Interactions – Conference in Review Issue 2017

We are wrapping up our 2016-2017 volume of Interactions with a special OSEE 2017 Conference in Review Issue.  This issue includes conference and PD resources, as well as links from workshop presenters and exhibitors, to let you integrate these learning tools into your teaching practice.

 

OSEE PD Day at a Glance

On May 27th, educators participated in the OSEE PD Day at Camp Kawartha Environment Centre, located on the Trent Nature Sanctuary.  The day included:

  • Hand-on workshops to learn new skills to engage youth in learning for, about, and in the environment
  • Classroom-ready activities and resources
  • Networking and brainstorming with fellow educators

We were incredibly fortunate to have beautiful weather and fantastic workshop presenters who shared their experience, knowledge and engaging activities. Our most sincere thanks to our site hosts, Camp Kawartha Environment Centre and Trent Nature Sanctuary for donating the site for the day.

OSEE PD Day Workshop Summaries and Resources

Motivating Waste Reduction
Katya Seckar | Ontario Society for Environmental Education | Primary – Junior | Indoors and Outdoors
This workshop provided hands-on activities to help young students understand where common products come from, and how their manufacture impacts the environment.
To receive an electronic copy of workshop resources, contact katya.seckar@osee.ca

Deal with it, Ontario
Bonnie Anderson | Peel District School Board | Junior, Intermediate, Senior, General Interest / Personal Development | Indoor and Outdoor
Bonnie’s workshop included games that highlighted the difference between perceived and actual risk.  The cards used in Bonnie’s workshop can be purchased at cost for $20 each.
To purchase the cards please contact Bonnie at anderson.bonnie1@gmail.com

Trees & Citizen Science
Mike McMillan | Association for Canadian Educational Resources (ACER) | Primary-Junior-Intermediate-Senior-General Interest / Personal Development | Outdoor
Participants learned how to introduce students to the topic of climate change, math, and science though planting, measuring and/or reporting data on trees in your schoolyard or community.
Learn more about ACER at http://www.acer-acre.ca/

Pollinator Power: How To Bring Pollinators To Your Schoolyard
Vicky An & Rachel Stewart | Toronto Region Conservation Authority | Primary-Junior-Intermediate-Senior-General Interest / Personal Development | Indoor
Participants took part in a informative, fun, hands-on session where they investigated the important role of pollinators and looked at factors that threaten their populations.  Participants also built their own simple bee condo and made milkweed seed balls.

Learn more about Pollinators at http://trca.ca and with the following resources:

Discovering Nature In Spring
Drew Monkman & Jacob Rodenburg | Primary-Junior-Intermediate | Indoor and Outdoor
Participants engaged in interactive activities related to the signs of spring while walking through a variety of habitats. Drew and Jacob are authors of The Big Book of Nature Activities, a comprehensive guide for parents and educators to help youth of all ages explore, appreciate and connect with the natural world.  The website below allows you to preview some of the great resources the book has to offer.
Learn more about the Big Book of Nature Activities at http://goodreads.com

Pathway to Stewardship
Jacob Rodenburg | Camp Kawartha | General Interest / Personal Development | Indoor and Outdoor
In this interactive workshop, Jacob shared the findings of a unique approach to environmental education being developed in Peterborough, Ontario called “The Pathway to Stewardship.” This community-based strategy provides a guide and a road-map towards stewardship based on every stage of a child’s development.
Learn more about The Pathway to Stewardship at http://campkawartha.ca/pdf/Green-Teacher-Article-Pathway-to-Stewardship.pdf

Feeding the Future : Growing School Gardens & Seed Libraries
Jacob Kearey-Moreland | Toronto Seed Library / The Seed Library Commons | Primary-Junior-Intermediate-Senior-General Interest / Personal Development | Outdoor
Participants learned about the basics of seed starting, seed saving and seed sharing through school gardens and seed libraries and how to define and ensure a successful long term project.
Learn more about the Toronto Seed Library at http://torontoseedlibrary.org

EcoLinks at a Glance

OSEE’s annual conference, Ecolinks, was held May 6th at Ball’s Falls Conservation Area, Lincoln, Ontario. The day included:

  • Interactive workshops held indoors and outdoors
  • Exhibitors highlighting environmental education resources for educators
  • The OSEE Annual General Meeting

OSEE thanks all workshop presenters for sharing their wisdom, activities, and resources for environmental education.  Thanks as well to all Ecolinks exhibitors for highlighting environmental education resources. Finally, thanks to all conference attendees for coming out and being part of the day!

