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Lakeland College

New Initiatives: September 26th, 2008, Lakeland College offered Professional Development (PD) sessions for teachers from the Buffalo Trail Public School Division and the East Central School District including one that was delivered by the Department of Environmental Sciences. The Environmental session involved hands-on experiential learning and discussion topics. Participants learned how to safely navigate the Vermilion Provincial Park Reservoir in canoes and enjoyed a pleasant afternoon. While exploring the reservoir, participants discussed topics including vegetation differences between north and south facing slopes as relates to precipitation and sunlight, water quality and protection of water resources with vegetative buffer zones along the water (known as Riparian Zones). The session was designed to contribute to stronger relationships with regional schools, and the communities we represent, in terms of how we can assist one another. The session met with great interest and as a result we expect to offer hands-on sessions with at least one school in the spring wherein we anticipate approximately 40 grade nine students will attend. Sessions like the recent PD event can be a very rewarding experience. The session gave teachers a much better idea of our ability to aid them in teaching Environmental Education in the classroom, and they received exposure to the kinds of post-secondary training and expertise offered by Faculty at Lakeland College. We’ve done sessions with teachers and their students in the past. We know that sessions like the proposed one for the spring of 2009 are mutually beneficial. Students learn about Environmental Education from very passionate and qualified College Instructors and we get a chance to get students passionate about potential careers in Environmental Science. For more information contact Allen Verbeek, 780-853-8589.

These efforts are in line with the following Framework outcome:

• Outcome 1-7
  

Visit the Lakeland College framework page>>

Weaselhead/Glenmore Park Preservation Society

New Initiatives:  Invasive Species have always been a main concern of the Weaselhead Society and an important component of our education programs. The City of Calgary has recently also made Invasive Species Education an important focus as well. In response, the Weaselhead  will be partnering with the City to further advance the education of non-native plant species to both children and adults in many levels. Ultimately this will advance Environmental Education in Alberta. We receive several requests per year to conduct our field trips in the French language and have not been able to fulfill the demand due to the difficulty of finding French speaking Naturalists. The Cochrane Ecological Institute (CEI) has recently come up with a plan to respond to the demand for environmental education programs lead in French by developing L’ECOLOGIE, C’EST POUR TOUS (The Environment is Yours). The Weaselhead/Glenmore Park Preservation Society (WGPPS) will tapp into this opportunity by training the CEI's French speaking Naturalists to lead our programs in the French language, thus expanding our services to appeal to a more inclusive audience. The WGPPS will increase the visibility of their new program option by advertising throughout the Calgary Board of Education and Calgary Catholoic School Board systems with a focus on the French Immersion Schools. We look forward to finally being able to meet the City’s demand for curriculum based environmental education programs in the French language and are grateful to the CEI for initiating the movement.

These efforts are in line with the following Framework outcome:

• Outcome 4-3

Visit the Weaselhead/Glenmore Park Preservation Society framework page>>

Hosteling International

New Initiatives: This winter we are working with local guide Doug Latimer and Shadow Light Productions to provide new resources on glacial melting, as part of the avalanche curriculum delivered to the Calgary Outdoor and Science School, through the Mosquito Creek Hostel and Banff High School. Shadow Light Productions are currently presenting the film The Vanishing Ice to schools. Our goals include the following:

• to combine northern and southern programming and deliver new resources
  
• to bring teachers onto glaciers to contribute to a film about environmental issues surrounding melting glaciers
• to present this film to students in their classrooms
• to eventually bring students to the toe of the glacier at our hostel for safe experiential learning fieldtrips

• Outcomes 1-2 and 1-7

Land Stewardship Centre of Canada

New Initiatives: We will soon be offering workshops in support of our Green Communities Guide (a practical guide for municipal stewards to develop strategies to conserve water, protect water quality, preserve valuable agricultural land, and protect critical open space and wildlife habitat). We collaborate with government, environmental education and research organizations on the development and/or distribution of information packs.  We are leading work with provincial and national partners to develop the National Stewardship & Conservation Conference 2009 “Strengthening Stewardship – Investing at Every Step” (Calgary, July 8-11, 2009). We support the initiatives of Alberta Stewardship Network in responding to the needs of Alberta’s stewardship groups (often also EE stakeholders as they organize education initiatives in their communities). In support of ACEE developing an on-line EE Resource Centre, we provided ACEE a CD copy of one model of a directory content format from Land Stewardship Centre of Canada, Alberta Stewardship Network and Alberta Environment’s joint publication Directory of Watershed Stewardship in Alberta (2005). A staff member participates in an advisory capacity on ACEE’s multi-stakeholder committee for the poll on Albertans’ environmental literacy, their stewardship actions, and their receptivity to market-based instruments to protect the environment. Currently our largest effort is in organizing the National Stewardship & Conservation Conference, “Strengthening Stewardship…Investing at Every Step” (July 8-11, 2009, Calgary), by heading a steering committee, and supporting the development of the conference program with input from other provinces. This conference happens every three years, typically attracting around 500 participants, including national and international guest speakers and some of its program topics include: Environment and Human Health, stewards responding to climate change, changing demographics, globalization: food, energy and biofuels, innovations in stewardship and stewardship from the grassroots to policy level. Visit our website>>

These efforts are in line with the following Framework outcomes:

• Outcomes 1-7 and 2-4
  

• Outcome 1-4, 3-4 and 3-6
  

Federation of Alberta Naturalists

New Initiatives: We have filled a new full-time administrative position, enabling us to increase our capacity to organize and deliver programs, such our annual bird count, our annual plant count, and our "Living by Water" program. We now have increased capacity to incorporate more projects into our programming and to involve more Federation of Alberta Naturalists (FAN) experts in delivering these projects.

• Outcome 3-5