40 educational leaders form across the Columbia Basin and around British Columbia will come together for the Environmental Education Leadership clinic.
This leadership clinic provided representatives from 8 local chapters of EEPSA with the opportunity to come together to connect, collaborate, and plan for ways they can support outdoor and environmental learning in their region. These local chapters are supported at the Leadership clinic by non-profit organizations such CBEEN, KBEE, Wildsight, Take Me Outside, Classrooms to Communities, and Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation.
Thanks so much to all of our Local Chapter leaders for the hard work they do across the province to build EEPSA’s capacity.
Join educators, change makers and community partners from across B.C. for this 2-day, in-person conference as we reconnect with ourselves, each other, and the landscapes and waterways that nourish us. Find balance among the mountains and valleys of the Revelstoke area as we learn and celebrate together.
Participants will…
- Reconnect with inspiring colleagues, friends and community leaders
- Explore transformative approaches to place and land-based learning
- Engage in community-connected field experiences around the region
- Eat, drink, dance and rejuvenate in the mountain air
Program Highlights:
Friday, October 21, Revelstoke Mountain Resort
- Welcome & Plenary Gathering
- Engaging Workshops & Networking Sessions
- C2C Exhibitor Fair & Afternoon Social
Saturday, October 22, Revelstoke Mountain Resort & Area
- Inspiring Field Experiences around the Region
- Evening Celebration with Dinner & Live Music
September 23, 2022
Gibsons, BC
Unite, SEED 36, REED 38, B.Outside, Coquitlam, North Vancouver, and Langley are partnering to host a leadership clinic for local chapters within the metro Vancouver region! This is an opportunity for local groups to meet, collaborate and share resources to promote outdoor, place conscious and environmental learning in metro Vancouver school districts. Contact Elsa Medina for more information. mailto:[email protected]
Join teachers, community educators and other leaders on False Creek in Vancouver to share successful practices and celebrate our work that connects learners with place, the land and the community.
5:00 Meet outside Science World in Vancouver for a walk & talk along False Creek with local teacher leader, Cara Laudon and colleagues
6:00 Celebrate our shared work and network on an outdoor patio at Mahoney’s Pub (False Creek), with complimentary beverage and appetizers
Featured Success Story:
False Creek Student-Led Bioblitz
The False Creek Family of Schools (Shwa’kwa-set/Crosstown, Elsie Roy, Lord Roberts and False Creek Elementary) are initiating the 1st annual student-led Bioblitz of False Creek this spring in collaboration with community partners. Join us to learn more about how students can help highlight and celebrate biodiversity in the local environment.
Join us to…
· Learn about innovative programs and resources across B.C.
· Share ideas, inspiration and engaging strategies for teaching and learning linked to local places, the land and community
· Network and explore opportunities for collaboration and mentorship in your region
· Enjoy a complimentary beverage and hors d’oeuvres
On Thursday, December 16th, teachers, community educators and other leaders from across B.C. will meet online to share successful practices and celebrate our work that connects learners with place and the outdoors.
Participants will:
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Learn about innovative programs and resources across B.C.
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Share ideas, inspiration and engaging strategies for teaching and learning linked to local places and outdoor spaces
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Explore opportunities for collaboration and mentorship in their regions and beyond
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Meet fellow leaders and celebrate successful practices
EEPSA’s Annual General Meeting will be held online Monday, October 25, at 4 pm.
Please join us for the chance to win a $50 gift certificate for the Outdoor Learning Store, a social enterprise run by our partners that offers many amazing resources for outdoor and environmental education!
We will be sharing our goals for the year, ratifying our constitution, adopting our budget, and electing our executive committee! If you want to see any of these documents ahead of time, or are interested in joining the EEPSA executive, or would like the Zoom link, please us know via email: [email protected]
Listening to the Land, Giving Voice to the Sea: Stories to Nourish Hope and Resiliency
Registration Now Open with Early Bird Prices!
Join us in October for C2C 2021 as we explore stories of hope and resiliency connected to the land and sea, from classrooms to communities, at our annual PSA Day conference. This year’s conference will be coming to you live online on October 22!
The conference will feature an engaging morning plenary and over 60 online sessions, workshops, gatherings and other opportunities for professional learning, collaboration and dialogue.
Place-Based Learning in B.C.: Success Stories in Practice
On Thursday, December 10th, join teachers, community educators and other leaders from across B.C. online to share successful practices and celebrate our work that connects students with place and the outdoors during these challenging times. What’s inspiring your practice?
Participants will:
- Share ideas, inspiration and innovative strategies for teaching and learning linked to local places and outdoor spaces
- Explore opportunities for collaboration and mentorship in your region and beyond
- Join the conversation, meet fellow leaders and celebrate successful practices
Click here to register!
All EEPSA members are welcome to attend the Annual General Meeting. Click to see the AGM agenda.
Please let Jonathan Dyck ([email protected]) know if you are interested in joining the EEPSA Board as the Treasurer or another position.
The Zoom coordinates will be sent out closer to the date on the EEPSA list serve.
Lhtakoh* – Where People, Place and Practice Flow Together
*Lhtakoh: Lheidli name for the Fraser which means “waters within each other”
The Classrooms to Communities 2020 Provincial Conference is being held virtually on October 23. Join us as we continue to connect educators from classrooms to communities.
EEPSA, in partnership with our C2C partners, hosts an annual two day conference on the October PSA day.
Because of Covid-19, this is a unique conference, in that the program will all be accessed digitally. Despite not being able to gather face-to-face in community spaces, the focus of the conference is still how to connect students to their communities. Our primary concern is the health and safety of all participants.
