Learning Bird, Author at Learning Bird

Secret Path Week 2026: 10 Years of Chanie’s Story

Ten years ago, Gord Downie released Secret Path. The album, graphic novel, and animated film shared the story of Chanie Wenjack. Chanie was a 12-year-old Anishinaabe boy who died in 1966 while trying to return home after fleeing Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School in Kenora, Ontario.

Secret Path Week runs from October 17–22, the anniversaries of Gord Downie’s and Charlie Wenjack’s passing. This year, it’s a chance to reflect on a decade of learning from Chanie’s story. It’s also a chance to ask what meaningful action toward reconciliation looks like in your classroom today.

Bringing Secret Path Into Your Classroom Through Language

Language is at the heart of how we approach Secret Path at Learning Bird. Together with the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund, we created resources that connect Chanie’s story to Indigenous languages for high school students.

Students explore the story from different perspectives and consider how language carries culture and identity. They also connect history to present-day realities. The resources open space for honest conversations about truth, reconciliation, and our shared responsibilities.

Explore our Indigenous Languages and Secret Path Resource Kit.

Get Involved in Secret Path Week 2026

To mark the anniversary, the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund is hosting events across the country. These include a Secret Path 10th Anniversary concert on October 23. You can also organize school and community events in your local area.

Host a Screening of The Secret Path

The animated film brings together Gord Downie’s songs and Jeff Lemire’s illustrations from the graphic novel. It’s free to watch on YouTube and Vimeo. The Fund’s screening and discussion guides, available in English and French, can help you plan your screening and conversation. Preview the film first to decide how it best fits your students.

Participate in the Walk for Wenjack

In 2016, the first Walk for Wenjack retraced Chanie’s steps as he tried to make his way home. Since then, communities have shaped their own walks to honour Chanie’s memory in ways that reflect who they are. Register for Walk for Wenjack 2026.

Become a Legacy School

Looking for support beyond Secret Path Week? Through the free Legacy Schools program, schools, daycares, and youth groups receive toolkits with lessons and activities. These resources teach about Canada’s colonial history and the richness and resilience of Indigenous cultures. This school year, the Fund is sharing free resources with more than 10,000 educators.

However your class takes part, let’s keep listening to Chanie’s story and carry that learning forward all year.

Ontario Trillium Foundation – Grow Grant 2027-2028

The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) is accepting applications for its Grow grant. This program offers multi-year funding to support organizations that want to expand, improve, or adapt an existing program with a track record of success.

Eligible Applicants

All First Nations are eligible to apply, along with Métis and Inuit organizations, Chartered Community Councils under the Métis Nation of Ontario, and eligible non-profit organizations delivering community-based programs in Ontario.

Available Funding and Funding Priorities

Eligible Organizations can apply for $100,000 – $600,000 over two or three years. Projects must align with one of OTF’s funding priorities:

Building stronger connections and a deeper sense of belonging in community
Enriching lives through arts, culture, and heritage
Supporting youth to develop social, emotional, and leadership skills
Fostering physically active lifestyles
Supporting participation in the conservation and restoration of the environment
Strengthening financial stability

Funding: $100,000 to $600,000 over 2 or 3 years ($50,000 to $200,000 per year)

Application window: October 7 – November 4

Read more about the OTF Grow grant guidelines on their website.

Looking for Support with Your Application?

We work with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities and organizations to develop funding applications grounded in their goals and priorities. Our team can support project planning, application development, work plans, and budgets.

Indigenous Languages Component Funding 2027–28

The First Nations Language Funding Model – Indigenous Languages Component (ILC) supports First Nations communities and First Nations-led organizations in reclaiming, revitalizing, maintaining, and strengthening First Nations languages.

Communities can seek support for both individual language revitalization projects and longer-term approaches to language planning and programming. The program aims to increase language use and fluency, create opportunities for immersion, support new speakers, and strengthen the documentation of First Nations languages.

Funding for Language Plans and Long-Term Revitalization

The ILC includes two funding streams designed to support different stages of community language revitalization.

Annual and Multi-Year Proposal-Based stream: Supports the development of a community language plan or funding for language revitalization initiatives for up to five years.
Ongoing Programmatic Funding stream: Supports the implementation of an established long-term language plan or work plan. This stream provides flexible, predictable support for communities implementing their language plan.

Eligible Activities

Eligible activities include, but are not limited to:

language programs and services (language plan development, immersion activities, land-based learning, etc.)
capacity building and training (e.g., curriculum development and teacher training, etc.)
resource development (e.g., instructor resources, language templates and tools, audiovisual and multimedia materials, etc.)

Who Can Apply?

First Nations governments, institutions, and not-for-profits
First Nations-led organizations and groups within Canada
Geographic areas: Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, and the Northwest Territories.

