Conference in Review issue

As the school year comes to a close, we’re also wrapping up our 2014-2015 volume of
Interactions with a special Ecolinks 2015 Conference in Review issue.  This issue includes conference resources and links from workshop presenters and vendors to let you integrate these learning tools into your teaching practice.  If you weren’t able to make it to Ecolinks, this issue will be your virtual conference – and if you were, it will hopefully bring back memories of the wonderful day and interesting workshops you attended.

OSEE’s annual conference, Ecolinks, was held May 11th at Jack Smythe Field Centre and Terra Cotta Conservation Area in Terra Cotta, Caledon, Ontario. The day included:

• Interactive workshops held both indoors and outdoors
• Exhibitors highlighting environmental education resources for educators
  A guided hike through the forest to lunch
• Local, organic food
• The OSEE annual general meeting

Here is what participants said were the favourite parts of their day:
“Getting resources and learning new ideas”… “Very hands-on” … “Making connections with colleagues”… “The hike to lunch!” “Zero waste”… “Very practical”… “Vegan, gluten-free food options”… “Awesome location!”

Many heartfelt thanks to our site hosts, the Peel District School Board Field Centres and Credit Valley Conservation, for generously donating the use of their sites for the conference.  It was wonderful spending the day in such a beautiful setting! Thanks as well to our workshop presenters for sharing their wisdom, activities, and resources for environmental education.  Finally, thanks to all conference attendees for coming out and being part of the day!

Ecolinks 2015 Workshop Summaries and Resources

On the Fly
Andrew Kett & Pat Kelly of Credit Valley Conservation Authority | Intermediate-Senior | Indoor and Outdoor
Deep currents of river conservation flow through the practice of fly fishing.  In the workshop participants learned the basics of fly fishing, explored the relationship between river, fish, fly, and the landscape, and tied a fly to take home.  Meaningful questions were posed about teaching conservation in the classroom and the role of experiential education in shaping young environmental leaders.
Learn more about CVC’s Education Programs at www.creditvalleyca.ca/learn-and-get-involved/education-2/

From Field to Fork to Disposal: Knowing our Food System
Coreen Jones of EcoSource | Intermediate-Senior-General Interest / Personal Development | Outdoors
In this workshop, participants explored the impact of our food system by choosing a food item and critically analyzing the environmental impact of the item’s food system, paying close attention to the system’s inputs and outputs.  The group we discussed a variety of ways to incorporate food system education (food literacy) into numerous educational settings.
Download Cafeteria Connects, a curriculum guide for teachers to help their students explore local food choices, at ecosource.ca/about-us/publications/

Graphic Novels and Animated Films: contemporary approaches to eco-art and visual storytelling for students and teachers
Les Luxemburger | Junior-Intermediate-Senior- General Interest/Personal Development | Indoor
This workshop began with an overview of the modern context of eco-art as an education tool, with a specific focus on visual storytelling and narrative, through the use of stop motion animation and graphic novels.  Participants then used storyboards and character sheets to plan an animated film and make a two page graphic novel.
Download the workshop resources here.  Visit www.earthchartergraphicnovel.com to see some artwork from Les Luxemburger’s graphic novel Earth Charter.

Exploring Schoolyard Biodiversity through DNA Barcoding
Vanessa Breton & Emily Berzitis of the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario | Primary-Junior-Intermediate-Senior | Indoor and Outdoor
Since 2013, the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario (BIO) has teamed up with multiple schools and thousands of students across Canada to explore insect diversity in their schoolyards through DNA barcoding, a genetic technique for identifying organisms.  Participants learned how their schools can join this exciting program and collect insect specimens in their schoolyards.
Learn more about the BIO’s education programs at www.biodiversity.uoguelph.ca/outreach.html

Plotting Pollinators with Quadrat Frames
Kendal Gerard of EcoSpark & Nature Academy | Junior-Intermediate-Senior | Indoor and Outdoor
Nature Academy is a PD and coaching program that provides teachers with the knowledge, field skills and follow-up support to integrate outdoor and experiential education into their everyday lessons.  In this session, participants conducted a field study to estimate pollinator population density using portable quadrat frames and different sampling protocols.
Learn more about EcoSpark’s Nature Academy at www.ecospark.ca/nature-academy

Oil Sands Quicksand – Teaching Controversial Issues in the 21st Century Classroom
Dick Holland of GreenLearning Canada | Intermediate-Senior | Indoor
GreenLearning.ca’s free Oil Sands Education Dialogue (OSED) program tackles one of Canada’s major challenges – helping students understand the importance and challenges of Alberta Oil Sands development.  Two programs in development were profiled, a Hearing Simulation and a Price of Oil module.
Learn more about other GreenLearning.ca programs at www.greenlearning.ca/programs

Growing STEM Skills Using Outdoor Maths
Pam Miller and Bonnie Anderson | Primary-Junior | Outdoor
By investigating math concepts outdoors, students can make connections between math and science concepts, in a variety ofcontent areas, and in the real world.  This session provided tools and activities to explore environmental problems and solutions that are a part of students’ everyday world.
Download the workshop resources here 

Voices from the Land: An Exploration of Art in Nature
Vicky An of the Monarch Teacher Network of Canada & Toronto and Region Conservation Authority | Primary-Junior-Intermediate-Senior-General Interest/Personal Development | Indoor and Outdoor
Voices from the Land is a project that explores the intersection of art, language, culture and the natural world, and celebrates our connections to the land.  In this interactive workshop, participants collaborated to create artwork using natural found materials at the workshop location, and explored samples of student poetry about student nature art pieces.
Learn more about Monarch Teacher Network workshops at www.monarchteacher.ca/workshops/

Hands-on Activities for a Very Popular Planet
Cindy Smith & Karen Nolan of Seneca College | Primary-Junior | Indoor
What does it mean to share the world’s natural resources and global environment with seven billion other people?  This hands-on session explored the fundamentals of human-environment interactions, including carrying capacity, cause-and-effect relationships in nature, land use, renewable and nonrenewable resource use and an introduction to the concepts of sustainability.

