1. Youth Benefit from New Engagement Program

GreenLearning and the York Weston Community Services Centre piloted an engagement program for youth during spring break. Participants ranging in age from 7 to 17 learned about environmental stewardship while becoming more integrated into Toronto culture. Highlights of this unique program included:

• A role play on the first day, with youth pretending to be delegates at a UN conference, debating whether or not wealthier nations should provide most of the economic stimulus needed to transform global energy habits.
• A scavenger hunt with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority at Parc Downsview Park (and a game of tag afterwards).
• A karate workshop at Summit Karate Schools.

• The creation of the first completely youth-run non-profit organization in the community: Reclaiming Our Weston Developing Youth, or ROWDY.

The program was led by Elaine Ho, Redfish School of Change alumnus. Given the success of this year's program, subsequent programs are expected to extend for more than a week and also take youth outside the city.

2. See the New Climate Change Unit for eCards

Visit the eCards website for the post-Copenhagen edition of the climate change topic resource centre.

Designed for the Ontario grade 10 Science curriculum, this unit is also popular among teachers of grade 9 to 12 Geography, Environmental Studies, Language Arts, and Media Literacy. Students learn the science, view videos, study the latest data, and answer research questions on the eCards website. They then create eCards with their own message and artwork, and with teacher approval, send them to the recipients of their choice.

To see the climate change unit, choose Climate Change from the TOPICS menu at the eCards website.

3. Redfish Ready for 2010 Semester

The Redfish School of Change is gearing up for an exciting second semester, May 12 to June 19, with 16 participants, 14 of them Canadian. In this unique field school accredited with the University of Victoria School of Environmental Studies, participants travel from the mountains of British Columbia's Slocan Valley to the marine coast of Vancouver Island while exploring strategies for creating ecological sustainability and social equity. Follow this year's participants on the Redfish blog.

As a new program, the Redfish School of Change is still accepting funding for student bursaries from generous organizations and individuals. Click here to learn more.

4. Students Learn-Audit-Act

GreenLearning partnered with Clean Air Champions to offer Learn-Audit-Act to five high schools in the Toronto Catholic and Halton district school boards.

The High School Climate Challenge (HSCC) developed by Clean Air Champions invites students to conduct a greenhouse gas emissions audit of their school. Students measure emissions from eight sources: electricity, heating energy, transportation energy, school building, land use, refrigeration, water use, and materials and resources. Professional athletes visit participating schools to train students in conducting audits and to inspire them with their own personal stories. Students use their completed audits to develop recommendations for action for themselves and their school administration or school board. Students then use the HSCC Calculator to measure reductions in school greenhouse gas emissions. To learn more about this program, visit the HSCC website. 

We thank the teachers who participated in Learn-Audit-Act: Audrey and George at Cardinal Newman; Ben and Fenny at St Joseph's; Christine at St Mary's; and Kristen at Iroquois Ridge. This exciting project was made possible through the generous support of the Community Go Green Fund, a program of the Ontario Ministry of Environment.

5. Contests for GreenLearning Students & Teachers

Nominate to the New eCards Showcase!

Nominate your students' eCards to the new eCard Showcase and you and a student may win $100 in gift cards to Chapters. The eCard Showcase makes exemplary eCards visible to eCards students and teachers across Canada. GreenLearning will review all eCards nominated on or before June 4, and identify three that best capture the spirit of eCards: informed young Canadians making their voices heard on current energy issues. 

Winners will be contacted by email and announced in the June issue of GL News. All eCards nominated on or before June 4 will be considered, including those nominated prior to this announcement. Click here to learn more about the eCard Showcase. Help us populate this new feature of eCards and win!

Take the 2009/10 Solar Oven Challenge!

Looking for a meaningful and delectable activity on solar energy? GreenLearning's Solar Oven Challenge is open to all Canadian students until May 28, 2010. Last year's Challenge included participants from grade 3 through to grade 10. Some students learned about solar energy as a project in an eco-class or recycling club. Many of the older students built solar ovens as part of the heat unit in their Science class.

Click here to learn more or to register for the challenge. Click here to see last year's projects and winning entries.

6. Prepare to Breathe a Little Easier

GreenLearning Canada and Clean Air Champions are teaming up to develop education resources on air quality and respiratory disease such as asthma. We are currently conducting focus groups with teachers and students in Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa and Sackville, and we will soon conduct an online survey. Both efforts will help us create meaningful and engaging education programs on this important topic.

In its 2007 report, Life and Breath: Respiratory Disease in Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada illustrated the need for action to help Canadians breathe easier. More than three million Canadians cope with serious chronic respiratory disease, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cystic fibrosis. Respiratory disease is now the third leading cause of death in Canada, and youth are particularly vulnerable.

