Teaching in a Climate Crisis

Our final episode begins with a practical conversation with TDSB outdoor teacher Patrick Murtaugh as he shares his insights on taking learning outdoors, and teaching about climate change. We then enter into an engaging discussion on climate change education and environmental activism, with 3 Toronto high school student leaders; Evan, Carolyn & Bilal, from Toronto Youth Environmental Council (TYEC). Closing thoughts from Jackson.Produced & Hosted by Jackson FowlowTYEC website: https://tyecinfo.editorx.io/homeMentioned within the episode:Project Neutral: https://app.projectneutral.org/

Join us for an inspiring and insightful discussion about how it's never been more important to be hopeful. National and International leading experts on the topic Ellen Field & Elin Kelsey, who yes also happen to be friends, illuminate the current state of affairs in a way you may not be expecting...Lot's of good fuel in here to keep our tanks running in the right direction.Hosted & produced by Jackson Fowlow.Elin's bio: https://www.elinkelsey.org/Ellen's bio: https://www.lakeheadu.ca/users/F/efield/node/52593Helpful Article by Ellen: https://www.edcan.ca/articles/climate-change-education-canada/Mentioned within the episode:The Existential Toolkit: https://www.existentialtoolkit.com/Let's keep hope alive, and let the solutions thrive!

Dr. Hilary Inwood, who initially helped to birth the idea for this podcast series, and her colleague Dr. Patrick Howard share their expert insights into what Teacher Education programs across the country are doing to help. We discuss what's working, what's exciting, and where things may be heading next. This episode was Hosted & Produced by Jackson FowlowHilary's bio: http://hilaryinwood.ca/Patrick's bio: http://www.patrickhoward.ca/profile.phpMentioned in the episode:Living Schools book here: https://www.eswb-press.org/publications.htmland here: https://www.livingschools.world/

The TDSB originated the EcoSchools Program in 2002, and has engaged thousands of teachers and students and hundreds of its schools in the program since its inception. This segment would explore the successes and challenges of the program with two guest speakers- Richard Christie and Pam Miller.Guest Speaker Bios:Richard Christie is the Toronto District School Board’s Senior Manager of Sustainability. He currently oversees an interdisciplinary team of educators and technical staff in the Board’s Sustainability Office. In his previous role as Program Coordinator of Ecological Literacy and Sustainable Development, Richard led a team of Board staff and external partners in the development and implementation of the TDSB’s EcoSchools program.Pam Miller is presently the EcoSchools Instructional Leader with the Toronto District School Board and has over 30 years of experience working in education as an outdoor and environmental educator and a classroom teacher. In her current role, she works with a wide variety of education professionals and youth, supporting them as they engage in environmental programs and actions that contribute to a healthier, greener, more sustainable future. This episode was produced and hosted by Yana Lee.

Teachers are doing extraordinary work with K-12 students in public schools to raise awareness about climate change, to develop students’ sense of agency, and develop their capacity for shifting towards sustainability. In this episode, we are hearing from a high school teacher, Douglas Breckman, as he is in the last few days before his retirement after 32 years of teaching in the TDSB. Douglas has worked at SATEC @ W.A. Porter C.I., where he has been the staff advisor for the Environmental Club for seven years. He has taken Parts 1 and 2 of the additional qualifications for Environmental Education at OISE, University of Toronto, which has informed his teaching practice in Geography and other subjects.This episode was produced and hosted by Yana Lee.

EcoSchools Canada launched its national rollout in the middle of a pandemic, yet there is already enormous interest and uptake on their programming from schools across the country. This organization began as Ontario EcoSchools (a spin off from the TDSB program), and is joining with NGOS in different regions of Canada, like the ACEE to ensure local supports for teachers and their students. Its research into the impacts of the EcoSchools program, as well as its ability to track their impacts across the country, offer a promising way to embed climate action into communities across the country. In today's episode, we are joined by Lindsey Bunce, the executive director of Ecoschools Canada, and Dr. Marie Tremblay, the senior education advisor at the Alberta Council for Environmental Education (ACEE).Guest Speaker Bios:Lindsay Bunce started her career in outdoor and environmental education and has been involved with the EcoSchools program for over a decade - as a participant, staff member, and steering committee advisor. With undergraduate degrees in Environmental Studies and Biology and a Masters of Education in Sustainability Education, she has previously worked with organizations such as Toronto and Region Conservation and Earth Day Canada to embed environmental learning, facilitate community action projects, and build successful cross-sectoral collaborations. Lindsay currently serves on the Board of Directors for Leading Change Canada, contributes to several advisory groups, and mentors new sustainability professionals. She is based in Toronto, Ontario. Dr. Marie Tremblay joined the Alberta Council for Environmental Education in 2018 as a senior education advisor, bringing to her role a dual passion for education and the environment. With university degrees in engineering, education, environmental design (Master's) and ecology (PhD), it's fair to say she also has a passion for learning. Marie's professional experience includes over a decade of teaching in a variety of settings from grade 1 to university level, including five years in Indigenous communities of Canada's far north. She has also been an active member of Alberta's environmental community for over two decades as a graduate student and conservation scientist in the government and non-profit sectors. Marie is particularly passionate about developing critical thinking skills and exploring Indigenous perspectives as they relate to sustainability and environmental education.This episode was produced and hosted by Yana Lee.

Teachers are doing extraordinary work with K-12 students in public schools to raise awareness about climate change, to develop students’ sense of agency, and develop their capacity for shifting towards sustainability. In this episode, we are hearing from three different teachers, Rebecca Chahine, Farah Wadia, and Cynthia Roulston- who bring their insight and experience of addressing climate change in their teaching practice in primary to intermediate grade levels. Guest Speaker Bios:Rebecca Chahine has been teaching for 21 years. She has taught from kindergarten to grade 8 and special education. She is passionate about environmental education and has obtained an Environmental Education Specialist at OISE. She currently teaches grade 2/3 at Port Royal Public School and loves being part of the OPAL program and leading the Ecoschool team! During the pandemic, she led the team in a virtual platform and continued to inspire students to become environmental leaders. As a lead for the Eco-team, she collaborates with staff and students to create Ecoschool portfolios using Google Slides. She is proud to have been a leader in both Malvern Jr PS and Heritage Park PS Platinum certification process, and is an aspiring leader who hopes to become a vice principal who will play an integral role in leading a school to Platinum certification. Farah WadiaFarah is a grade 7/8 teacher in the Toronto District School Board with 22 years of experience. She is passionate about ecoliteracy, place-based learning, and mindfulness in nature. Farah values student voice and uses inquiry in the intermediate classroom to teach about social and ecojustice issues, while providing her students with stewardship opportunities. Farah has her Environmental Education Specialist Qualifications and co-taught the Part 1 AQ at OISE, University of Toronto this past summer.Cynthia RoulstonCynthia has taught for 20 years, primarily at the grade 7/8 level, and currently teaches in Scarborough, Ontario. With a passion for Science and Math, her programs focus on experiential learning, outdoor education, and eco-justice. As the lead Ecoschool teacher, she has helped her school community achieve and maintain Platinum status for the past 5 years. On track to becoming an Environmental Education Specialist, she has completed the Part 1 and Part 2 of the Additional Qualificiations.This episode was hosted and produced by Yana Lee.

Before this podcast was even named, Stephen Hurley had the chance to sit down with hosts Yana Lee and Jackson Fowlow along with their OISE/UT instructor, Hilary Inwood to talk about the vision for the series, what brought them to this work and what they hope to accomplish through the podcast.