On a gloriously sunny day 11 schoolchildren scamper barefoot across a beach on Hornby Island searching for seaweed. Who knew school could be so much fun?
Dr. Bridgette Clarkston did.
“Seaweeds are a gateway into learning and caring about the ocean and coastal biodiversity,” the UBC botany professor says. “They’re so easy to access and it’s such a great excuse to go down to the beach and explore a place where most of us don’t spend a lot of time — even if we live near the seashore.”
Throughout the 2025 school year Dr. Clarkston taught a Hornby Island Community School Grade 7 and 8 class about seaweeds long distance via Zoom, leading up to an in-person visit in May, when she and four of her UBC biology students headed to Hornby for some hands-on learning. The visit was funded by a grant from the UBC Centre for Community Engaged Learning.
“I do a lot of work with my undergraduate students to share their learning beyond our classroom with elementary students,” says Dr. Clarkston, a professor of teaching in UBC’s Biology program. “They could see the immediate impact in sharing their knowledge with new learners. And they loved it.”
