RRU ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION PROGRAM NEWS

November 2010The 2010 summer residency recedes into a wonderful memory and we move forward into the autumn. The mornings in Victoria are getting cooler, and foggier, and I’ve changed my summer bicycle socks to my wool winter ones, saving my toes from being cold all day.

More MEEC alumni moving towards doctoral programs

Bruce Whyte (MA2005 cohort) writes “I’ve made good progress toward making my doctoral studies a reality. Leeds [Metropolitan] has offered me a seat and I am fairly confident of getting the Pacific Leaders support...I will be wrestling with issues of authenticity and identity in cultural tourism. I expect to have a strong First Nations flavour (for instance the Butchart’s-Aboriginal/Tourism BC project I mentioned), but am now leaning toward a broader perspective as I’m not personally aboriginal (oatmeal savage perhaps). As mentioned I will be working with [Dr.] Mike Robinson of Leeds Met...”

Working with Sierra Club of BC...

Meg Banavage (2010 cohort) is now working for/with Nadine LeFort (MA2006 cohort) at Sierra Club of BC translating English language learning resources into French and delivering programs to school kids in coastal BC.

City of Red DeerAB gains Nathalie...

Natalie Viau (MA 2004 cohort) wrote in September “I worked myself into a new position here at the City of Red Deer; from

environmental programs specialist to performance reporting coordinator.

I was the project lead on our lead water service line program this past summer. We were trying to identify homes that would still have lead water service line and to test their water for lead content. It has been challenging trying to find innovative ways to get the residents to participate in the identification process. We have had a 25% response rate which I believe is quite good considering this is a voluntary program. The new position started last week and my focus has now shifted to benchmarking compliance reporting and asset management in the water section. I am looking forward to these new challenges...”

As featured in The BermudianSangita Iyer (2010 cohort) was recently featured in an online magazine story from her adopted home island of Bermuda. “Formerly a reporter and anchor for ZBM news, Iyer

founded the Bermuda Environmental Alliance in a move to instill environmental appreciation in the hearts and minds of Bermuda’s youth by directly addressing students in schools all over the island.”

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Photos courtesy of Peter Norman MEEC alumni on Google Maps

She has also enlisted the aid of a top soccer (football) player in Bermuda who will be working with her to bring the message of care and concern for the environment and for each other to the youth of the island.

Sangita also wrote “I wanted to share with you that my article on Turtle conservation project which was posted on my charity's website blog [http://www.bermuda-bea.org/bea-blog/110-bermuda-turtle-project-reaches-milestone.html] has been picked up by Bermuda's local daily - The Royal Gazette [http://www.royalgazette.com/rg/Article/article.jsp?articleId=7da8f2b3003000e&sectionId=80{ and has been published in today's Lifestyle section!

MEEC at NAAEE

The 2010 annual meeting of the North American Association for Environmental Education was held this year in BuffaloNY. Joining Rick at the conference was Lilith Wyatt and Audrey Aamodt (both in the 2008 cohort)Eli Baker (2010 cohort),and Peta White (associate faculty member). The meeting was full of interesting sessions and opportunities for us to learn from our colleagues and other practitioners. Rick delivered a paper and had a roundtable discussionAudrey had a fabulous poster session based on her extraordinary thesis, and Peta seemed to be everywhere, delivering two sessions on her own, and sitting on a panel for a third session.

Lilith and Audrey also had the honour of being Stapp Student Scholars. Lilith wrote ““The Stapp Fund was established in 2001 in honor of NAAEE international leader Dr. Bill Stapp (1930-2001) to help students from around the world attend NAAEE’s annual conference.” And Lilith was following up on her trip to Buffalo with a trip to Boulder CO to participate in the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education conference as part of her on-going work at the Office of Sustainability at McGill University.

