Safely Connecting Students with the Outdoors

CBE Teacher PD, Monday Oct 16, 2017

Jeremy Mackenzie, Public Saftey Specialist Team Leader, Kananaskis Country

When a rescue team is in the air, this is how you communicate with them

Canadian Rockies Outdoor Centre

Water & Climate Careers: Inside Education

Careers in the Environment

http://www.eco.ca/

"Climate change is the most commonly cited trend affecting the water quality job market and skills requirements"

61% increase in water related jobs since 2012
Did you know video on careers and jobs
Essential Skills of the Environmental Sector

• analyzing & interpreting data
• working with Stakeholders (collaboration)
• public speaking
• field work

Science
Precipitation & Temperature are the most significant abiotic limiting factors on Water Quality

Resources
"Voices of the boreal"

Water 101

Jay White
Aquality Environmental Consulting Ltd.
0.389% of the worlds water is on the surface
http://www.aquality.ca/

Polaris Water Project
Canadaians consume more litres/day/person because we don't pay for it

Mean Annual Natural River Discharge in comparison with human population
Canadian National Average 274 litres/day (2009)  Environment Canada

Alberta Water Allocation
surface vs ground
sand key diagram
irrigate 625,000 = 20% of prov. gross agr. prod.
70% of southern wetlands are lost
Most of the water in our rivers today are from ground water

20% of alberta is wetlands and are only wet for 2weeks to 2 months of the year, most are frozen in the north and climate change is affecting them, they are the kidneys.
5% of world, 14% of canada, 20% of Alberta
peatland dries releases carbon

Water Quality Issues

Pharmaceuticals( Caffeine, cotinene (metabolic, carbomenizene) drastically affecting aquatic life

point source solutions is good, storm water runoff (non-point sources)

Pesticides

Floods 

Calgary 2013  6.4 Billion 2nd largest insurance payout

Drought

Invasive Species

Whirling Desease started in Johnson Lake 

http://aep.alberta.ca/fish-wildlife/wildlife-diseases/whirling-disease/default.aspx

Blue Green Algae cyanobacteria blooms animals die

Round Table

Learning Clicks
www.earningclicks.alberta.ca

Cows and Fish 

Riparian Restoration and specie identification

NAIT
Water and Wastewater Technician Certificate: 1 year program

River Keepers

Hans at the North Saskatchewan River - Edmonton
Watermark, public space online to share how stories connect people with water. Trying to close the gap between the disconnect of science and spiritual connection between water and people.

Alley Kat Brewery

10L of water for 1L of beer. , the best heard of is a brewery that claims 2.38L for every 1L of beer.

Day 2:  Water & Climate Alberta Innovates

http://albertainnovates.ca/
Vicki.Lightbrown@albertainnovates.ca

Alberta is unique in that all components of water issues are all within 1 jurisdiction.
There is still a lot that we don't know about water.

UofA, Brian Caldwell
Does fire affect water?
https://uwaterloo.ca/stories/fort-mcmurrays-water-supply-contaminated-wildfire

www.swimmersitch.ca
Need entrepreneurs to develop new water technologies & services
Saltworks
Membranes
Zero liquid discharge
Novel evaporators
High temperature treatment

Oilsands are recycling 95% of the water

http://www.frackingfact.com/
A company is taking the water that was going to be dumped, treating it and reselling it.
An app for irrigators to start/stop irrigation moisture sensors in the field
Gray water & Black water systems
Watewater Resource Recovery (St. Albert) installed in spring (education centre
Titanium Corporation (mineral recovery)

http://www.titaniumcorporation.com/s/Home.asp

University of Regina, Climate and water
Tree rings
Water flow data over time
http://www.parc.ca/urtreelab/presentations.htm

University Of Alberta

Gold Bar Waste Treatment Plant

I thought they called this "Chit" which is the 1st step at the plant removing the solid matter (things that should go down the toilet, wet naps, feminine products, plastic gloves, dental floss, hair).

Alberta Climate Connect: A place to Learn, connect, and accelerate climate action in Alberta.

George Marshall

Sept 27, 2017 @ Civic Centre, Calgary Alberta

#YYCtalkingclimate

http://climateoutreach.org/

http://climateoutreach.org/climatevisuals/

"I wouldn't do it"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhahJVkehUc

Alberta's Climate Leadership Plan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OE0Xwn03Bc

COMMUNICATION
Oilsands Workers that care about living sustainably
http://www.ironandearth.org/


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTNmLt7QX8E


Thatcher's speech on Climate Change
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fys5Z63xCvA
Messages should avoid aggravating, builds support, maintains the base

https://ecoamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/eA-lets-talk-climate.pdf

For the Love it:  a bingo square of reasons why
Don't use cost, opportunity, negativity,

Fairness Work, #1 for somewhat concerned

How would an Albertan narrative about Climate Change and renewables sound?
Hi my name is, Bob, I deeply care about living sustainably, but I struggle everyday trying to serve my community by making the most amount of change possible, I find everyday challenging trying to live responsibility.  I own a car, heat my home with gas, and I fly on planes to visit ecolodges around the world learning about how our global community finds success living sustainably, conserving nature for all generations.  Join us as we all continue to try to make a difference.
Then test them.

http://gov.wales/docs/dsjlg/publications/140206-sus-dev-narratives.pdf

People are motivated by the shared vales and identity and the joy of belonging.  Belgium sings a song about climate change
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGgBtHoIO4g

Students Reading to Students In Nature

So I took the list of books recommended by teachers at a session I led for the "Design the Shift" professional development for Calgary Board of Teachers (previous post), and gave the list to an amazing librarian that not only ordered these books but several others that she thought would be worthwhile reading.  I read each one with my 10yr old son and he physically ordered them from most favourite to least favourite.  "Windows" and "Thunderstorm" are good books but because of their destructive truths were difficult to accept.  Much like the question when are students ready? As my Literature professor posed with the book "Hiroshima No Pika"   Here it is starting with his favourite Westlandia;

Then I ranked them, also starting with Westlandia (It's hard not to love the book that you observed your son so engaged with), however I would change Flotsam as my #2.

There are still a couple from the original list that I haven't read yet (bolded),

1.   The giving Tree, by  Shel Silverstein
2.   A Quiet Place, by Douglas Wood
3.   The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery 
4.   If, by Sarah Perry  
5.   Matt Land, by Hazel Hutchins and Gail Herbert 
6.   Map of my Heart, by John Porcellino 
7.   How to be an Explorer of the world, by Keri Smith  
8.   Queen of the Falls, by Chris Van Allsburg  
9.   Voices in the Park, by Anthony Browne  
10.   Just a Dream, by Chris Van Allsburg
11.   Ben's Dream, by Chris Van Allsburg

I was also given "The Black Book of colors,"  by Menena Cottin & Rosana Faria, and I would rank it in the top ten.

So now what?  I am going to read "The Giving Tree" to our grade 10 OES students in Fish Creek Provincial Park in a couple of weeks, followed by our OES students selecting a book of their choice, from the following list, to read to small groups of Grade 5 students in Fish Creek Park as an opportunity to lead some nature experiential learning activities.

The mysteries of Harris Burdock, Blackout, Ten Birds, Flotsam, Westlandia, The Black Book of Colors, and The diary of a spider.

I'll share the students reflections on their storytelling experiences, with the OES students reflecting on  the following questions:
      What did you enjoy about the story?
       Was anything difficult about reading this story?

       How did you know if the students were engaged in the story?  

       What comments did the students make after/during the story?

I'll be posting this on our http://oescentennial.blogspot.ca/ blog.