Applicants from British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia must contact the First Nations Regionally Designated Organization in their respective regions.

Application window: October 5 – November 16, 2026

Amount: No minimum or maximum. Recipients who receive more than $250,000 are required to submit an audited financial report.

Read the ILC application guidelines on the Canadian Heritage website.

Planning a Language Revitalization Project?

A strong funding application starts with a project grounded in your community’s language priorities. Learning Bird works with First Nations communities and organizations to develop language revitalization initiatives and prepare funding applications.

Whether you’re considering a language plan, immersion programming, land-based learning, educator training, or new language resources, our team can help you develop your project idea and prepare your application.

FREE WEBINAR – From Community Voices to Action: A Collaborative Approach to Building a Community Language Plan

Developing a community language plan is about more than identifying goals. It requires listening to community voices, understanding existing language strengths and needs, and turning shared priorities into a clear path forward.

In this free webinar, Lorraine Cardinal-Roy, Cree Language Revitalization Specialist from KTCEA, and Joelle Chemali, Principal Consultant from Learning Bird, will share the process behind developing a community language plan, drawing on their recent collaborative work to create a five-year strategic plan. From initial engagement and information gathering to community validation and strategic planning, the session will offer practical insights for communities and organizations undertaking similar language revitalization work.

Building a Community Language Plan

Every community has its own language priorities, strengths, challenges, and vision for the future. A community language plan can bring these pieces together and create a roadmap for long-term language revitalization.

In this webinar, we will explore key stages of the planning process, including:

Engaging community members and gathering input through meetings and surveys
Collecting and reviewing existing language data, programs, and resources
Working with Elders to validate findings and priorities
Bringing together input from multiple contributors
Collaboratively writing, reviewing, and refining the language plan

Throughout the session, we will share lessons from their own planning process and highlight how community voices, knowledge, and priorities informed the plan at each stage.

From Community Priorities to a Five-Year Strategic Plan

Gathering community input is only one part of the process. A strong community language plan needs to translate ideas into clear goals and actions that can guide revitalization work over time.

Participants will learn how to translate community priorities into a five-year strategic plan with annual goals, supporting sub-goals, timelines, and assigned responsibilities. We will also explore the monitoring tool we co-developed to track implementation, measure progress, and maintain accountability to the language plan.

Who Should Attend?

This webinar is intended for:

First Nations communities and organizations
Language coordinators and language teams
Community leaders and administrators
Educators and language program staff
Anyone involved in community-based language revitalization and planning

Register Now

Join KTCEA and Learning Bird for this free webinar to learn more about developing a community language plan grounded in community voices, knowledge, and priorities.

Participants will leave with practical insights into community engagement, information gathering, collaborative planning, and translating community priorities into a structured plan for long-term language revitalization.

True North Aid Community Growth Fund: Fall 2026

True North Aid is accepting applications for the fall intake of its Community Growth Fund, part of the Community Initiatives Program supporting Indigenous-led projects in northern and remote communities across Canada.

For this intake, two community-led programs will each receive a $25,000 grant. Funding can support larger initiatives that create meaningful, community-centred change, including multi-month programming, wellness initiatives, and land-based learning programs.

Supporting Community-Led Priorities

True North Aid funds initiatives related to education and cultural revitalization, food sovereignty, holistic well-being, and access to essential resources. Past examples range from language revitalization and cultural reclamation programs to community gardens, mental health workshops, youth programming, and on-the-land activities.

Funding: Two grants of $25,000

Application window: September 2–October 9, 2026

For complete eligibility requirements, application details, and information about the Community Initiatives Program, visit True North Aid’s website.

Looking for Support With Your Application?

Na-mi-quai-ni-mak Community Support Fund: Supporting Healing and Remembrance

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) offers the Na-mi-quai-ni-mak (I remember them) Community Support Fund to support community-led healing and remembrance connected to the residential school system.

Supporting Community-Led Healing

Through Na-mi-quai-ni-mak, Indigenous communities, Survivor organizations, and registered non-profit organizations can access funding for initiatives that centre residential school Survivors in their planning and implementation.

Available Funding & Eligible Activities

Eligible organizations can apply for up to $10,000 per commemoration project. Funding can be used for a range of activities that honour Survivors, families, and communities, including:

Healing gatherings and commemorative events
Ceremonial activities such as memorial feasts or giveaways
Creation of memorial markers like plaques, murals, carvings, or healing gardens
Care and maintenance of burial sites

Application window: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until the program reaches its annual funding cap.

For complete eligibility requirements, eligible expenses, application information, and current program details, visit the Na-mi-quai-ni-mak Community Support Fund page.

Looking for Support With Your Application?

We work with Indigenous communities and organizations to develop funding applications grounded in their goals and priorities. Our team can support project planning, application development, work plans, and budgets.

