing the murals in the Punjabi Market and hearing about their captivating backstories and history of each piece. Jag, one of our tour guides, even had made one of the art pieces we had viewed. It was a culturally enriching experience, as we got to smell, taste and see the dynamic and bright Punjabi culture by going into shops, viewing murals, tasting sweet treats and speaking with community members. All of my class thoroughly enjoyed the experience and learned a lot about the rich history of the Punjabi culture as well as the current gentrification that is happening there. Many of my students wanted to come back in their spare time to the neighbourhood to show their families.”
2025 Grantee from Oppenheimer Elementary:
“The grant allowed me to take 2 classes of grade 2&3 students on a fieldtrip that may have otherwise been cost prohibitive for some. The UBC Botanical Garden tour introduced the students to local plants and the richness of biodiversity that we have here. It also showed them how a garden is like a plant library and our responsibility in caring for the plants and creatures. They enjoyed making connections to other places they care about – for example, the moon gate reminded them of their home in Japan.
In class we have been learning about plants indigenous to our land and on the field trip many students were excited to see real life examples of the plants they had been learning about. We also talked about logging practices, eagle habitats, and the effects of weather and people on the land.
The TreeWalk was a highlight for sure, and many students who were initially nervous about the heights felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment after completing it! In addition to the physical risks the students had to overcome, they were able to appreciate a new perspective of the forest from above. The STEAM applications of how the treewalk is suspended was also fascinating for our students. The guides were excellent and provided many opportunities for questions, movement and engagement. Thank you so much for the funds to make such deep learning experiences take place!”
Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre
- School Programs – Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre
- Museum Exhibition Tours – Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre
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- Teacher Resources – VanDusen Botanical Garden
- Field Trips & Tours – VanDusen Botanical Garden
- Van Dusen offers bursaries!
2025 Lord Selkirk Grantee: “Despite the very rainy day, my kids and I had a fabulous time! There was so much to see. It really tied into the grade 1 curriculum well and showed the kids an important piece of Vancouver history. Many of the students were so surprised that this lovely, serene place existed in our bustling city! It was a really nice way for the kids to feel connected to this land they live on.”
Science World bursaries
Presenters/Artists
2025 Grantee from Graham Bruce Elementary: “I would recommend this trip to others as Jeff Chiba-Stearns is a great storyteller and presenter. He actively engages his audience and encourages participation. Our students enjoyed learning from him and many came back after school to speak to him further. The students learned a lot about the Japanese Internment in a personal way that was meaningful.”
Walking Tour Guides
- Christine Hagemoen, Mount Pleasant stories tours.
- Detours, Walking Tours in Vancouver
- Forbidden Vancouver Walking Tours; the Really Gay Tour
- Rob Howatson, resident, South Vancouver Stories
- John Atkin, civic historian. Heritage in Schools & Neighbourhood Tours.
2025 Strathcona Elementary Grantee, Grade 1, Neighbourhood Walking Tour: “I would highly recommend this field trip to other local Strathcona neighbourhood teachers and schools because it aligns with our school curriculum and the principles of learning. That learning is rooted in place, and it is important to learn the stories of the place we are learning and working. Students learned something new about their neighbourhood where they live, learn and play. They formed a connection to a meaningful site that they visited with John.”
“My grade one class participated in a walking tour of their Strathcona school neighbourhood with local historian John Atkins. For about 90 minutes, we visited several historical homes and sites in the neighbourhood where students listened to stories of the past and the significance of place and the people that lived there. Students then did a written reflection of their tour with John about a story that they remembered being shared. Attached are a couple of photos of students observing a side walk mosaic along with photos of their writing and drawing reflections. The majority of my students come from immigrant and/or indigenous families so it was special to hear that our local Strathcona neighbourhood was always one of diverse peoples.”
2025 Moberley Elementary Grantee, Grades 2/3, Neighbourhood Walking Tour: “John was excellent! His walking field trip was the perfect amount of time for my grade 2/3 class. You could tell that he knew his stuff and did plenty of research about our local community before the tour. He walked at a manageable pace, gave my students a chance to have snack, and kept them (and the adults) engaged the entire time! I could have learned from him all day!”