Education is key to helping young people understand and manage this disease and to addressing the broader issues of air quality and health. Watch for the next issue of GL News for an opportunity to shape these new programs through our Canada-wide survey.

7. Join GreenLearning at EECOM, May 22

We hope to see you at the Canadian Network for Environmental Education and Communication Conference (EECOM) on Saturday, May 22. Our presentations will feature two of our programs, EnerAction and the Redfish School of Change, and partner with two other environmental education groups, WildBC and Sea to Sky Outdoor School.

10 to 11:30 am. Johan Stroman (GreenLearning Canada) and Kelly Nordin (WildBC) present Climate Change Education—Blending two resources to support fun, empowered, science and socials based learning. GreenLearning's energy conservation progra, EnerAction, and WildBC's Grade 7 climate change resources provide the perfect blend of interactive, hands-on, and minds-on climate change education. Join us to experience inspired kinesthetic games that help students understand climate change science. Also explore design and energy conservation activities that empower students to reduce their energy use while meeting learning outcomes in Science, Social Science, Fine Arts, and Language Arts.

12 to 1:30 pm. Alla Guelber (alumnus, Redfish School of Change), Gordon Harrison (GreenLearning Canada), and Tim Turner (Sea to Sky Outdoor School) present The Great Outdoors—BC Exemplars of Transformative Classrooms for Youth Leadership Development. Get to know the Redfish School of Change and the Sea to Sky Outdoor School. Experience stories of transformation from recent participants and meet the passionate leaders behind these programs. Learn the key ingredients for successful outdoor leadership programs that serve as springboards for action.

Also visit us at the GreenLearning booth. We look forward to seeing you there!

8. Attend Teacher Day in Ottawa, June 3

On Thursday, June 3, the Joint Congress of the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society and the Canadian Geophysical Union will offer Ottawa-area teachers workshops about weather, climate, oceans, and geophysics. Presentations will include:

• Climate Change: Are You Confused?
  Dr. John Stone, Research Professor, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Carleton University
• Moving Day in Canada—Earthquake Science and Human Impact
  Stella Heenan, POLARIS Consortium
• eCards—eLearning on our Changing Climate
  Gordon Harrison, National Director, GreenLearning Canada
• What's Really Happening to Arctic Sea Ice?
  Doug Bancroft, Director, Canadian Ice Service, Environment Canada
• Environmental Video Conferencing
  René Brunet, Distance Learning & Videoconference Coordinator/ Facilitator La Biosphère, Environment Canada
• Weather—Everywhere and Everyday
  Phil Chadwick, Meteorologist, Environment Canada

Held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Ottawa, this all-day event is free to teachers. Registered teachers receive a complementary lunch and a participation kit that includes posters, classroom resources and a workshop manual. Participants will be entered into a draw for a weather radio, weather trivia calendars, signed books, and more. To register or for more information, contact Sheila Bourque or visit the Congress website. Registration closes May 14, 2010. 

9. More GreenLearning Workshops

Bonnyville, AB, April 26, 4:00 to 5:30. H.E. Bourgoin School. Workshop topics: EnerAction, eCards, Electricity All Around Us, Real World Ecosystems. Contact Kathy Worobec, Director of GreenLearning Alberta, to register or for more information.

Lac La Biche, AB, April 27, 4:00 to 5:30. Dr. Swift Middle School. Workshop topics: EnerAction, eCards, Electricity All Around Us, Real World Ecosystems. Contact Kathy Worobec, Director of GreenLearning Alberta, to register or for more information.

Toronto, ON, May 4, 4:00 to 6:00. Western Technical-Commercial School. Workshop topic: eCards for Science and Geography.

Surrey, BC, May 7, 10:30 to 12:00 & 12:45 to 2:15. Surrey Teachers' Association hosted at Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary. Workshop topics: Climate Change Education; EnerAction with Wild BC's Climate Change Challenge. To register, visit the STA Convention website. 

Canmore, AB, May 7, 1:00 to 2:00. Global, Environment and Outdoor Education Conference (GEOEC). Workshop topic: Teaching About Climate Change—The How. Register for the conference at the GEOEC website.

10. Our Thanks

We greatly appreciate the committed sponsors who make our work possible. Our thanks to

• Shell Canada for its role as lead sponsor for the 2010 Redfish School of Change;
• Alexander Holburn Beaudin & Lang LLP for sponsoring teacher workshops in British Columbia for a third consecutive year;
• Ontario Environment Community Go Green Fund and Victoria Foundation for supporting completion of EnerAction Sustainable Transportation resources.