EcoLinks 2017 Workshop Summaries and Resources

Amazing Amphibians
Jill Walters-Klamer | Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority | Primary-Junior | Indoors and Outdoors
Participants explored the world of amphibians and the tools to ensure safety for amphibians, as well as young explorers.
Learn more about amazing amphibians at http://npca.ca/education-programs 

Hydroponics In The Classroom
Natalie Boustead | Foodshare | Primary-Junior-Intermediate-Senior-General Interest / Personal Development | Indoor
Participants learned how to set up a hydroponics tower for their classroom, office, or home, as well as some educational resources and lesson plans.
Learn more about growing food at http://foodshare.net

Trees & Citizen Science
Mike McMillan | Association for Canadian Educational Resources (ACER) | Primary-Junior-Intermediate-Senior-General Interest / Personal Development | Outdoor
Participants learned how to introduce students to the topic of climate change, math, and science though planting, measuring and reporting data on trees in your schoolyard or community.
Learn more about ACER at http://www.acer-acre.ca/

How Many Shoes In Your Part of The World?
Astrid Steele | Schulich School of Education, Nipissing University | Intermediate-Senior-General Interest / Personal Development | Indoor
Working on a floor-sized map of the world, participants explored issues of social and environmental justice, considering consumer practices around the world.
Contact Astrid for more information at astrids@nipissingu.ca

Monitoring and Stewardship for Empowered Environmental Learning
Holly Brose | EcoSpark | Intermediate-Senior | Indoor & Outdoor
Participants learned how benthic macro-invertebrates can be used to gauge stream environment health with classes, and how student stewardship can solidify learning and a sense of empowerment.
Learn more about EcoSpark at http://www. ecospark.ca

Wonder of Worms and Simplicity of Sprouts
Cathy Nesbitt | Cathy’s Crawly Composters | Primary-Junior-Intermediate-Senior | Indoor
Participants learned all about worms and vermicomposting – a viable solution for composting anywhere not being served by an organic collection program or without access to outdoor composting.
Learn more about Composting at http://www.cathyscomposters.com/ 

Feeding the Future : Growing School Gardens & Seed Libraries
Jacob Kearey-Moreland | Toronto Seed Library / The Seed Library Commons | Primary-Junior-Intermediate-Senior-General Interest / Personal Development | Outdoor
Participants learned about the basics of seed starting, seed saving and seed sharing through school gardens and seed libraries and how to define and ensure a successful long term project.
Learn more about the Toronto Seed Library at http://torontoseedlibrary.org

EcoLinks Exhibitors

A special thank you to our EcoLinks exhibitors for bringing wonderful resources to educators.


BEAN – Biodiversity Education Awareness Network https://biodiversityeducation.ca/
Big Village https://www.bigvillage.ca/
Forests Ontario http://www.forestsontario.ca/
Green Thumbs Growing Kids http://greenthumbsto.org/
Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority https://npca.ca/
OrangeDog Native Plants http://www.orangedognativeplants.com/
Outdoor Council of Canada https://www.outdoorcouncil.ca/
STAO https://stao.ca/cms/

Annual President’s Message, 2017

katya

It has been an honour to serve as OSEE’s President for the past three years. Our Constitution requires that a new President take the helm after three years, and I am delighted to share that Laura Leet is OSEE’s new President. It will be exciting to have Laura bringing new ideas, skills, and perspectives to OSEE.

Looking back over the past three years, I feel truly grateful to have worked with such an amazing board of directors. Not only do I appreciate all the hard work each board member contributed, it has been wonderful getting to know such talented and passionate people. It has been exciting brainstorming with board members about how OSEE can support teachers with environmental education – and even more exciting seeing those plans come to fruition. None of OSEE’s events or publications would have been possible without all of the work done by OSEE’s volunteer board members. Heartfelt thanks for all your work in publishing Interactions, organising our two conferences, spreading the word about OSEE, and keeping OSEE running smoothly! It’s been a true team effort.

I’d also like to send a huge thank you all of the inspiring conference presenters and Interactions journal contributors who have volunteered their time to share their passion and wisdom with other educators. Thanks as well to our conference exhibitors, for their support of OSEE and for spreading the word about quality environmental education programs and resources. And last but not least, thanks to all of you, for the work you do day in and day out, inspiring the next generation to care for the health of our planet.

Wishing each of you a rewarding year and the best of luck in your future environmental education endeavors!

Teacher Resources

Forests Ontario
Bring forest education into the classroom with these free lesson plans: https://www.forestsontario.ca/education/resources/type/lesson-plans/

Waste Reduction Week
This site offers a free Waste Reduction Resource Kit to help your school plan Waste Reduction Week activities, conduct a waste assessment, and implement a waste reduction action plan. It also includes links to videos, posters, lesson plans and other waste reduction resources. http://wrwcanada.com/en/get-involved/resources/tool-kits/schools

Ontario Nature – Calendar of Events
Find out about great events offered by Ontario Nature and Nature Network here: http://www.ontarionature.org/connect/blog/events/category/nature-network/