1. Teachers, Do We Make the Grade?

Help us evaluate and improve our teaching resources by completing the online GreenLearning survey. Over the last year, we have added new programs and materials and redesigned our website. Now we need to hear from you.

We hope you will take five minutes to answer twenty questions about your classroom experience with GreenLearning. All teachers who complete the survey will be entered into a draw for prizes such as Making it Green T-shirts, Wind Power lunch kits and more.

Click here to take the survey now.

2. Lawrence Grassi Middle School Saves $3000

The Grade 8 leadership class of Lawrence Grassi Middle School in Canmore, Alberta saved $3000 in just one year by turning off their computers at the end of each day. The Pembina Institute and the Bow Valley Clean Air Society worked together to visit the school and complete activities with the grade 5, 7 and 8 classes.

Working with the Pembina Institute's education team, the Grade 8 leadership students used a kill-a-watt to determine the amount of electricity used by the school computers. They completed calculations to determine kilowatt-hour reductions, cost savings and CO2 reductions. Then the students themselves ensured that the school computers were turned off at the end of each day. The class presented information about the project to the school district, and they are now working with the district to determine ways to use the $3000 to increase their school's sustainability!

3. EnerAction Offers You More

April saw the addition of two EnerAction backgrounders: Energy Needs—The Ways We Use Energy and Taking Action—Personal Choices About Energy Use. Written at an intermediate level to support student exploration, they are packed with information about Canada's current energy use as well as ways to reduce our energy consumption. Three more backgrounders will soon follow.

For teachers familiar with the David Suzuki Foundation's Nature Challenge for the classroom, the EnerAction website now includes a lesson matrix that highlights the fit and flow between these two powerful educational resources. In addition, the popular ecological footprint lesson, Lesson 4, Walk a Mile in My Shoes, has been updated to prominently feature the infamous Carbon Critters.

Have a look at these new EnerAction features.

4. Shell Canada Supports Our Leadership Program for Young Canadians

We are pleased to announce that Shell Canada has stepped forward as the lead sponsor for the youth leadership program that GreenLearning is developing in partnership with Pearson College. With Shell's support, the program has made significant progress in recent months.

The 185 young people who participated in our market research survey indicated a strong demand for the program and provided helpful suggestions for its design and development. Their input combined with a productive planning retreat led to a number of key decisions about the parameters of the program:

• Targeted primarily to young adults aged 19 to 26 from western Canada who are passionate about creating change;
• Up to six weeks in length with follow-up mentorship after the program and an optional internship;
• Participant-driven with a range of workshops, field trips and backcountry excursions;
• Focused on a bioregional theme so that students learn from multiple bioregions and communities across southern British Columbia and then apply their learning to their own bioregion and community;
• Supported by scholarships for most students;
• Credit of three course equivalents.

We expect to pilot this unique experiential field school for young adults in May/June 2008 in southern British Columbia. For more information, contact Nadine Raynolds.

5. eCards Embarks on a New Cape Farewell Voyage

In 2007, twelve students from three countries sailed aboard the Noorderlicht to the Arctic on a Cape Farewell voyage designed to raise awareness about climate change. GreenLearning expanded eCards to link these twelve students and their experiences to classes across the country.

Cape Farewell will set sail again in September 2008. This year, twenty-eight students and a number of scientists and artists will travel for two weeks from Reykjavik to Baffin Island, spending most of the time exploring the Baffin Island coast. Fifteen of the students are from Canada, and the others come from Brazil, Germany, Ireland, Mexico and the UK.

After participating in the voyage preparations, GreenLearning will make it possible for schools everywhere to benefit from the 2008 expedition. We will keep you posted about this eCards opportunity for your classes for the 2008/2009 school year.

Visit the eCards website and click Learn More to see the Arctic Glacier topic resource centre based on the 2007 voyage.

6. Teachers Wanted

Would you like to see your class try eCards? We would like to arrange a class visit with a school and invite a potential funder who is interested in seeing students and eCards in action. If you are interested, please contact Director of GreenLearning, Gordon Harrison, to learn more and arrange a class visit.

Would you like to participate in a one-day EnerAction focus group? Following on the heels of our popular Carbon Calculator, initial development has begun on a new EnerAction program to support teachers and students as they track their conservation efforts. We expect to begin pilot testing as early as this fall. If you can attend a one-day focus group session for teachers in late May in Vancouver, Edmonton or Ottawa, please contact your regional GreenLearning director for more information.

7. Solar Oven Challenge

Students and teachers will complete the Solar Oven Challenge by May 30th, 2008. In June, we will announce the prize winners and feature all projects in the Student Showcase at www.re-energy.ca.