COEO NEWS
NEW! COEO Community Webinar Series
Stay connected with the COEO community this season by participating in live monthly webinars. Each webinar will take place on a Thursday evening from 7:00 to 8:30pm EST. The first hour will be a live presentation, followed by a 30 minute question and answer period.
Thanks to Kevin Fraser from Wild Connection Outdoor Education for kicking off the webinar series in February with his incredible webinar on Building Confidence with Knives!
THIS MONTH:
March 25th at 7:00pm – Breaking Barriers to Outdoor Education – Bonnie Anderson (Simcoe County District School Board)
You get what you focus on. If all you see are walls – that is what you will be teaching in. Come learn some strategies to think “outside-the-box” so you can continue to work outside the box. We will cover school situations, outdoor education centres and service provider issues and come up with new ways to do what we all love – to #beoutdoorable.
Bonnie is currently the Outdoor Environmental Education and Healthy Active Living Coordinator for the Simcoe County District School Board. She has also worked in Peel, Toronto, Bark Lake Leadership Centre, and Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Boards. Yes, she can hold a job, but she loves challenges and loves to explore the different ecosystems she works in, so she keeps moving forward to find the fun in the outdoor fundamentals.
COMING UP NEXT:
April 15th at 7:00pm – OPHEA Guidelines for Outdoor Education – Deb Diebel (Bluewater District School Board) and Stéphane Giroux (OPHEA)
May 27th at 7:00pm – Virtual Summer Camp Programs – Barbara Sheridan (Barrie Forest and Natural Learning School), Liz Jankowski (Royal Botanical Gardens) and Danielle Barrett (Royal Botanical Gardens)
June 17th at 7:00pm – A Journey into Forest & Nature School – Matt and Kim Simpson (Free Spirit Forest and Nature School)
REGISTRATION DETAILS:
Want to register to participate in one or more of the webinars in our series?
Certificates will be available for those completing all 5!
Click HERE if you are currently a COEO member. Webinar registration is FREE for current members.
Click HERE if you are NOT currently a COEO member and would like to register for the webinars or become a member. Webinar registration is by donation ($5 or $20) for current non-members.
CLICK HERE to connect to COEO’s YouTube channel and view a recording of our FREE webinars – Engaging Students in Nature-Based Programming Online (recorded December 2020) and Taking Your Kindergarten Students Outside (recorded July 2020).
A note on membership: Being a COEO member means that you are part of a strong and active community dedicated to promoting and celebrating the value of outdoor and experiential education. As a member of COEO, you add your much-needed support and voice to the work being done by the organization, including webinars and other resources developed specifically for outdoor educators like the quarterly Pathways journal, Outdoor Learning Tips, this monthly e-newsletter and more!
Diversity & Allyship in Outdoor Education
Wondering how to support diversity in the outdoors and be a better ally to BIPOC folx within our industry? Here are some great resources to get you started and some incredible organizations already doing the work to increase diversity in outdoor activities.
Check out this webinar Leading Voices in Engaging Racialized Communities in Nature, happening on March 18, 2021 from 1-2 pm EST. It is free to attend and a recording of the webinar and the presentation slides will be provided to registrants following the presentation.
Watch this video Black & Safe in Outdoor Spaces, a conversation between Demiesha Dennis and Jacqueline Scott. They discuss what it means to be Black outdoors, both within the city and out on Canada’s trails, how safety considerations impact the way Black communities navigate these spaces, and the historic roots of these issues.
Support Demiesha Dennis, founder of Brown Girl Outdoor World, in her efforts to create a Gear and Equipment Library (based in Toronto), either through a monetary donation or equipment donation. Check out her Instagram and read more about her work on her website.
Read about the movement Bird Names for Birds and sign the petition.
Read The Melanin Base Camp Guide to Outdoor Allyship.
Check out this great webinar Black Outdoors: The Connections Between Race and Outdoor Space put on by the Toronto Public Library, featuring Jacqueline L. Scott in conversation with Demiesha Dennis.
Support Colour the Trails and the incredible work being done by Juju Milay to inspire, engage, and uplift people of colour. Donate to this work to help more people access the outdoors.
Support Project Love Run, which is all about womxn’s mental health, community and running. Find out more about them here.
