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 Pedal to Power Calgary classroom goes carbon neutral

  Sometimes good things come in the mail!
ACEE receives a generous donation from a youth led company 
 

Connecting students to the natural world
Teacher Paul Kelba writes about his struggles to get his students outside 


 

Cenovus Energy Environmental Education Leadership Clinic

Do you need time to plan an environmental education project or program? This is the opportunity for you! The leadership clinic is a fully funded, four day clinic for four team members to develop a plan to achieve a goal - we offer professional development to help your team to build an effective and achievable plan.

 

Applications are now being accepted with a deadline of June 8, 2012. For more information and to download the application, visit http://abcee.org/leadershipclinic/.  

 

Environmental Educators Support Communities of Practice! hands and grass 

Thanks to everyone who contributed their thoughts and feedback about the new Communities of Practice initiative. The support was overwhelmingly positive! To see a summary of the survey results, visit http://abcee.org/cop/.

The first two Communities of Practice to be launched in the fall will be Energy and Climate Change Education and Water Education. Stay tuned for dates and details over the next few months.

We are hiring! Our next step is to hire two coordinators to support the first two Communities of Practice. Please see the description of the contract position here.

                     This program is made possible by funding from
 

Teacher's Conventions and Conferences 

Many conventions are already accepting workshop proposals for their February and March events. We have put together a table with all the conventions and links to the proposal applications.

Need some tips on applying? Read Dr. Noel's Top 10 Tips for Submitting Convention Proposals.

The Science Council conference has a deadline of May 31 for proposals for their fall conference. Apply to present here. 
 
Present at Lake O'Hara 
Have you ever been to Lake O'Hara in Yoho National Park? It is a magnificent hiking spot! You have to book three months in advance to get a spot on the bus!
But why not use your skills as an environmental educator to get yourself up there? Lake O'Hara is filling their speaker rooster for 2012 and are looking for presenters. By commiting to one evening you get:
  • $150 honorarium
  • one tent spot for the evening of your presentation
  • bus transportation for you and a friend or family (max 2 adults and 2 children)

Alison is looking for speakers in August. The days of the presentations are Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

If you are interested, contact Alison Millar.  

 

Push to Open Nature Society 

This month the Alberta television show Let's Go Outdoors featured the Push to Open Nature Initiative with Alberta Parks.

Here are the two video clips about this program
 

EE Jobs in Alberta    

If you have any positions you would like to promote, please send them to Christina. 

 

Environment Week June 3-9     

What a great time of year to focus on the environment! Here are some links to help you join in the celebrations:
  • Green Stop - register your event, download resources to help  promote your Green Stop and find an event in your community.
  • World Environment Day June 5 - This is an UN recognized day. This year the theme is Green Economy: Does it include you? A great opportunity to explore green careers with students.   
  • Clean Air Day June 6 - Have you heard of an airshed? Use this map to find your airshed. 
  • World Oceans Day June 8 - Living in Alberta we do not often think about the ocean! 
 

Alberta Past, Present and Future..... 

Alberta has changed profoundly in the last 100 years, our population has exploded and our use of the land has intensified.

These two resources look at land use decision making in Alberta.
  • Alberta Tomorrow is an educational tool that uses cutting edge GIS technology and satellite imagery to simulate the future effects of human activities on Alberta's wildlife habitat, ecosystem services, and natural resource production. Users are challenged to sustainably manage Alberta's ecosystems.
  • Regional Planning in Alberta is a 12 minute YouTube video detailing the changes Alberta has undergone in the past 100 years. A great introduction to Alberta Tomorrow. 
 

Water and Agriculture in Alberta   

Waterlution Calgary Hub is hosting another fabulous water learning  opportunity May 12 - Digging Deeper: Exploring Water and Agriculture.

This full day field trip is only $25.00 and covers all activities and transportation from Calgary to various sites in the Cochrane area.  
Quick Links
Interview with Richard Louv
Ducks Unlimited Canada recently interviewed Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods. The video is 8 minutes long and Richard offers suggestions on how to get kids outside. You can hear the full interview here.
Whale FM
Listening to whale sounds is amazing! You can help marine scientists match similar whale sounds so they can figure out what they are saying. Join in on this citizen science project here.  
BirdJam
Spring has sprung and the birds are singing! Learn to identify birds by their sounds on this site. There is a picture, recording and written call and song description for each bird.   
Skeptical Science - Climate Change
This site presents the myths around climate change and then
 the science that disputes the myth. The arguments can be viewed at a beginner or intermediate level and are very well laid out. View the myths sorted by popularity here. 
For more information visit:  www.abcee.org
Questions or comments? Please contact christina@abcee.org.