My Clothes, My World
Kelly Drennan of Fashion Takes Action | Junior-Intermediate-Senior | Indoor and Outdoor
My Clothes, My World™ introduces young people to world issues through one of their favourite topics – fashion!  This workshop provides interactive activities to elicit discussion around issues such as consumerism, labour rights and environmental degradation.  It opens the students’ eyes to the truth about the apparel industry and inspires them to take meaningful action.
Learn more about My Clothes, My World at fashiontakesaction.com/my-clothes-my-world/

Planting the Seed for School Gardens
Kathryn Markham-Petro, Marshall Bourque & Michelle Papineau of St. Clair College | Primary-Junior-Intermediate | Indoor
How do we make school gardens an important part of learning with all the rules and regulations that exist in education?  How do we ensure gardening is actually something that will promote cross curricular learning for all grades?  The presenters discussed how they overcame these challenges during their experiences with Roseville Community Garden.
Download the workshop resources here

Ecolinks 2015 Exhibitors

Roberta Bondar Foundation www.therobertabondarfoundation.org/
McGraw-Hill Education www.mheducation.com/
Happenstance Books & Yarns www.facebook.com/Happenstancebooksandyarns
GreenLearning Canada www.greenlearning.ca/
EcoSpark www.ecospark.ca
Ecosource www.ecosource.ca
Biodiversity Institute of Ontario www.biodiversity.uoguelph.ca/

Presenting your 2015-2016 OSEE Board of Directors

Back row: George Raposo, Jennifer Andrade, Gary Campbell, Tooba Shakeel, Karmi Shami, Les Luxemburger, Kimberlee Henderson, Romanda Simpson  From row: Nazreen Subhan, Sherri Owen, Laura Leet, Sarah Moye, Katya Seckar  Absent: Christine Chapel

Katya Seckar – President
Karmi Shami – Vice President
Sherri Owen – Past President
George Raposo – Treasurer / Social media director
Nazreen Subhan – Webmaster & Interactions Co-Editor
Christine Chapel – Interactions Co-Editor
Romanda Simpson – Membership Coordinator
Jennifer Andrade – Central Director
Laura Leet – Eastern Regional Director
Kimberlee Henderson – Director-at-large
Tooba Shakeel – Director-at-large
Sarah Moye – Director-at-large
Les Luxemburger – Director-at-large
Gary Campbell – Director-at-large

President’s Report
2015 Annual General Meeting
by Katya Seckar

The past year has been full of learning.  Last May we formed a new board, and although it consisted of new board members and past board members, everyone found themselves in a new role.  It has been a stimulating experience for all of us to build new skills and overcome challenges that presented themselves.  Thank you for your patience as we grew into these new positions.

Our first goal as a new board was to learn how to better support you, our OSEE membership.  Last summer we sent out a survey to current and recent OSEE members and received a tremendous response.  We have used your input as OSEE members as our roadmap for the year, looking for opportunities to translate your wishes into reality.

Our first step was to change the printed and pdf version of Interactions, the OSEE journal, into a more convenient online format.  We look forward to hearing your thoughts on this new format.  (If you have any Interactions feedback for us, please add it to your conference feedback forms.) Interactions is a professional journal geared to help our members find inspiration and resources, as well as updates on current environmental issues.  It is also a place for OSEE members to share your expertise, opinions, recommendations and materials, and we welcome each and every one of you to submit articles to the journal.

The survey feedback was also incorporated into the conference planning, where we put the emphasis for this year’s conference on workshops that offered participants the opportunity to build new skills through authentic, hands-on experiences.  We also learned from your input that the price of the conference could be a deterrent to participation. This year we sought community support and were overwhelmed by the generosity of the Peel District School Board Field Centres and Credit Valley Conservation in stepping forward to host this event free of charge.  The contribution of their beautiful sites and staff teams have made it possible to reduce conference fees from $175 for one day, to only $60 for one day. Let’s take a minute to give them a warm round of applause to thank them for being such amazing and gracious hosts.

I’d also like to send a huge thank you to our wonderful workshop presenters who volunteered their time to share their passion and wisdom with you.  Thanks as well to our exhibitors, for their support of OSEE and spreading the word about quality environmental education programs and resources.

And a giant thanks to you, our participants, for coming out for a day of learning.  Even in this online age, nothing can recreate a hike through a forest, running outdoors while learning a new game, brainstorming as a team to solve a challenge, or the chance to bend down and examine the tiny creatures we rarely notice beneath our feet.  It is these hands-on experiences that connect us to our surroundings and make learning memorable.  We hope you are able to use the conference as a spring board for creating hands-on experiences with your students, to help them explore and connect with their local environment, and empower them to care for this incredible planet.  Our thanks to you for your passion and your dedication to making learning engaging and meaningful.

I am excited to carry on as part of the OSEE Board of Directors for the year ahead. We look forward to continuing to incorporate your feedback into OSEE offerings, as we work to better support you in bringing environmental education into your schools and classrooms.