COEO Awards – Ongoing Call for Nominations
COEO Awards provide an important opportunity to recognize individual and group efforts, as well as to celebrate the varied expression of outdoor education within our organization and throughout the province of Ontario. Click HERE for more information about the 5 separate categories of COEO Awards and consider nominating a deserving colleague or organization. Award nomination forms will be received on an ongoing basis in advance of our next awards ceremony in September 2021. Simply fill out a COEO Awards Nomination Form, then email the completed form to: owls@coeo.org (Liz Kirk, COEO Past President). Thank you for your nomination of an outstanding outdoor educator or organization in Ontario!
OTHER OEE & RELATED NEWS
Book of the Month
Dynamic Physical Education for Elementary School Children (DPE) is the longest-running elementary methods textbook on the market, and this latest edition is just as pertinent, essential, and cutting-edge as ever. DPE does more than provide the foundational knowledge needed to teach quality physical education—it applies this knowledge with an array of physical activities that equip preservice physical educators to teach with confidence from their first day.
The 19th edition has been updated to reflect the latest knowledge and best practice in physical education, including the following:
- A new chapter on physical activity and youth
- Recent research on physical activity and the brain
- Updated and expanded content on physical activity guidelines and assessment
- New activities to integrate health concepts into the physical education curriculum
- A chapter on lesson planning that is aligned with and linked to the Dynamic PE ASAP website
- New technology features throughout the book
The 19th edition emphasizes creating a social and emotional learning environment in which all students can learn and thrive. The ultimate goal of DPE is to help students….For more details click here
Use code B502 to receive 40% off regular price. Offer expires 3/31/2021
March is the time to nominate a colleague or friend who is making contributions to education!
See below for various awards and nomination due dates.
EECOM Awards of Excellence 2021 / Prix d’excellence 2021
Know someone who deserves recognition? Nominations for the 2021 EECOM Awards of Excellence in Environmental Education and Communication are open! The EECOM Awards of Excellence in Environmental Education and Communication are given out in eight separate categories:
- Organization
- Individual in an Organization
- Educator
- Early Childhood Educator
- K-12 Class, School, or School District
- Post-Secondary Educator
- Post-Secondary Institution, Department, Program, or Club
- Youth Action (Leader of Organization)
Click here for more information. All nominations must be submitted by 11:59 PM Pacific Daylight Time on March 31, 2021.
OTIP Teaching Awards
The Ontario Teachers Insurance Plan (OTIP) and the Ontario Teachers’ Federation (OTF) are proud sponsors of the OTIP Teaching Awards.
For many years, these awards have recognized the excellence of our teachers in publicly funded education. There are three categories of awards: elementary school teacher, secondary school teacher and beginning teacher in the first five years of teaching. A teacher may be nominated by anyone – professional colleagues, students, parents, or the general public.
Nominations are now open for the 2021 awards. The deadline for receipt of nominations is March 31, 2021. Further information is available at www.teachingawards.ca. If you have any questions, please email: OTIPAwards@otffeo.on.ca.
OTF Special Recognition Award 2021
The OTF Special Recognition Award is presented annually to an organization, group or individual in acknowledgement of outstanding contributions to publicly funded education in Ontario, beyond the school board level.
The efforts of the individual, group or organization must have the goal of improving publicly funded education in Ontario. The nominee’s contributions may be at the local or provincial level and must have been sustained over an extended period of time.
Anyone can nominate: parents, students, teachers, administrators, members of the public. Nominations close on March 31, 2021. For more information on the award, the criteria and the nomination form, click on Special Recognition.
Ontario Nature Conservation Awards
Do you know someone who has made a meaningful contribution to protecting nature in Ontario? The Ontario Nature Conservation Awards recognize excellence by honouring individuals, groups, government agencies and corporations for protecting nature in Ontario. Award recipients will be announced at the 90th Annual General Meeting and featured in the fall issue of ON Nature magazine. Let’s celebrate and honour those who act for nature in Ontario!
Read the Conservation Awards flyer or visit our awards webpage for details and submit your nominations by March 26th, 2021.
Happy Retirement to Bill Elgie!
Thank you Bill for all the years of leadership you provided at the Norval Outdoor School. The engaging workshops run by Norval staff each year at COEO conferences have always been a highlight! The Ontario Wilderness Leadership Symposium (OWLS) has been generously hosted by Norval several times, providing a perfect site for this annual event for emerging outdoor professionals.
Thanks for sharing your unwavering positive energy and for providing mentorship to so many outdoor educators throughout the years! May the next chapter hold plenty of adventures and new discoveries. Best wishes for your retirement at the end of the school year!
