WVFK Training Session in Nelson: Thursday, March 3, 5:30 - 9 pm

Would you like to share your passion and knowledge of environmental or heritage topics with students in the region?

CBEEN’s Wild Voices for Kids Program Coordinator is heading to the West Kootenays for an information/training evening to recruit and train new Community Educators.

It will be held on Thursday, March 3rd at the Best Western Baker Street Inn in Nelson from 5:30 pm – 9:00 pm.

Topics to be covered include:

• What are Wild Voices for Kids program expectations and requirements?
• How does the program work for Community Educators?
• What tools are available for creating a program that is interesting and matches curriculum requirements?

If you are currently a Community Educator but have not participated in a training session, please make the time to come out and learn the new way we are doing business.

To reserve your spot contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Participants will be referencing the following two documents:

Review of Learning Styles

Program Planning Worksheet

Time to “Get to Know”! The 2011 Canadian Wildlife Federation Contest begins April 10!

The 2011 Canadian Wildlife Federation Robert Bateman Get to Know Contest begins April 10. Renowned wildlife artist Robert Bateman invites youth aged
5-18 to go outside and “get to know” their wild neighbours by creating art, writing, digital photography, and video entries. The goal: to engage the power of art to help youth become more connected with nature.

Last year, twenty two winners of the Robert Bateman Get to Know Contest attended the Get to Know Art & Nature Camp at the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park on August 23-27. Hosted by Parks Canada, the kids took part in workshops (led by local artists from Alberta and Montana), discovered local species and ecosystems, and worked on a video project encouraging young people across North America to enter the new video category of the Get to Know Contest.

This year has been declared the International Year of Forests by the United Nations. In celebration of this important designation, the theme of the
2011 Get to Know Contest is “This is My Forest”. Whether it’s a single tree in a backyard or acres of boreal forest in a national park, the contest offers youth the opportunity to learn about and celebrate their local forest and its inhabitants.

The winners this year will receive all kinds of wild prizes, including cash, the chance to have their entry published in the 2012 Robert Bateman Get to Know Calendar, and an invite to the 2011 Art & Nature Camp. Held in beautiful Victoria, British Columbia, the winning contestants will get to experience both the Gulf Islands National Park and Reserve and Fort Rodd National Historic Park. The contest launches April 10, at participating parks, zoos, and museums all across Canada. To learn more and find out how to enter, visit www.gettoknow.ca.

Go on a “walkabout” for David Suzuki’s 75th birthday!

To celebrate David Suzuki’s 75th birthday, elementary students across Canada are invited to give him a special gift — get outside!

Participating schools will be sent a lesson plan that encourages students to take a “walkabout” in their schoolyard to observe the nature around them. Then, on March 30, students will have a chance to hear Dr. Suzuki give a presentation on our interconnections with nature and how this inspired him to become a scientist.

The presentation will include a question-and-answer period with questions submitted by students. They will be read aloud by the co-host of the event, George Stroumboulopoulos, host of CBC Television’s George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight.

More…

Call for Presentations for Sustaining the Blue Planet: A Global Water Education Conference

In order to bring the best minds and initiatives together to learn from each other and to forge a unified path for improved water resources, the Project WET Foundation and UN HABITAT’s Water, Sanitation and Infrastructure Branch are convening Sustaining the Blue Planet, the first global conference solely focused on education as an innovative solution to water issues.

To that end, the conference team is seeking proposals from educators, policymakers, businesses, municipalities, program designers, implementers, practitioners and all others interested in water education for presentations addressing one of the five conference strands:

• Innovations in Water Education
• Successful Approaches to WASH Education
• Technology & Water Education
• Encouraging Water Education in Corporate Sustainability
• Education Solutions for Priority Water Topics

Download the Call for Presentations or visit the conference website.

All proposals must be received no later than March 31, 2011.

Sustainable Happiness and Health Education Webinar: New Curriculum Resource

Sustainable Happiness (as defined by Catherine O’Brien) is “happiness that contributes to individual, community and/or global well-being and does not exploit other people, the environment, or future generations.”

The concept merges principles from sustainability and happiness studies, encouraging individuals, communities and organizations to reflect on opportunities to leave a legacy of sustainable happiness.

Sustainable Happiness and Health Education is a Teacher’s Guide for grades P/K-6. Lesson plans are designed to meet the Canadian health education curriculum outcomes. Many lesson plans could readily be adapted to older grades.

Webinar times:

Wednesday, February 16, 2011, 3:00 - 4:30pm EST in NU, ON, QC, NB (4:00 pm start in NS and PEI, 4:30 pm start in NF)
Wednesday, February 23, 2011, 4:00 - 5:30pm EST (3:00 pm CST start in SK, MB and part ON)
Wednesday, March 2, 2011 6:00 to 7:30pm EST (4:00 pm MST start in NT, AB, and part BC, 3:00 pm start in YT and BC)

All participants must register by contacting Sandra Jones at: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

For more information, click here.