1. Follow Redfish Across Southern BC

Visit the Redfish School of Change blog to follow the sixteen students from across Canada who are participating in the 2010 semester of the program, May 12 to June 19, 2010.

In a fusion of academic and experiential learning, participants are travelling from the mountains of the Slocan Valley to the coast of southern Vancouver Island. Over six intensive weeks, they will trek across southern British Columbia, visit innovative sites, and engage with experts in the field of environmental and social justice. In this unique field-based program which is accredited with the University of Victoria School of Environmental Studies, students learn critical skills for creating positive change and put them into practice during and after the program.

Besdies following the Redfish blog, you can also visit Redfish on facebook. Take a moment to check out the Redfish School of Change facebook page. Become a fan by clicking on the "like" button.

2. Let Us Know How We're Doing

Help us evaluate and improve our programs by completing the 2010 GreenLearning survey. We hope you will take a few minutes to answer our questions about your classroom experience with GreenLearning. Your feedback is invaluable to us as we work to improve and expand our programming.

The survey takes about 10 or 15 minutes. All teachers who complete the survey will be entered into a draw for prizes.

3. Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

A special thanks from all of us at GreenLearning to Blair Fix and
Heather Phan, teacher candidates with OISE's School, Community & Global Connections program, who have worked with us during their OISE internships over the last five weeks.

Blair and Heather have made invaluable contributions to our team and to our resources. Thanks to their initiative and hard work, you will soon see

• new national curriculum connections at re-energy.ca for grades 6 to 12

• updated topic resource centres for eCards, specifically Wind Power, Solar Energy, Nuclear Power, and Arctic Glaciers
• a new and improved version of the Energy Success Stories topic resource centre for eCards
• national curriculum connections on climate change for grades 9 to 12
• a GreenLearning facebook page
• and more.

Thank you Heather! Thank you Blair! We are better for your many contributions, and we wish you every success in your teaching careers.

4. Looking for a Challenge for Fall, 2010?

We are calling all high school teachers for our new Climate Action Challenge. When launched this fall, the Climate Action Challenge will have students explore our changing climate with climate change eCards. Students will make a pledge to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and send eCards to their friends, challenging them to take action as well. Then they will tally up their savings in greenhouse gas emissions and celebrate.

GreenLearning is looking for high school teachers to join us as we launch the Climate Action Challenge. We will provide professional development at schools across Canada and online. Please contact Johan Stroman if you think you might be interested in participating.

5. Access the New Science Rubric for eCards

Climate change eCards, which was initially designed to support the grade 10 Science curriculum in Ontario, now offers an assessment rubric for teachers. At the eCards website, log in and look for Science (ON) among the assessment rubrics under the Teacher Materials menu.

Climate change eCards has been popular among teachers of grade 9 to 12 Geography, Environmental Studies, Language Arts, and Media Literacy as well as Science. The rubric is provided in Word format so that you can tailor it to your class.

Our thanks to Michael Phillips and Colleen Fletcher, teachers at A.B. Lucas Secondary School of the Thames Valley District School Board, for their work in creating this useful addition to eCards!

6. Our Hats Are Off

The GreenLearning team is lucky to work with educators from across Canada who are committed to helping their students learn about the environment and about living sustainably. There are always a few teachers who stand out because of their remarkable commitment, drive and enthusiasm: Kathy Bocsi, who has assisted us with the development of EnerAction, is one of them.

A teacher at Joshua Creek Public School in the Halton Board of Education in Ontario, Kathy recently received the Distinguished Educator Award from the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario. She was nominated by her peers, her principal, her students and others who have been impacted by her love of the environment. Through Kathy's leadership, Joshua Creek Public School has been involved in the Stream of Dreams project for the watershed and the Green Cart School program for food waste. Joshua Creek Public School has achieved Gold Certification with EcoSchools and has established a strong relationship with the Conservation Authority. Kathy has become a mentor to other educators by sharing the details of her environmental initiatives.

When Kathy speaks about her students, it is with joy, hope and a firm belief that they will make an enormous difference to the planet. At GreenLearning, we've been lucky enough to work with Kathy, and we thank her for her hard work, both on EnerAction and with her many students. Congratulations Kathy!

7. Last Call for Contest Entries

It is still possible for you to enter two GreenLearning contests for the 2009/10 school year.

• Did you teach eCards during the school year? You can nominate your students' eCards to the new eCards Showcase on or before June 4th. Click here to learn more about the eCards Showcase contest.

• Are you registered for the Solar Oven Challenge? Do you want to register? You can submit your entries to the Solar Oven Challenge until May 31st. Click here to learn more about the 2010 Solar Oven Challenge.

Winners will be announced in the next issue of GL News!

8. Upcoming Workshops

See the GreenLearning website for up-to-date information about these and other upcoming workshops.

• Ottawa, ON, June 3. Teacher Day hosted by the Joint Congress of the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society and the Canadian Geophysical Union, Crowne Plaza Hotel. GreenLearning workshop topic: eCards—eLearning on Our Changing Climate. For more information, contact Sheila Bourque or visit the Congress website. The Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society regularly holds Teachers' Days as part of its Annual Congress. Past Congress locations include Halifax, Kelowna and Toronto.

• Vermilion, AB, August 26. Buffalo Trails Public Schools professional development day. Workshop 1: Electricity All Around Us and EnerAction (grades 4 to 6). Workshop 2: Real World Ecosystems and eCards (grades 7 to 9). For more information, contact Hugh Forrester.

Did you know that you can request a workshop for your school district for the fall? To do so, contact the GreenLearning Director in your region.

9. Our Thanks

As a non-profit organization, our work is made possible through the generous support of our sponsors.

• We thank the McLean Foundation for supporting our youth engagement project in Toronto's York Weston community.
• We are grateful to Nexen Inc. for supporting education programming in the Fort Nelson area.