Calgary Zoo | Conservation Champs Club

Conservation Champions Club

Please fill out this application form to apply for the 2025-2026 Conservation Champions Club

The Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo's Conservation Champions Club invites youth to join us in our mission to sustain wildlife and wild places. Incorporating aspects of field study, inquiry and service-learning, this program gives young people the opportunity to explore their passion and take action for the natural world around them.

The Conservation Champions Club is a program for youth, ages 14 to 17 years old. This is a year-long hybrid program that runs from September to June where we have access to a virtual classroom on Canvas complete with conservation resources, videos from experts, and different opportunities for discussions via discussion board postings and in-person meetings on field trip days. Each month is guided by a ‘big question’ related to conservation. The Conservation Champions go on a field trip each month to develop their skills in conservation and scientific literacy, engage in fieldwork, and at the end of the program, they will participate in two service-learning projects at conservation sites.

Event Details:
Dates: September 2025 - June 2026
Price: Free

Students will be chosen based on their application and confirmation that they will commit to the program. Application deadline is August 4, 2025.

Successful applicants will be conditionally accepted and notified the week of August 11, 2025. The parent(s)/ guardian(s) of the successful applicant will need to complete a registration form on the applicant's behalf. Following submission of the registration form, the applicant will be accepted into the program and will be invited to the first field trip taking place on Saturday, September 6th.

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SP Participant Student

Please enter the following information to apply:

Note: All fields are required to be completed

Participant's First and Last Name*

Age of Participant as of August 15th, 2024 (must be between 14-17 to participate)*

Contact Email:*

Contact Phone Number*

First and Last Name of Parent/Guardian*

Contact Email of Parent/Guardian*

Parent/Guardian Phone Number*

Students who are interested in joining the Conservation Champions Club will engage in year-long learning opportunities where they can advance their knowledge of the natural world and learn about what they can do to conserve wildlife and wild places. Students will have the opportunity to engage in virtual sessions with experts, service-learning opportunities in an urban community, as well as fun outings like rafting and snowshoeing where they can develop their scientific observation skills.

This program is completely subsidized (no cost) and is meant to inspire the cohort of students to become Conservation Champions and take these learnings and skills back to their school communities to inspire change.

The program will run from September to June and requires the following time commitments:

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1) Virtual: Canvas Conservation Learning (Resources)
- Students will explore the resources each month at their own time
- Set aside 1 hour or less per month to explore resources (September to June)

2) Group-Led Conservation Project
- Students will work in groups to contribute to a conservation project on a topic of their choice.

3) In-Person Activity/Service-Learning Opportunity
- Once a month (depending on the activity or service-learning project, the day will either be a morning session or a full day session)
- Dates: September 6, October 25, November 22, December 6, January 24, February 21, March 7, April 18, May 23, & June 13 (presentation day), June TBD (final field trip/certificate ceremony)
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Are you willing to commit your time to the Conservation Champions Club?

* Yes, I am willing to commit your time to the Conservation Champions Club?

* The Conservation Champions Club requires participants to join the virtual classroom on Canvas. Do you acknowledge that you must sign onto Canvas and review the resources before each field trip?

* The Conservation Champions Club requires participants to join a monthly in-person activity or service-learning project where we will explore different conservation concepts. These field trips will either be scheduled in the morning from (typically 9:00 am to 1:00 pm) or an all day event (depending on the activity). Do you acknowledge that you will join the monthly in-person activities or service-learning projects?

Application Questions

We kindly request that you provide answers to the questions below, as your application will be assessed based on the information provided.

What is Your Favourite Animal and Why?*

Why are you interested in joining the Conservation Champions Club? (2-3 sentences) *

What inspires you to care for animals and the environment? (2-3 sentences) *

Thank you for applying to the Conservation Champions Club! You will be notified in early August if your application is successful.

**Early Bird, Promotion or Member Pricing will be applied in the cart.
**Membership must be active at the time of the event to receive member pricing.

Dress for the weather! The zoo is open year round with plenty of areas to explore both outdoors and indoors. Day admission, events, experiences happen rain, snow, or shine. Purchases/tickets are non-refundable. Explore our website Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo for more details.