The Turtle Guardians Coloring Book

Drawn by First Graders. Designed for the Future.

What if learning wasn’t something children simply absorbed—but something they authored?

That’s the vision behind The Turtle Guardians Coloring Book, a capstone project born in a Grade 1 classroom along the Ottawa River. Led by Thinkering Fellow and educator Andrew Wilson, this initiative began with a simple storybook and grew into something much bigger: a transformative student-led journey rooted in Indigenous knowledge, environmental stewardship, and creative agency.

Through this project, six- and seven-year-old students became artists, fundraisers, authors—and above all, Guardians of the land and its creatures.

🧠 Where Learning Meets Legacy

When Andrew’s students were introduced to 13 Moons on Turtle’s Back—a book that explores Indigenous lunar calendars and creation stories—they didn’t just listen. They responded.

What started as drawings of turtles quickly evolved into a deep inquiry:

What do turtles represent?
Why are they sacred to Indigenous cultures?
Are turtles in our region endangered?
How can we help protect them?

Rather than offering answers, Andrew empowered his students to explore. They researched, visited the Turtle Guardians conservation center in Haliburton, earned real youth conservation certifications, and began to see themselves not as passive learners—but as contributors to something larger than themselves.

Their culminating creation? A professionally printed and published coloring book filled with 26 student-drawn turtles, with 100% of the proceeds going directly to Turtle Guardians.

This isn’t a feel-good classroom project. It’s a real-world, student-led fundraising engine that continues to make a tangible environmental impact—and one that’s still growing.

🌍 The Impact of Your Donation

When you donate or purchase a copy of this book, you’re doing three powerful things at once:

Protecting Species and Ecosystems
Every dollar supports Turtle Guardians in their mission to protect turtle habitats, educate the public, and preserve biodiversity across Canada.
Empowering Youth as Changemakers
Your gift validates the idea that students—even in first grade—can do meaningful, lasting work. It tells them their voices matter. Their actions matter. They matter.
Redefining What School Can Be
This project demonstrates what’s possible when we stop limiting learning to tests and checklists. Instead, it’s learning through community, culture, creativity—and impact.

🗣️ Why This Project Stands Out

“This project is going to go on forever. As long as the book exists, Turtle Guardians will be supported. It’s not just schoolwork. It’s legacy.”
— Andrew Wilson, Thinkering Fellow

Created entirely by students in a rural elementary school
Grounded in Indigenous teachings and environmental ethics
Integrated with real-world conservation efforts
Already raising money for ongoing habitat protection
Demonstrates the full power of experiential education

This is Thinkering in action. And it works.

✨ Join the Movement

Whether you’re a donor, an educator, a conservationist, or simply someone who believes in kids and the future—they need you.

With your support, we can:

Fund the expansion of projects like this in more classrooms
Scale student-led storytelling and conservation work
Celebrate and share this model as a beacon for what learning can be
Continue building bridges between education, environment, and community

This coloring book started as a class project. With your help, it becomes a movement.

Changing the world one classroom at a time

Our Mission

As a 501c3 Nonprofit, our mission is to elevate a child’s creativity and interests alongside traditional academic metrics, fostering passion-driven learning with real community impact.

To be a Thinkerer is to be a curious changemaker, open to solving longstanding challenges with fresh ideas.

We collaborate with leading organizations, educators, and innovators to create pathways that nurture student passions. By humanizing education, we aggregate and analyze learning experiences, building a global framework that values creativity and curiosity as essential to academic and personal growth.

Protecting Turtles through Coloring and Creativity - Andrew Wilson

By Thinkering Collective

Protecting Turtles through Coloring and Creativity - Andrew Wilson

Created a Legacy for Learning - and land!

Team Members