It was also totally wonderful to see our dear friend, mentor and past MEEC associate faculty member Dr. Bill Hammond and his wife Rosemary at the conference. Both looked

great and were in wonderful form. Bill also delivered a engaging session which included “A multi-media look at the world’s largest solar powered “green”community and its public schools which are mainstreaming EE to build on “RACE to the TOP” funding. We add three elements—Environment Economics and Culture—to the well-funded STEMProgram (STEM/E2C).”

Another much too brief treat was seeing Dr. Elin Kelsey at the conference. She was doing an authors tour of Toronto and her newest bookNot your typical book about the environment was featured in an NAAEE “authors corner” at the conference. One reviewer wrote: “This title is a rather bold claim but in point of fact it's true: this upbeat, creative, wide-reaching exploration is indeed a standout in a genre composed primarily of lamentations for the polar bear.” Sadly her plane back to California was cancelled and she was not able to stay for the authors corner so Rick offered to take her place. However he was very clear that he was not at all able fill her ‘chair’ rather than her shoes. but did his best to generate enthusiasm for this the newest publication in Elin’s impressive stable of books. One thing that she was able to do before she left, though was to sign a bunch of stickers so that anyone who bought a copy of her book had her signature ‘stuck’ inside!

I would encourage MEEC students to try to attend these professional meetings of educators and communicators and to apply to the NAAEE for conference registration support through the Staff Fellows program. The conference next year will be in Raleigh-DurhamNorth Carolina from 12-15 October 2011.

“Being Green is a Part of Being Blue”

Shawna McKinley (MA2004 cohort)still involved in green tourism and conventions,.was part of the international Intel in September. “I'm hanging out here this week: http://www.intel.com/idf/#. Scroll down to Attendee Resources and "Being Green is a Part of Being Blue" to see what we've been up to. More info

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at http://www.intel.com/idf/green/ as well :) Hope you're doing well!

“I survived my first (1/2) week of my PhD studies...”

Karen Stevenson (MA, 2007 cohort) doing her PhD at the University of Alberta wrote in mid September “I hope all is well with you!  I am happy to say that I survived my first (1/2) week of my PhD studies not without anxiety and the realization that there is a lot of work ahead but it is all very exciting.  I have decided to take yet anotherResearch Methodology course but this one is focussed only on qualitative research.  As well the course requires an applied component (like the Bateman project) and so far it looks like I will be doing some research in the Office of Sustainability at the UofA.  I am also really fortunate to have an opportunity to do a video-conference class with Mike Hogue [her MA thesis advisor] on Religion and Science. I couldn’t get approval from the UofA to apply this to my degree (yet anyway) but having a chance to participate in one of Mike’s courses is great.  He has a new book coming out The Promise of Religious Naturalism which I think you may be interested in.

I also wanted to let you know that I will be presenting at the AASHE [Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education] Conference in October.  I will be presenting some of the research I did at NAIT on Education for Sustainability call Bringing “Sustainability Across the Curriculum” Home: Integrating SoTL with Sustainability: it’s a mouthful and hopefully I have something useful to say!”

A new house in Victoria

Nick Stanger (MA, 2005 cohort) and Joy Beauchamp (MA ,2006 cohort) have just bought a cute house in Victoria. They do clean up after a shave and shampoo! Nick is beginning his PhD studies at the University of Victoria and Joy continues to work on energy conservation in the BC Ministry of Energy and Mines.

A wedding in Alberta!

Lori Gray (MA2008 cohort) was married on July 24th,and wrote “we had an incredibly perfect day and were blessed by Mother Nature! “ What a beautiful photo!

Authoring a children’s book and continuing the work with orphans in China...

Renay Eng-Fisher (MA, 2004 cohort)wrote “I have co-written an environmental children's book based in part on my MA thesis and was wondering if you could let me know where I might look for funding and sponsorship.  I have had 13 artists across Canada write a song specific to the story and the environment.  The Red Deer Synphony orchestra has agreed to be part of the Project when we roll out a book and cd release concert. 