CANOPA – Canadian Outdoor Professionals Association
Hello from CANOPA! The Canadian Outdoor Professionals’ Association is a new, community-driven, national association for outdoor professionals. As a grassroots volunteer organization, we are looking to better understand the barriers outdoor professionals face across Canada. Our goal is to reduce these barriers, and in so doing, make the industry more equitable, diverse, and sustainable for everyone.
As a first step, we have a survey on the go and are looking to share it widely. Please share it within your community. You can find it HERE, on our Facebook page or website. We are collecting data in four categories: wages & costs incurred by outdoor professionals; education gaps within the field, and suggestions for what we can collectively do to improve the industry. If you think we have missed anything, please let us know. Feel free to reach out to canadian.outdoor.
Get Kids Paddling – Survey Request and Why Paddle? Visual
Want to help get more kids paddling? Click HERE to complete a short survey and help GKP complete the goal of finding out where paddling programs are available across Canada. That’s where you come in! The eventual goal of this project, initiated by Get Kids Paddling, is to connect people, places and stories from different parts of Canada, in order to highlight the value of these types of experiences and promote the future of paddling in Ontario.
Together with Erica Bota from ThinkLink Graphics, Get Kids Paddling has produced a stunning visual to capture a 2 hour discussion where 7 people spoke openly about their paddling experiences, primarily on canoe trips. Opening the link will show you the illustration displaying how Erica captured the conversation. GKP-Why-Paddle-Visual.pdf
An open letter to Ontario Teachers Pension Plan (OTPP)
Will you sign an open letter to the OTPP, requesting that they stop investing our retirement savings in climate disaster? Here is the link to the open letter: https://www.
As you will read, the thrust of the letter is that divestment is needed not just to limit climate change, but also to avoid devaluing its portfolio. Even mainstream fund managers are increasingly recognizing that oil and gas investments are financially risky. Some already acknowledge that much of the world’s fossil fuel infrastructure will become stranded assets as their value drops. So there is now a strong fiscal argument, in addition to a social responsibility argument, for pension funds like the OTPP to unload their holdings in oil and gas companies.
For any teacher-friends who are wanting more information on the topic of making pension funds climate-friendly, two webinars on this topic were recently recorded. You can find them HERE
Finally, the website shiftotpp.ca has more information on the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan’s approach to climate change. The group recently released a video of young people from across Ontario calling for the OTPP to divest from climate failure, and thereby help to ensure a sustainable planet for theirs and future generations. Watch the video HERE.
Call for resources from Outdoor Council of Canada (OCC)
As teaching outside is gaining in popularity across the country, we want to be there to share best practices and support teachers in going outdoors. Want to give us a hand? We are building a database of professional development workshops enabling teachers to bring students outside. If you know of any, please contact us. If you have relevant news or scientific articles, don’t hesitate sending them our way also.
Contact: franz.plangger@outdoorcouncil.ca
Science Education and Local Communities
We would like to invite you to participate in a research project exploring Ontario educators’ perspectives and experiences integrating local school-community resources with your science teaching or school planning.
The online survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete, depending on your responses. Your survey participation does not require prior experience collaborating with local school communities.
Your contribution is greatly valued because it will help us better understand how to improve and support science teaching and learning using the local school community.
All your survey responses will remain confidential and anonymous. At the end of the survey you will have the option to enter a draw for a Chapters Indigo gift card. Click on the link below to enter the survey:
Or copy the following URL in your browser:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/scienceedlocal
If you have any questions regarding the survey, please contact Xavier Fazio (xfazio@brocku.ca)
Thank you for your participation!
OEE P.D. OPPORTUNITIES
Adventureworks! Associates Inc.
LEAP 2021 Workshop Series:
Promoting Positive Play During a Pandemic
with Brent Evans, Upper Canada College
March 10, 2021 – online
Running Your Challenge Course in the Age of COVID
with Kathy Haras, Adventureworks Associates, Inc.
April 16, 2021
Team Building Activities That Work – Physically Distant Version
with Shawn Stetson and Jodie Fluit, Adventureworks Associates, Inc.
May 1, 2021 at Canterbury Hills, Ancaster
NOLS Risk Management Training (virtual)
MHO Adventures – NEW! 42-day Guide Development and Leadership Course
Project WILD, Canadian Wildlife Federation
As part of each workshop you will receive hands-on instruction from an experienced environmental educator, as well as your own copy of the Project WILD and/or Below Zero activity guides filled with more than 100 lesson plans, activities and games!