Click here to learn more about our grant writing support services.

Indigenous Grants in Alberta: FIRE and Cultural Connection Funding

The Edmonton Heritage Council is accepting applications for two funding opportunities that support First Nations, Métis, and Inuit applicants in Edmonton and Treaty 6. Depending on the scope of your initiative, funding is available for larger heritage projects or smaller cultural connection experiences.

FIRE Impact Grant: Up to $10,000

The Funding Indigenous Resurgence in Edmonton (FIRE) Impact Grant provides up to $10,000 for Indigenous heritage projects that benefit Indigenous people and engage broader audiences and community in storytelling and heritage work. Eligible applicants include First Nations, Métis, and Inuit individuals, Indigenous-led collectives, and registered Indigenous-led non-profit organizations.

Projects include but are not limited to cultural camps, research and writing, film and digital media, Elder-led learning opportunities, and initiatives that bring together technology, art, culture, or language.

Eligible projects must explore Indigenous heritage and be connected to Edmonton in some way.

Application window: August 26th to October 15th, 2026 (11:59 pm MST)

Cultural Connection Fund (CCF): Up to $4,000

The Cultural Connection Fund (CCF) supports Indigenous individuals and small groups who want to strengthen personal or community connections to culture and heritage. Applicants can request up to $4,000 to participate in or organize cultural learning experiences connected to Edmonton.

Eligible activities include attending ceremonies, learning from Elders or Knowledge Keepers, making regalia, participating in language programming, or organizing cultural activities. Eligible costs can include travel, materials, honoraria, and gifts associated with appropriate Protocols.

Applications: Open August 26, 2026. Rolling intake.

Which Funding Stream is Right for Your Project?

The FIRE Impact Grant supports larger heritage projects designed to reach communities and broader audiences. The Cultural Connection Fund is designed for projects that strengthen personal and community ties to Indigenous culture and heritage.

Review the full guidelines, application resources, and support available on the Edmonton Heritage Council website.

Looking for Grant Writing Support?

We can help! Our team can assist you throughout the grant application process—from identifying the right funding opportunity for your project to assisting your team with reporting requirements.

Click here to learn more about our grant writing support services.

FREE WEBINAR – Reflecting on Truth & Reconciliation in Education

September brings important conversations about Orange Shirt Day and Truth & Reconciliation into classrooms. Meaningful engagement, however, requires more than planning an activity for September 30.

Educators need opportunities to reflect on how they approach these conversations, engage learners in age-appropriate ways, and create classroom environments that recognize the lasting impacts of residential schools. It is also important to consider how a heavy month of conversations about residential schools can affect Indigenous educators and colleagues.

Join Indigenous educator Jade Roberts for Reflecting on Truth & Reconciliation in Education, a free 60-minute webinar that invites educators to pause, reflect, and deepen their understanding of Indigenous histories and their approach to allyship.

Jade is a former classroom teacher and the daughter of a residential school Survivor. She brings this perspective to a conversation about moving beyond performative gestures and finding meaningful ways to honour Orange Shirt Day and Truth & Reconciliation in education.

What We’ll Explore

During the webinar, Jade will share:

Activities and approaches for different grade levels
Ways to engage K–12 learners
Trauma-informed classroom practices
Approaches to supporting the well-being of Indigenous colleagues
Educational resources for K–12

Whether you’re preparing for Orange Shirt Day or reflecting more broadly on your approach to Truth & Reconciliation in education, this webinar offers an opportunity to consider how you can approach this work with greater care and intention.

Watch the Webinar

Watch the webinar recording.

View the list of resources shared in the webinar.

About the Presenter

Jade Roberts is a Woodland Cree educator and artist from Lac La Ronge Indian Band in Northern Saskatchewan. She currently resides in Treaty 6 Territory in Saskatoon, SK. Roberts graduated with a Bachelor’s of Education from ITEP at the University of Saskatchewan in 2018 and went on to teach an elementary art and Cree culture program for 6 years.

Jade is now a full-time artist, creating original pieces, working with clients on commissioned projects, and facilitating art workshops. She works with a variety of mediums, including digital illustration, painting, and land-based projects. Jade’s artwork often depicts colourful florals or animals and is influenced by her Cree culture and the land. Many of Jade’s pieces are connected to stories and language to honour and remember the teachings passed down.

Indian Residential School Community Engagement Fund

The Indian Residential School Community Engagement Fund (IRSCEF) supports Indigenous-led, survivor-centred initiatives related to the legacy of Indian Residential Schools in Ontario. Funding is available for projects that promote healing, commemoration, education, and community engagement.

