Saturday, Oct 18, 2014 (9:00am to 12:30pm)
St-Laurent Academy School (641 Sladen Ave., Ottawa)
Grades 6-18
Biodiversity
affects us all. A global crisis is
taking place now. Scientists predict that
we may lose half of all species on the planet by the end of this century.
This
October 2014, educators from St-Laurent Academy, Notre Dame Catholic School,
St. Patrick High School, and Devonshire Public School will partner together to
develop a training program to accredit youth to become biodiversity leaders in
their communities. This will include
conservation projects, outdoor classrooms, organic gardening, promoting locally
sourced food, political action (becoming politically literate) etc.
We
will begin with an introduction to the diversity of life that can exist in an
urban setting as seen through our community-based wetland restoration project
led by St-Laurent Academy Elementary and Junior High students. Students have
now identified over 1400 species here. A parallel language arts program
at Devonshire Public School uses a web of local connections to build a template
for environmental stewardship based on partnerships between local farmers,
grocery store managers, a local restaurant, politicians, and community
associations. Youth participants will walk away with a blue print for building
both community-focused science and issues-based literacy programs designed to
engage them as true defenders of their biological heritage. A final piece will
connect these local elements to the United Nations Convention on Biological
Diversity and its international mandate to highlight global environmental
activism designed to change the way people think and act.
Questions?
Contact
Mike Leveille at lmleveille@rogers.com
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