The 2008 Leadership Clinic:

Optimizing the action component of your environmental education program

Sunday November 9th, 4:30 p.m.*
 to Thursday November 13th, 1:00 p.m.
University of Calgary Biogeoscience Institute
(formerly Kananaskis Field Stations)
Kananaskis Country, Alberta

Congratulations!

These teams have been accepted to participate in the  clinic, and have set themselves the following goals:

• Campus Calgary/Open Minds will enhance the implementation of action projects in their learning communities.
• Banff National Park will create an integrated education and outreach action strategy for Banff.
• Alberta's YouthVOLUNTEER! Society and TakingITGlobal will further inspire youth to take action to combat climate change
• GreenLearning - The Pembina Institute will optimize their teacher professional development program.
• City of Calgary will integrate core action principles and strategies across four key business units that provide education
• Calgary Board of Education EcoTeam will save a million dollars next year through education that reduces its electricity bill by 10%
• Team WPAC will deepen citizen commitment to stewardship in four Alberta watersheds
• Waste Reduction Week - Team Alberta will generate 50% more participation in Week activities to reduce waste.
• Scouts Canada - Chinook Council will deepen scouts' involvement in hands-on action projects
• First Nations (Alberta) Technical Services Advisory Group will improve their performance management and capacity.

What is a leadership clinic?

• Developed specifically to build environmental education capacity
• Attended by a diverse team that comes from each organization
• Team-oriented and results-oriented, and designed to help organizational teams improve their performance
• Teams identify a goal before the clinic, and commit to implementing that plan post-clinic
• Gives you time to plan. Around 40% of your time at the clinic is dedicated to helping your team create an action plan to accomplish your goal
• The goal that is set by each team must directly contribute to more effective performance in the area of responsible environmental behaviour.  We want to see more action by more engaged learners as a result of this clinic.
• The days are spent in individual team planning sessions, professional development sessions, and large group processes and plenaries.

Who sets the agenda?

You do. This event is participant-driven: teams help design the agenda to ensure it meets their needs. Here are a few examples of professional development sessions that might appear, depending on your stated needs:

• summary of the latest research
• how to use the current emphasis on the environment to create 'lift' for your program
  
• how to ensure well-informed and developmentally appropriate action by learners
  
• effective program design and evaluation
• organizational development

We are pleased to provide two sample agenda from previous leadership clinics, to let you see generally how these events are structured:

• download agenda sample #1
• download agenda sample #2 (with sporting metaphors!)

"I’ve been an environmental educator for 30 years – and the leadership clinic is the best professional development model that I have ever participated in.“
Jeff Reading, formerly with Fish Creek Environmental Learning Centre


"Leadership clinics are designed to be transformative. These events help participants and teams develop their competencies – the skills, tools, and plans they need to bring about environmental literacy.“
Abby Ruskey, Executive Director, Environmental Education Association of Washing ton

"Being able to bring a team to work solely on our plan was incredibly valuable. There were no e-mails or phones to answer… it was uplifting, just being around other people who are working to make a difference through environmental education.“
Ali Goulstone Sweeney, Executive Director, Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education

Desired Outcomes

The clinic planning team has identified the following desired outcomes for this clinic:

1. Help teams identify and implement an action plan that delivers on their goal
2. Enable teams to deliver programs that more effectively engage learners in responsible environmental behaviour
3. Provide organizations and individuals with relevant training
4. Provide a growing network of EE leaders with opportunities to exchange information and ideas
5. Measure the success of the clinic through participant feedback and programs evaluations conducted by each organization

Who should apply

The planning team will consider applications from all groups that deliver environmental education in Alberta to formal, non-formal, and informal audiences. An incomplete list of examples:

• A provincial non-governmental group that delivers conservation education programs in a protected area
• A government agency with an education branch dedicated to helping citizens understand and practice environmental citizenship
• A school board striving to implement more environmental education in its schools and classrooms
• A national group with a significant staff and programs in Alberta
• A high-potential regional or topical network of environmental education players

Who should be on your team?

• key decision-makers within - and/or external to - your organization
  
• staff involved in program delivery
• representative of your target audience
• etc.

What teams receive

• Registration and clinic attendance
• 4 nights board and lodge at University of Calgary Biogeoscience Institute in Kananaskis Country (formerly Kananaskis Field Stations).
• The opportunity to set a goal to optimize part of their program, create an action plan, and document their success in delivering on their action plan.

What teams must commit to

• obtain a commitment from ALL of its team members to attend the entire clinic
• support all travel costs to attend the clinic
• create an action plan to accomplish its pre-identified goal
• commit to implementing the action plan post-clinic
• evaluate the effectiveness of their action plan

Selection Criteria

The planning team will be selected based on how well they meet the following criteria:

• have a clear, measurable, and realistic goal(s)
• show how accomplishing this goal will improve their ability to engage learners in responsible environmental behaviour
• explain how their team‘s diversity (cultural, professional, geographic, etc) positions the team for success in their planning and implementation
• demonstrate that their organization is well positioned to make the most of the clinic
•  the organization is a high-potential group that can create significant impact with its work

Timelines

Please take note of the following dates:

• Application process begins	12 June
  Application deadline	11 July
  Teams selected	23 July
  Participant Input Survey	August
  Draft Agenda circulated	13 September
  Deadline to book accommodation	15 September
  Leadership Clinic	10-13 November
  Post-clinic conference call	27 November

  
  

  Thanks to our Sponsors

  Thanks to Chevron Canada, ConocoPhillips Canada, and TD Friends of the Environmental Foundation (Calgary Chapter) for their support of this event.
  

  
  

  If you have questions regarding the 2008 Leadership Clinic, please contact Gareth Thomson at Gareth@abcee.org.
  
  
  

  ACEE and its programs was developed at this 2005 Leadership Clinic in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.