Virtual Project WILD Workshop (Ontario)
- Hosted by: CWF
- Dates: March 30 & 31, 2021
- Times: 6:00 – 9:00 pm ET
- Register HERE
Outdoor Learning Webinars, hosted by LSF:
- A series of webinars designed specifically for and by secondary teachers
- Tips for getting outside even in cold winter months!
- Connecting primary and middle school math curriculum to the outdoors
Check out the recorded webinar sessions for each grade group:
- Kindergarten/Early Years: Webinar recording | Webinar slides
- Grades K-6: Webinar recording | Webinar slides
- Grades 4-10: Webinar recording | Webinar slides
Webinars from Natural Curiosity:
Recordings for an earlier 4-part series are now available through a “pay-what-you-can” model on the University of Toronto Press website!
Part 1: Educator Strategies for Getting and Staying Outside
Part 2: A COVID-look at the Indigenous Lens on Natural Curiosity
Part 3: Grounding Virtual Learning in the Land and Relationship.
Part 4: Using School Grounds Effectively to Enrich Learning.
NAAEE 2020 Annual Conference and Research Symposium – Inspiring Change
The focus of the 2020 NAAEE Conference and Research Symposium was positive change. Virtual workshops explored the ways in which environmental education informs and inspires, and how it builds human capacity, influences attitudes, and galvanizes actions to create healthier communities and a healthier environment for all.
Recordings of almost all sessions are available for on-demand viewing.
We don’t want cost to be a barrier, especially in these unprecedented times when many in our field have been hard hit by the Coronavirus pandemic. Access to recordings is available at reduced rates.
More information can be found on the event website: https://naaee.org/conference
UPCOMING CONFERENCES
EECOM National Conference
Early Bird registration is now open for EECOM 2021, Canada’s largest annual national environmental education conference! For the first time ever, EECOM 2021 will be taking place exclusively online, running April 21-24, 2021 and welcomes educators, grades 11, 12, and post-secondary students, classrooms, community organizations, and parents.
The conference kicks off with a Research Symposium featuring some of the leading researchers and educators from Canada and around the world on April 21, followed by three days of dynamic sessions and workshops focusing on four themes: City as Classroom, Indigenous Education, EcoJustice Education, and Water Education.
We’ll also be bringing you three inspiring keynote addresses: a powerful and free public Earth Day kick-off by youth activist Larissa Crawford; a special co-presentation from Indigenous artists Christi Belcourt and Isaac Murdoch; and a deep-dive into climate justice with Julian Agyeman.
In addition to over 100 presenters across 70+ sessions, attendees will experience lively and unique opportunities to safely socialize with other passionate members of the EECOM community through a variety of “Nuit Verte” social events. From a vegan cooking class to a guided organic beer-tasting, this is one conference you won’t want to miss!
The best part? There’s no travel required, so you can learn and build your network while decreasing your environmental impact. Register today
Learn more, view the schedule and speakers, and register your spot now at ecoschools.ca/eecom.
Ontario Wilderness Leadership Symposium (OWLS)
Save the date for a virtual version of OWLS 2021, taking place April 30th and May 1st, 2021. More information to come in the April e-newsletter!
Youth Climate Action Summit
May 3rd and 4th, 2021, The Aquatarium at Tall Ships Landing, Brockville, Ontario.
Are you a high school educator in Eastern Ontario? Consider registering a team of 4 or 5 students to participate in the first ever Youth Climate Action Summit held in Canada. Spaces are limited – maximum of 20 teams. There is no cost for registration. Teams have to pay their own cost of transportation and accommodation (if needed). Visit the website to find out more details here.
OSEE – EcoLinks 2021
Our conference is open to everyone! Our content is curated for all formal & non-formal educators across all subjects, students, and anyone with a stake in environmental education. This year is we will be hosting our conference virtually over 2 days on May 7 & 8th.
Conference Offerings:
- A diversity of workshops (approx 8-14 unique experiences across around 6 sessions )
- Time for networking, socializing and meeting with certain presenters informally in “tea rooms”
- Optional movement and outdoor activities away from the screen
- *Recordings of certain workshops (where we’ve been given consent by presenters)
We want to make our conference as accessible as possible this year, and we invite folks to pay what you are able to at this time, or nothing at all.
