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

Pro-D for Educators | Places That Matter: How to Look at Cities – South Vancouver

Friday, February 14th, 9am-3pm
South Vancouver
$100 + tax

Join VHF for a new Pro-D for Educators on Friday, February 14th, 2025 from 9am-3pm in South Vancouver. We will explore South Vancouver's layers of cultural histories and neighbourhood spaces, with walking tours and talks, around 41st Avenue East and Fraser Street. The day will take place inside and outside with walking tours around South Memorial Park, Mountain View Cemetery, Fraser Street and John Oliver Secondary and Mackenzie Elementary.

Register Here View Details

Join VHF for our Places that Matter Pro-D, a full-day educators Pro-D workshop delving into how we look at cities. Please register by February 13th!

Lunch provided.

Overview of the Day: The route that this Pro-D will cover is a total distance of 2 km. Throughout the day, we will visit various sites, and the schedule will follow a somewhat circular route, although the starting and ending points will differ.

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 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 February 13th at 5 pm or when sold out.

Heritage in Schools 2024/25

These Pro-Ds will focus on how we can look at cities through the lens of hidden heritage and evolving neighbourhood stories.

About the Speakers:

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.

John Oliver Legacy (Alumni and Archives) strives to protect, preserve, and display heritage objects, archival materials, history books, pamphlets, pictures, and memorabilia of John Oliver Secondary School.

Registration closes on February 13th at 5 pm or when sold out.

Heritage in Schools 2024/25
These Pro-Ds will focus on how we can look at cities through the lens of hidden heritage and evolving neighbourhood stories.

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.

Photo Credit: Exterior view of W.N. Bertram Marble Works, 4904 Fraser Street, showing tombstones and monuments c 1916. City of Vancouver Archives PAN N212-B-1

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:

  • February 14th 9am-3pm: Places That Matter | How We Look at Cities – South Vancouver (registration opens December 2024)
    The day will take place inside and outside with John Atkin-led walking tours around South Memorial Park, Mountain View Cemetery, Fraser Street and John Oliver Secondary and Mackenzie Elementary.  Lunch will be provided and the JO Legacy Archives will be presenting.

Interested in learning more about Vancouver Heritage Foundation’s Heritage in Schools program, Heritage Study Guide and Field Trip Grants?

Community Engagement Manager, Jessica Quan, can make a visit to your school on upcoming Pro-D Days, either in person or virtually for a free 60 min session. A presentation/discussion can range from “What is Heritage and place-based learning” and its connections to the BC Curriculum, as well as in-depth online resources, field trips and ways to engage with the heritage and history of your school, the community and the neighbourhood. Please confirm booking at least 3 days in advance. Contact jessica@vancouverheritagefoundation.org

General availability between 9:30am-2:30pm

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
  • October 25, 2024 – Places That Matter | How We Look at Cities – Downtown From šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énḵ Square to the Roundhouse Community Centre, we walked and talked through cultural landscapes, place names, everyday heritage and expanded the narrative on the city’s early people, places and events. 
  • November 22, 2024 – Strathcona School and Neighbourhood Explorations (through VSB) Places That Matter -Strathcona Elementary School, Archives & the East End walking tour with John Atkin. In partnership with VSB Head TL, VHF presented on Heritage in Schools and John Atkin presented a context of Strathcona in the library commons. Strathcona School Archives shared their work, and we toured the interior school spaces and walked the neighbourhood.
    • 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

    Applications for the 2024/2025 Field Trip Grants are now closed. Follow VHF’s enews and social media channels to find out the latest on our Heritage in Schools program. Add yourself to our educators email list, or if you have questions regarding the program or application process, please email Community Engagement Manager, Jessica Quan at jessica@vancouverheritagefoundation.org
    If you are a past Field Trip Grant recipient, please ensure you have completed your Field Trip Grant Completion Form to be considered for future grants.

    Field Trip Grants Applications for 2026 field trips will re-open in fall of 2025.

    Learn More