... My co-authors have been a University Prof and an elementary school teacher. We have

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have had the book edited 6 timesby a layperson for anthropomorphizing the charactersbut not over the topand a science editor for factual information.

My China project is still on-going.  We have decided to move into the mountains of the Guangdong province and are working with an NGO called the HANDA Association who works with the 156 leprosy colonies in that area.  This association is lead by 3 very committed doctors who work with the WHO to eradicate leprosy from the colonies.  Our involvement is education - school studies and environmental initiatives.  The children of leprosy parents and grandparents are ostracized by mainstream communities in China many do not receive a proper education.  A student teacher comes in once a year for 6 weeks and then the children are then left to seek out ways to further their education .  If they have relatives in other villages in China those relatives may agree to have them live with them.  We are currently working with one leprosy colony to bring in a sponsored teacher and convert a house using solar energy for heat and light: it is a slow process though.... It has been 3 1/2 years since my first sojourn into that country and I can now see a little glimmer that gives me hope that the project will be sustainable.”

To contact Renay about her book project or about her work in China email fisheng1@telus.net

Life after a Master's degree, our new toy and website

Garry Cotter (MA2006 cohort) writes “Life after the Master's thesis has been great doing well at the [North Vancouver] Outdoor School my daughter (now 18) just came back from 2 weeks of volunteering doing sea turtle conservation work and 10 weeks traveling by herself in Costa Rica and Panama.

We have just created a new website and thought you might want to check it out. Click on the link below or paste the URL into your browser: http://c-otter.ca Take a look and let us know what you think.”

“It excites me to think that much of the work we need to do on the  outside can be begun on the inside.”

Alicia Taylor (MA2007 cohort) wrote as summer was beginning “I hope this finds you well. It was lovely to see you at the  convocation even if it was for a brief moment. I am heading off to a course at the Omega Institute and UMASS (University of Massachusetts) on Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction to continue my journey towards learning more about mindfulness and how it can potentially help us to heal our planet. Hopefully one day I will get to teach it in schools!

AnywaysI came across this article I thought you mind be interested... It draws on systems theories and proposes that as we embrace the notion that we are 'holons' that is a part of a whole and a whole with parts and as we conduct work that heals or restores balance in our 'selves' it in turn works to heal that which we are a part of the earth. It excites me to

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think that much of the work we need to do on the outside can be begun on the inside.”

Advancing in the field, from Brandon, Manitoba

Mike Klassen (MA, 2007 cohort) wrote “ I just wanted to also re-state how thankful I am for our conversation several years ago. I knew my life and world views were changing already at that point but the people you have brought into my life have helped shape me as a teacher, Dad, Husband, community member, friend etc....I feel more confident in my beliefs and have "research" to back up my opinions. I feel like a better person for being part of Royal Roads and the MAEEC program.”

And then recentlyI received this rich email from Mike.

“I enjoyed your article in the recent Green Teacher magazine. Its always exciting to ready a magazine and see someone you know as a contributor. And now others might be excited when they see my name in a few smaller publications. In MayI was asked to be a consultant and contributor for the Manitoba Teachers' Society annual handbook themedEnvironmental Education. My thesis highlights and findings were summarized along with several suggestions for resources, and "how to" get kids outside more often in an educational setting to reconnect to nature (among other things). I've also been asked to contribute to Connections magazine, an Alberta Teachers' Association publication affiliated with the GEOEC conference and committee for their next issue. I'm very excited about this because the GEOEC community was one of my starting points in becoming more environmentally aware when I lived in Calgary. I've also been doing some volunteer work as a Community Ambassador with Robert Bateman's Get To Know online program that we reviewed in your course a few years back. I contributed to an article in the Manitoba Teachers' magazine to help promote the Get To Know program, contests, and resources and will be promoting it at a Social Justice conference in Winnipeg this November. And

just todayI found out that I was accepted as a presenter for the Manitoba Education Research Network's conference on Education for Sustainability!! I will be presenting my thesis and how it relates to ESD in Manitoba. Small potatoes in the grand scheme of things but I'm excited by this all and look forward to doing more in the near future.