Eligible applicants can apply for up to $250,000 to fund projects related to:

Commemoration and legacy initiatives
Survivor engagement and gatherings 
Public education and awareness
Culturally appropriate mental health and wellness supports
Research and community-led investigations

For the 2026–2027 funding cycle, Ontario has introduced greater flexibility to support community priorities, including memorial projects, storytelling and documentation initiatives, educational resources, and other activities that honour and preserve the histories and experiences of Survivors, families, and communities.

Eligible Applicants: First Nations, Métis, Tribal Councils, Political Territorial Organizations, Indigenous organizations, and eligible partner organizations in Ontario.

Deadline: September 16, 2026, 4 p.m. EDT

Looking for support with your application?

Learning Bird provides grant support for Indigenous communities and organizations. We can help with the full grant scope from scoping and grant writing, through to project delivery and reporting. Whether you’re refining a project idea, developing a work plan and budget, or preparing an application, our team can help you build a proposal that reflects your community’s priorities and goals.

Contact our team to discuss your project or learn how we can support your application.

Read the application guidelines to learn more about the program.

Free Food Safety Resources for Grades 4–6

World Food Safety Day, observed annually on June 7, raises awareness about the importance of safe food practices and the role we all play in preventing foodborne illness. In Canada, Food Safety Education Day aligns with this global event to promote awareness among industry and consumers. The 2026 theme, “From burden to solutions – safe food everywhere,” highlights the need for practical education, accessible food safety resources, and shared responsibility in ensuring food safety.

Educators play an important role in helping learners understand food safety concepts and build healthy habits early in life. Discussions about foodborne illness, safe food handling, microorganisms, and food preparation can help students better understand how illnesses spread and how everyday choices can help keep themselves and others safe.

Learning Bird supported Health Canada in developing three bilingual food safety resource kits for Grades 4–6. These curriculum-aligned kits include engaging classroom materials, educator guides, videos, games, and hands-on learning activities designed to make food safety education interactive and accessible for learners.

Classroom Resources for Grades 4–6

The following resource kits are available in both English and French through Health Canada’s website:

Food Safety
Microorganisms
Food Safety on the Go

Each kit includes:

Detailed educator guides
Interactive videos
Printable classroom activities
Games and collaborative learning materials
Cross-curricular learning opportunities

These food safety resources are designed to support educators in implementing meaningful classroom learning connected to health, science, language arts, and food-specific curricula.

Food Safety Resource Kit

The Food Safety resource kit supports health and wellness curricula across Canada for Grades 4–6 while also connecting to science, language arts, and food-related learning outcomes.

This kit introduces students to the four key food safety steps:

Clean
Separate
Cook
Chill

Learners explore important concepts such as the food temperature danger zone, foodborne illness prevention, and safe food-handling practices.

The kit includes:

Interactive videos
A food safety chatterbox activity
Sorting activities
Real-life scenarios
A card game
A food safety trivia game

These activities encourage learners to apply food safety concepts to real-world situations while building practical life skills.

Explore the Food Safety resource kit.

Microorganisms Resource Kit

The Microorganisms resource kit supports science curricula across Canada for Grades 4–6 and also connects to health and wellness, language arts, and food-specific courses.

This kit helps learners explore microorganisms, foodborne pathogens, and the spread of illness through interactive and inquiry-based learning experiences.

Students will:

Learn about microorganisms and foodborne pathogens
Explore food safety regulations and risks
Participate in hands-on experiments
Investigate how microorganisms spread
Demonstrate their learning through games and collaborative activities

The kit concludes with an educational bingo activity that reinforces key food safety and microorganism concepts.

Explore the Microorganisms resource kit.

Food Safety on the Go Resource Kit

The Food Safety on the Go resource kit supports language arts curricula across Canada for Grades 4–6 while also connecting to science, health and wellness, and food-related learning.

This kit focuses on the four food safety steps — clean, separate, cook, and chill — while exploring situations learners may encounter in their everyday lives.

Topics include:

School lunch food safety
Grocery store food safety
Outdoor food safety practices
Food handling while travelling or on the go

The activities in this kit support communication, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills through:

Interactive videos
Real-life scenarios
Problem-solving activities
Games and collaborative learning

Explore the Food Safety on the Go resource kit.

Teaching Health and Wellness Through Real-World Learning

World Food Safety Day offers a great opportunity to introduce food safety concepts in engaging, practical ways. These resource kits help educators connect important health and science topics to students’ everyday experiences while supporting curriculum outcomes across multiple subject areas.

By helping learners understand foodborne illness, microorganisms, and safe food-handling practices, educators can support students in building lifelong habits that contribute to health and well-being.

Whether you are planning activities for World Food Safety Day or looking for engaging cross-curricular learning opportunities throughout the year, these free bilingual food safety resource kits provide flexible and classroom-ready materials to support your teaching.

Access all three food safety resource kits here.