Bring a bit of Cootes Paradise Marsh into your classroom with our Classroom Mini Marsh kits! Since 1993, BARC has offered Mini Marsh kits to local schools.

These kits are available free of charge to teachers across the Hamilton Harbour watershed. Kits include native marsh plants, a bowl, gravel, and a snail.

Students plant their shoots in the gravel, maintain the water level in the bowl, and watch their Mini Marshes grow!

At the end of the school year the plants are returned to Royal Botanical Gardens for planting in Cootes Paradise Marsh, connecting students with the restoration of this Hamilton Harbour wetland. 

Teachers are provided with curriculum-linked activities to share with their students, including details about the restoration of Cootes Paradise Marsh. Approximately 300 classes participate in this program each year!