I hope all is well. Cheers!!

Hanging out with them chickens...

Rebecca World (MA, 2007 cohort) wrote “How are things with you now that yet another summer is over? Well, I hope!

It looks like Chris and I are heading to Whitehorse! Whether or not I get the job I am interviewing for next week (Climate Change Outreach Coordinator with the Yukon Government)we will head up and try to make a go of it! ...

P.S. I've attached a picture of myself on my recent WWOOFing [World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms] adventures. We met a lot of chickens!

Volunteering in Malawi

Sarah Melvin Morrison (Certificate, 2006 cohort) recently wrote: “This fall I spent 4 months in Malawi volunteering at a small orphans’ school. It was the most rewarding

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experience of my entire life. I have attached a picture of me with a group of my sweet little students – the majority of whom are orphans and many of whom are, so unfortunately, infected with HIV. This experience gave me a whole new perspective on education and development and really opened my eyes to how fortunate we are to have access to public education. Despite all of its shortcomings and our need for curricular reform, our educational systems in Canada remain a head and shoulders above most of the world.”

Julie and Johan canoed into their wedding and rode away on bicycles

The 2004 cohort was out in force to celebrate the wedding of their cohort-mates, Julie Clark (MA) and Johan Stroman (MA), on the long weekend in September in a totally beautiful location on the BC Sunshine Coast. Thanks to the inside influence of Lisa Vitols (MA), the wedding was conducted at the Girl Guides Camp Olave. Not only was the setting on the ocean spectacular, the wedding couple radiant, friends and family (and MEEC program head) pretty pleased too!, the morning after the wedding as many of us went down to the beach to enjoy the sunshine, a fabulous Gray whale was cruising along the shoreline for all to see.

Also at the wedding were Fred Sheppard (MA) and his family, travelling all the way from world-famous Rocky Harbour Newfoundland, Peggy Burfield (from not quite as famous

Parksville BC), Victoria Smith (MA), Lisa Vitols (MA), Patrick Robertson (MA) and Kerri Klein (2010 cohort) (from infamous Vancouver) also were there. And Dr. Elin Kelsey, along with Andy, Kip and Esme came up from Monterey CA and were also there.

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June 2010 convocation

For the record, the following were awarded degrees at the summer convocation. If you don’t see yourself on the alumni google map, make sure you send me your non-RRU email address and an e-version of your thesis (for the MA students) and I’ll put you on the map!

CERTIFICATEDeanna Karen RobertsManon Mariee TremblayJessica Lynn Michelle Young

DIPLOMALaura Yates

MASTER OF ARTSHoward John CappadociaRebecca Dawn HennKaren Wing-See HsuDorothy Marie KelkerMichael Jonathan KlassenSharman Reinhold LearieEmily Joy LeLacheurLaurie Jean ParkerAlison Dawn PerrinNicolette RicherSharon Marie RyanShelley Dawn SerebrinMatthias Josef StarznerRebecca AnnE World

October 2010 Convocation

In years past, the fall convocation was held in November and more often than not in the pouring rain and blowing wind under a large tent set up in the lower parking lot below the Castle. This year, the University decided to try something different and rented the Royal Theatre in downtown Victoria for the fall event.

Receiving their degrees were:

CERTIFICATESarah Melvin

DIPLOMAGitanjali GhoshalMichelle Hamilton

MASTER OF ARTSAudrey AamodtCarly ArmstrongTiffany BollhornLori GrayAndrew HolownychDonna McAdamPaul PageJennifer PaulTrevor PendergastTeresa RowleyDeanne Tnbull LoverockMonique van den BoomenAnn WaltersAndrew Young

Andrew Young, Jenn Paul, Rick Kool, Deanne Loverock, Teresa Rowley, Ann Walters, Monique van den Boomen and Audrey Aamodt at the Fall 2010 convocation

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