Canada’s premier high school archaeology field school
For 49 years, nearly 1,500 students have benefited from this unique experience, excavating a real archaeological site, making stone tools, and recreating ancient technologies – all while gaining unique skills and life-long friendships that will help them in their own personal and professional journey.
We need your support to ensure that Boyd Archeological Field School can continue providing these incredible experiences for the next 50 years to as many students as possible, no matter their circumstances!
Our History
Since 1977, students have joined Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) through Canada’s longest-running high school archaeology field course, the Boyd Archaeological Field School (BoydFS).
Working alongside real TRCA archaeologists and experts in a stunning outdoor site, and engaging with Indigenous community speakers and educators, our alumni have recovered over one million artifacts, contributing to Ontario’s historical and archaeological record.
This unique program has a global reputation for excellence, attracting students from Canada and the United States, with some attending from as far away as Germany, Italy, Holland, Japan, and South Africa!
In 2006, BoydFS was the recipient of the Peggi Armstrong Public Archaeology Award for our teaching curriculum and remarkable legacy.
Our Mission
As opportunities for outdoor education decline, TRCA’s programs have grown in popularity with teachers, parents, and students who believe that learning about the natural world is not a privilege but a right for all students.
The Boyd Archaeological Field School Fund aims to ensure equality of opportunity by enabling students with financial barriers to access an innovative and supportive experience that will open doors to educational and career opportunities in the field of archaeology and beyond.
Your donation supports not only our program’s operations, but also two student subsidies that are granted each year to participants in need of financial assistance:
The Carr-Reid Bursary honours two individuals who shared a vision for hands-on archaeology education at the high school level in the 1970s. Terry Carr and Ray Reid were committed administrators and teachers of the course for more than 25 years. Their immense contributions to the field school will always be treasured.
The Sebastien Scholarship honours Heather Sebastien, a Huron-Wendat Nation elder from Wendake, Quebec, who visited the site on occasion as part of municipal and provincial engagement with Indigenous communities.
Testimonials
This course has been a life-changing experience. The staff and students were so kind and welcoming. The memories and friends you make will last a lifetime. I managed to get a job in archaeology a month after I graduated from field school, which says something about the value of the experiences you gain!NaomiClass of 2023It is a rare thing to find a program that is as academically rigorous as it is physically challenging, full of opportunities for hands-on exploration and creativity such as making tools and pottery, as well as transferable skills such as mapping and cataloguing. My daughter was surprised how much she loved field work days! The chance to experience a field of study before committing to a degree program is so useful. Boyd offers the opportunity to learn from older students of archaeology, as well as from varied guest speakers. Staff are deeply caring and inclusive, deliberately built a community spirit, connecting students to each other, and to both the place and time period they are working to understand more about. Thanks Boyd!
RachaelNaomi’s motherThis course has been a life changing experience. I absolutely loved everything. Thanks to all the staff members and the students for making this journey so memorable.
ShamimStudentThank you to all of you for making this an incredible life experience and education for our son James. Your dedicated efforts really brought history to life for him and we are very grateful for all you have done. The learning experience is now being given to us by James and we're benefitting from all he has learned. Bravo.
WilliamParentThis course has been an awesome opportunity and experience, not only to learn about actual archaeology and history, but to meet new people and experience new ways of learning. It's been awesome.
SheebaStudentThank you for taking the time to offer this incredible real world and relevant learning opportunity to young people with an interest in history and contributing to our historical record. The Boyd Archaeological Field School is a perfect example of a community connected experiential learning opportunity that engages students and offers them a chance to learn real observation, documentation and analytic skills that they can use regardless of the field they pursue in the future ... Thank you to the entire team for being generous with your time and expertise. It is truly appreciated.
LesleyParent
Photo Gallery
The Boyd Archaeological Field School – Past and Present
Your Support Matters!
Donations, corporate sponsorships, and simply spreading the word can make a difference in the lives of young students exploring career opportunities, ensuring that they have the resources they need to excel in their academic and professional journeys.
Empower students to overcome financial barriers and pursue their dreams in archaeology and cultural heritage. Help shape the future of archaeology by investing in the education of promising scholars, today.