Funding will help to provide 200 Indigenous youth with a free immersive nature learning program while using community monitoring technology to steward local habitats
Perth, Ontario, December 11, 2025 – Watersheds Canada has received a $10,000 Community Board grant from the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation®, through the TELUS Barrie and Central Ontario Community Board, supporting increased access to locally-informed and relevant freshwater education and action opportunities for youth.
“Through this grant from the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation, youth will be able to deepen their connection with nature through immersive outdoor learning,” said Monica Seidel, Communications and Fundraising Manager of Watersheds Canada. “Together with TRACKS Youth Program, we will be able to promote environmental discovery, curiosity, and caretaking that will last a lifetime.”
In 2026, Watersheds Canada will be joining youth and leaders from TRACKS (Trent Aboriginal Cultural Knowledge and Science) Youth Program to launch a brand-new Nature Discovery Backpack lending library in Nogojiwanong, also known as Peterborough, Ontario.
This program will provide 200 Indigenous youth, aged 6-18, with free access to hands-on, technology-based nature learning designed to connect them with the forests, waterways, and skies that comprise their communities. Alongside TRACKS Youth Program, this initiative will bring together Indigenous ways of knowing and Western science to create accessible and relevant environmental learning opportunities for local youth.
The Nature Discovery Backpack lending library will be filled with field equipment and technologies such as freshwater testkits, bat monitoring gear and light pollution meters. Youth will use these tools during TRACKS’ programming to collect realtime data about their environment and contribute to community science platforms. This technology will help them quantify the impacts climate change and development are having on their community and the species that call Nogojiwanong home.
This partnership program was made possible through the generous funding of the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation.
“Through our partnerships with charities supporting Indigenous youth, we understand the importance of culturally-relevant programming that integrates technology,” said Nimmi Kanji, Executive Director of the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation. “We are proud to be able to support Watersheds Canada and the Nature Discovery Backpack lending library with a Community Board, empowering Indigenous youth with nature learning opportunities that utilize community science to combat climate change.”
The new lending library will support TRACKS’ long-standing outdoor learning programs and strengthen opportunities for youth to explore InSTEAM (Indigenous Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) pathways. Through guided workshops in 2026, participants will learn about water quality, biodiversity, and climate change, and how technology can be used to protect the environment.
In addition to this new Nature Discovery Backpack lending library, Watersheds Canada’s focal education program will continue to grow in 2026, decreasing barriers to access for children and youth of all learning and experience levels in other communities across Ontario, Manitoba, and the Northwest Territories.
For more information on Watersheds Canada and their Nature Discovery program, please visit watersheds.ca, and for more information on the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation visit friendlyfuture.com
About Watersheds Canada
Watersheds Canada is a registered Canadian charity committed to providing programs to communities across the country to engage and help individuals enhance and protect the health of their lakes and rivers. Since 2002, they have delivered freshwater stewardship programming, shoreline naturalizations and assessments, and in-water habitat restorations. To learn more, visit Watersheds.ca.
About TELUS Friendly Future Foundation
The TELUS Friendly Future Foundation is a Canadian registered charity that believes all youth, regardless of circumstance, deserve an equal opportunity to reach their full potential. By funding more than 500 charities each year that provide education and health programs, many enabled by technology, along with providing educational bursaries, the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation is helping more than 2 million youth in communities across Canada build skills, confidence and feel a sense of belonging.
In 2023 alone, we provided more than $9 million in grants to 550+ charitable programs across Canada, and close to $2 million in bursaries to 400+ post-secondary students in financial need who are committed to making a difference in their communities. For more information on the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation, visit friendlyfuture.com
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Media Contact
Monica Seidel
Communications and Fundraising Manager
Watersheds Canada
seidel(at)watersheds.ca