Prizes

Due to COVID-19, the delivery of prizes for the 2020 Canada’s Coolest School Trip contest has been altered.

Grand prize:

A grand prize winner will be selected from the short-listed 15 videos, including the top ten (10) videos as determined by public voting and the five (5) staff picks videos. Each video’s score will be determined by a panel of judges based on the rubric provided here.

The 2020 Grand Prize winner will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to a Kootenay National Park in 2021. Members of the original class who submitted the winning entry, which includes up to thirty-five (35) students and one (1) adult chaperone per ten (10) students, will be the sole recipients of the grand prize. During this five day all expenses paid trip, the class will:

discover the Burgess Shale, one of the most important fossil sites on earth with half a billion-year-old fossils that are so well preserved you can see gills, antennas, and even their last meal during a guided hike to Stanley Glacier;
camp under the stars;
learn up close and personal how Parks Canada manages forest fires, and learn from a fire expert about this vital part of forest health;
enjoy the Radium Hot Springs, a large hot pool and 25-metre swimming pool;
look for bighorn sheep on the walls of the Sinclair canyon; and
meet the 2021 Parks Canada Youth Ambassadors!

Round-trip regular class flights to and from the airport served by Air Canada nearest the winning class, for travel to Calgary, Alberta, are included and supported by Air Canada. The Grand Prize winner will be contacted and announced in May, 2020.

Read about last year’s trip on our blog!

Runner-up prizes:

Three (3) runner-up winners will be selected from the short-listed 15 videos, including the top ten (10) videos as determined by public voting and the five (5) staff picks videos. Each video’s score will be determined by a panel of judges based on the rubric provided here.

Each winning class of a runner-up prize will receive the choice of one of the following prizes:

a field trip to a local Parks Canada place, including transportation and programming, up to a maximum value of $1000. These trips will take place during the 2020-2021 school year. Any additional costs are the responsibility of the class. If the class is not located near a Parks Canada place, the contest group entities will arrange a field trip, including transportation and programming, to a similar location of historical or natural significance, up to a maximum value of $1000. Additional costs for remotely located classes are at the discretion of the contest group entities. The Runner--up prize winners will be contacted and announced in May, 2020.

$1,000 cash prize awarded to the class to be used towards a conservation learning experience or initiative.

Honourable mentions:

Six (6) honourable mentions will be awarded a prize package from the Contest Group Entities. Prizes will be sent when it is safe to do so. Winners will be selected by region. If a region is not represented within the short-listed fifteen (15) photo essays, winners will be selected at the discretion of the judges and may be chosen from all entries received or from any region.

BC + AB (1 honourable mention)
SK+MB (1 honourable mention)
ON (1 honourable mention)
Quebec (1 honourable mention)
NB+NS+PEI+NL (1 honourable mention)
NU+NWT+YK (1 honourable mention)

Prize packages include:

A gift bag containing selected Parks Canada merchandise (per student)
A one-year subscription to Canadian Geographic (per winning class)
One Canadian Geographic photo magazine (per student)
A reference book/publication featuring Parks of Canada’s national parks and/or national historic sites (per winning class)

Honourable mention prize winners will be contacted in May, 2020.