Day 2:

The next day

SEPN

A small contingent of Canadians show up for the first session on a study looking at all sustainable policies in each of the 389 school boards across Canada, to see the relationship between practice and policy and policy to practice.  

I shared my thoughts, "As a teacher, I enjoy working on projects that change our school into a more sustainable school, however I would much rather use that time reflecting with the students creating transformative learning experiences.  In fact, we wouldn't even need to be teaching sustainbility if every aspect of the the school operated in a sustainable way."  In otherwords, it doesn't really matter what the educational piece is as long as the students are doing it.  Two comments followed with the need to educate, and then like a storm that came from no where across the prairies of Saskatchewan, Karen McIver, recipient of an 2014 EECOM award for EE said, "doing is to know".   

So I couldn't help myself, "In fact if we all lived in sustainable healthy communities we wouldn't need schools" of which a long time friend from parks said, "Careful Carter you might be out of a job", and I felt quite proud to say, "I would give up my job to be healthy and living in a sustainable community.  In fact, would we really need schools if every community was sustainable and healthy?" 
I imagine that once we are living sustainably there will always be projects to do as the earth continues to change.  

The above slide is the time teachers in the VSB, spend of EE initiatives.  What was really exciting to hear is that the Vancouver School Board is drafting a policy that reimburses  any staff that ride their bicycle for work.

Drew Lanham
"Words Matter"
"Magnify not minimize"
"Breathing is the connection between the heart and head"
"EE is the about helping others love the earth for the well being of all life on earth"
"It's all about love.  Head.  Voice.  Heart."
"In order to care for something, you must be able to see a part of yourself in it"

Our Attunement to the Natural World through our Ecological Identity
Alan Warner

I, It, We, ITS Model
"The strongest predictors of environmental sensitivity, action and world views in adults is (time spent in nature as a child with a caring adult"