For more information, please visit: EcoLinks Conference – Ontario Society for Environmental Education (osee.ca)
Canadian Outdoor Summit
September 29 – October 2, 2021, Virtual and Regional events across Canada
This inaugural event is about bringing people together to celebrate contributions and tackle some key structural challenges affecting all outdoor programs from coast to coast to coast. This national gathering is aimed at celebrating our contribution to Canadian society and solving key challenges faced by outdoor programs. This project is a collective effort of the outdoor sector, therefore your perspective and contribution offers tremendous value. More information can be found on the event website: http://canadianoutdoorsummit.com/ and social media channels. Please follow and share: Instagram, Facebook, Canadian Outdoor Summit Promotional Video
JOB POSTINGS
Multiple Positions, Outward Bound Canada
Forest School Educator, The P.I.N.E Project
The Forest School Educator will be a core component of our forest school staff. Working with our innovative approach to nature education, this role provides the opportunity to creatively deliver our program curriculum on a daily basis, and relate it back to the Ontario curriculum. Naturalist knowledge, experience working with children and working in the outdoors are key elements of the role. In addition, a teaching certificate is required for this position. Forest school educators work to embody respect, gratitude, awareness, life-long learning, and resilience, in alignment with our core values.
To view the posting CLICK HERE
Road Less Travelled Academy (RLTA) – Full Time Outdoor Educator
The Road Less Travelled Academy (RLTA) is a not for profit, charitable educational organization that has been in operation since 2017. A nature-based elementary school is seeking two outdoor educators for full-time positions to join our small but growing team to work with children ages 4-8. We do currently have two indoor classrooms, which are Yomes (yurt/eco-domes) heated with wood stoves for the colder months. The school campus is located on a working farm setting and there is ample opportunity for adventuring through farm, forest, and fields with the students. Nature is our classroom. Our integrated curriculum and activities focus on real-world themes (for example, food/animal systems, health & wellness, social justice & servant leadership).
Click to see the full job posting HERE
OLE Instructor and OLE Support, Pine River Institute
Pine River Institute is an innovative co-ed residential treatment program for teens struggling with addictive behaviours. We are a family-centered program comprised of 4 phases: Wilderness (Outdoor Leadership Experience), Residential, Transition, and Aftercare. Every student, upon entering the program, spends 8 or more weeks in Huntsville before moving to the residence. Day-to-day activities in wilderness include canoeing, hiking, snowshoeing, group initiatives, group and individual therapy, and journaling. Youths live and work in nature in groups of up to eight, with three staff.
Our campus is situated on 200 acres of spectacular Niagara Escarpment land near Shelburne, Ontario. The program here includes outdoor education, individual, group, and family therapy, expressive arts, athletics, and life skills, as well as the more traditional academic offerings.
We are currently seeking experienced Wilderness Field Instructors to help us deliver this unique program, primarily in Huntsville or Algonquin Park and also at the Shelburne campus.
Qualifications
We are looking for individuals with the qualifications and related experience in Wilderness field work. This individual will demonstrate patience, integrity, commitment, and an ability to maintain clear boundaries, and a sense of humour.
To view the postings, click the links below.
OLE Support posting new 200131JR
ONTARIO CAMPS ASSOCIATION – JOB BOARD
The OCA Job Board is always an excellent place to find job postings in the field of outdoor education. Check out their website, as many full-time positions at outdoor centres and camps are now being advertised. Are you a natural team leader and a creative problem-solver? Do you enjoy giving back to the community and inspiring others to do good? Katimavik is looking for open-minded, resourceful individuals to lead youth development projects. This challenging and rewarding position provides leadership for up to 11 youth at a time, guiding them through a six-month experience of volunteerism, learning, discovery, growth, and accountability. The Project Leader will reside in-house with the group.
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Twitter https://twitter.com/COEOoutdoors @COEOoutdoors
ABOUT THIS ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER
For consistency, the COEO electronic newsletter is now published on the first of each month. Anyone having an item of interest to outdoor & experiential educators and desiring publication in this newsletter needs to submit it to newsletter@coeo.org at least two days before the publication date.
The newsletter is generally organized according to the following headings: COEO News, Other OEE & Related News, P.D. Opportunities, Opportunities for Students, Resources, Job Postings. If your organization wishes to post information (e.g., notice of upcoming events, etc), it needs to be an organizational member of COEO.
If you would like to be removed from COEO’s eNewsletter mailing list, please send an email to newsletter@coeo.org and ask to be unsubscribed.