The Classrooms to Communities (C2C) 2020 Conference aims to support the practice of place-based learning. The conference goals are to:
- Model Place-Based Learning through highly interactive, experiential and replicable practices.
- Share and explore success stories of place-based learning as central to teaching and learning in BC’s K-12 curriculum.
- Inspire, support and enhance the evolving work of pre-K to 12 teachers and partners in BC schools and communities to integrate promising practices of place-based education.
- Build greater capacity and collaboration for a BC wide network of place-based education leaders/mentors, including pre-K to 12 teachers, schools, school districts, organizations, associations of teachers and all other interested partners.
Follow the link for more information and to register: https://c2c-bc.org/conference/
Upcoming conference locations: October 2021 on Vancouver Island, October 2022 in the Kootenays and October 2023 in Metro Vancouver.
Keeping it Local: Celebrating Place-Based Teaching, Learning and Leadership in B.C.
Thursday June 18, 3:30 – 5:00pm PDT
Via Zoom (link to be provided to all registered participants)
Join teachers, community educators and other leaders from across B.C. for our 10th annual C2C Summer Solstice Event. We’ll gather to share successful practices from regions around the province and celebrate our work that connects students with place and the outdoors during these challenging times. What’s inspiring your practice?
Participants will:
- Share ideas, inspiration and innovative strategies for teaching and learning linked to local places and outdoor spaces
- Explore opportunities for collaboration and mentorship in Metro Vancouver and beyond
- Join the conversation, meet fellow leaders and celebrate successful practices
Click here to register!
EEPSA and the Classrooms to Communities (C2C) Education Network are hosting our annual conference online this year on October 23rd, on the PSA Day. We are looking for education leaders from across BC to facilitate inspiring, place-based learning experiences for participants. This professional development event aims to help educators connect classroom and community through a focus on people, place and practice.
If you are interested in leading an online session during the event, we invite you to submit a proposal before the deadline of June 8th.
Complimentary registration will be available for accepted presenters. We hope you are able to join us!
CBEEN and EEPSA will co-host a Leadership Clinic April 24-26, 2020, at Nipika Mountain Resort, and will bring together the leadership teams from each EEPSA Local Chapter to collaboratively plan for the following school year and beyond.
Registration is open to all EEPSA Local Chapter Executive Members from the Columbia Basin, and one representative from EEPSA Local Chapters in BC outside of the Columbia Basin. This Leadership Circle is an opportunity for Local Chapters to team-build and plan while networking and collaborating with other Local C
hapters.
Please note: all participants must be current CBEEN & EEPSA members.
Contact Selina Metcalfe for more information.
The climate crisis can be overwhelming, given its complexity and seriousness. In the face of this existential threat, it’s no wonder that many people choose to shut down when the topic arises. For teachers, however, denial is not an option. In our classrooms, we have students who need to know how to prepare for the alarming future in front of us all. They need to know what to prioritize as they face a future of unprecedented changes.
Our keynote features a panel of teen activists from the Cascadia region who are developing strategies and leading in each of their communities.
After the keynote panel we will break into workshop sessions. The line up this year is amazing. Cross Border Conference Workshops List revised 2020.01.13
Register now!
BC Green Games is a digital eco-storytelling contest. Students K–12 throughout the province are encouraged to take environmental action in their schools and communities, then share their stories for a chance to win prizes. BC Green Games has been running for over a decade and during that time has collected 1,200 projects and engaged over 24,000 students to take action across the province. Teams have tackled environmental issues such as reducing emissions, energy conservation, zero waste efforts, recycling, composting, and habitat stewardship. We are now in our twelfth year of project submissions and we are very excited to see what the teams have created this year!
Your expertise is needed to view and judge up to 10 assigned projects, from your home or work, using our teacher-tested evaluation rubric. Your volunteer commitment will be approximately one to two hours. Your scores will help select top projects to win great prizes including experiential prizes and cash prizes so schools can continue their green initiatives!
Those who agree to be judges will be sent a judging rubric, a link to a webpage where they can input their scores, and list of projects to judge by March 4. Judges will have from March 4 to March 25 to submit their scores. Winners will be announced by April 3.
If you have any questions, or are interested in being a judge and learning about the amazing eco-actions that are taking place around the province, please send me an email by February 26 ([email protected]).
BC Wildlife Federation’s Wetlands Education Program is excited to share that we are hitting the road this Spring with a new and free educational outreach program to schools and classrooms in communities across BC – Wetlands on Wheels. Travelling with the WOW program we have a wetlands themed escape room, outdoor education activities geared towards wetlands learning, and pre- and post- visit inquiry based lesson plans for deep learning beyond our visit. Based on the size and the need of your school, we are able to provide you with three levels of programming that take up anywhere from 60 mins of a class’s time to a whole day of engaged learning and participation of the entire school.
Our goal is to cultivate a connection between students and their local environments with the goal to inspire curiosity, stewardship and appreciation towards wetlands and the role they play in our ecosystems. We think it starts in and around the classroom that the youth spend a majority of their time, so we are coming to you.
The program is funded by the generous donors and grants of the Wetlands Education Program of BCWF and a partnership with the Canadian Conservation Corps, and as a result there is no cost to schools and students.
WOW will be in the your area between the months of March and April and is available to be scheduled for programing within the hours of your school day. The programs available to you vary depending on desired time commitment, age of participants and group size. Please see the attached poster for details.
Spots are limited, first come first served until all spots are filled in the region. Please do not wait to express your interest. We will work with interested teachers and schools on selecting the appropriate level of programming.
