Current Projects
Project title: Ocean Literacy: Case Studies of Practice
Collaborator: Oceanwise / Vancouver Aquarium
This study is to be conducted in collaboration with Oceanwise and the Vancouver Aquarium as well as with participating students, teachers and school districts currently engaged with ocean literacy programming.
Research Locations:
- Oceanwise / Vancouver Aquarium (Avison Way, Vancouver)
- Tribune Bay Outdoor Education Centre (Hornby Island, BC)
- School classrooms within the Surrey and Chilliwack School Districts.
The program of research aligns closely to other ecological literacy and environmental learning research conducted by the IEL and is approved by the Office of Research Ethics at SFU. The research is also associated with a multi-jurisdictional research project funded by MITACS: Developing a National Ocean Literacy Strategy.
Project title: Wild About Vancouver
Collaborator: Wild About Vancouver
Wild About Vancouver (WAV) is a free public outdoor education festival offering practical ways to get children (and adults) outdoors more regularly. WAV is open to the public and aims to unite and create long-term sustainable outdoor experiential learning networks for organizations, schools, youth programs, and the broader citizenry of Vancouver. WAV is totally de-centralized and organized by a collective of volunteers passionate about improving children’s lives, being outdoors, and building supportive communities. Everyone is invited to submit an event/lesson into the WAV festival; events must be educational, experiential, outdoors, and free.
Website: https://www.wildaboutvancouver.com/
Project title: Building a National Ocean Literacy Strategy
Collaborator: Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition (COLC)
The health of the ocean(s) is a global priority, signified by the UN’s Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030). The Government of Canada has announced plans to support the UN Decade, a decision that is in alignment with several bold government initiatives including (but not exclusive to) the Oceans Protection Plan, Ocean Plastics Charter, and Conservation 2020’s efforts to reach 10% marine protected areas by 2020. Each of these initiatives (and others), and the upcoming UN Decade, recognize the critical importance of ocean conservation, science and health, as well as growing a sustainable ocean economy over the decades to come. A unifying pan-Canadian strategy is critical to foster systemic change in the way Canadians, on a personal, daily basis, relate to the ocean – a relation known as “Ocean Literacy” (OL). Funded by MITACS Postdoctoral funding this IEL project is part of a Pan-Canadian study and consultation on ocean literacy. This research is developing a national OL strategy through a multisectoral regional consultative approach, guided by three questions:
- What is the current state of OL in Canada?
- What are the current gaps and barriers, by region and sector? And,
- What are key recommendations and implementation plan(s) to advance OL?
See — Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition https://colcoalition.ca
Project title: Environmental Learning in Botanical Gardens
Collaborator: Vancouver Botanical Gardens Society (VBGA)
Humans are living in the world unsustainably, changing the global climate, overconsuming, while remaining detached from the very ecosystems we are a part of. This is especially true within large urban centres such as Vancouver where for many , meaningful access to natural spaces is made difficult or is constrained by cultural and /or economic factors. Still, botanical gardens such as those managed by the VBGA have a unique opportunity to both develop and implement formal and informal programming to remedy this situation: having locations directly imbedded within the urban fabric of a major city while also benefitting from a wealth of biological and cultural diversity in their living collections. With the establishment of the VBGA fellowship program (managed by SFU’s Institute for Environmental Learning), the VanDusen Gardens and the Bloedel Conservatory are unique sites for a vibrant and expanding research program which will study the potential and efficacy of using these unique spaces as locations for diverse and inclusive environmental learning (for both K-12 students and their teachers). The project is undertaking community engaged research and works collaboratively with the VBGA to formulate a program of participatory action research.
Project title: Internship in Adaptive Management Curriculum Development
Collaborator: ESSA Technologies Ltd. (ESSA)
ESSA is an employee-owned Canadian environmental consulting company with offices in British Columbia and Ontario. Funded by MITACS, the project is building on an emerging collaboration between the Institute for Environmental Learning and ESSA and will see a specialized internship working closely with ESSA’s senior staff, focusing on Adaptive Management (AM) curriculum and learning module development. Adaptive Management has been the cornerstone of ESSA’s work since its inception in 1979, and informs the mindset the company brings to all of its projects. AM can be described as a systematic, practical approach for improving environmental management policies and practices. It provides a structured process for learning which management actions best meet management objectives, and for reducing uncertainty. ESSA’s real-world experience over four decades has allowed the company to expand and enhance the original academic formulations of Adaptive Management, and the research team is leveraging its stores of experiential knowledge to establish an AM curriculum for environmental professionals. The project includes the presentation of ideas/concepts related to curriculum and learning module development, the writing of learning module content, and elements of graphic design.
Past Projects
Project title: 9th World Environmental Education Congress (WEEC)
In September 2017, the Institute for Environmental Learning organized and hosted the 9th World Environmental Education Congress with the theme Culture /Environment: Weaving New Connections. The theme was specifically designed to showcase Canadian and British Columbian Heritage and Culture by highlighting the unique First Nations Cultures present on the West Coast and their relationship to environmental and sustainability practices and worldviews. The theme also highlighted the unique cultural mosaic of Canadian society against a backdrop of Canadian leadership in the Environmental milieu in tandem with the development of contemporary ‘green’ buildings and sustainable community development. It also celebrated the birth of the environmental movement as a Tblisi +40 event with patronage from UNESCO and UN Environment. The 5 day event also showcased Canada’s leadership role in the field using a range of Canadian talent in its Plenary Sessions which featured BC and Canadian content. Plenary sessions involved speakers such as Guujaaw, the former leader of the Council of the Haida Nation, as well as popular media personalities such as David Suzuki, and also prominent scholars such as Nancy Turner (Order of Canada recipient) and Jeanette Armstrong (celebrated Okanagan author and poet).
Project title: Co-Design Youth Manual
The latest edition Youth Manual for Sustainable Design was made possible by support from the Vancouver Foundation, the Real Estate Foundation of BC with support from the Institute for Environmental Learning. The manual highlights approaches used working with youth when planning the future of their learning environments and communities can bring tangible benefits. When made aware of the environment beyond their home, youth can bring fresh eyes into the dialogue as part of the Co-design process. Their active lives enlarge the range of activities in the design. Through the co-design process, young people have contributed to the design of many parks, provincial and national parks, city neighbourhoods and small towns throughout British Columbia. When young people are included in planning, the designs show consistent characteristics; a humanity of scale, and a large range of activities that can be enjoyed in the new place. The involvement of youth in planning also encourages civil behaviour and strengthens the community.
Project title: Sustainable Urban Neighbourhood Networks (SUNN)
This project was funded by the Real Estate Foundation of BC and involved development of a creative community engagement process that borrowed from the tradition of the architectural ‘design charette’ while also retaining features of ‘community mapping’ common in environmental education practice. A series of urban design charrettes were used to explore ways to meet population targets identified in Metro Vancouver’s regional growth strategy by applying the principles of human-scaled urbanism at the scale of the neighbourhood centre, or “quartier”. The charrette and its analysis was part of the Institute’s Sustainable Urban Neighbourhood Network (SUNN) project, an initiative to research and develop a more open, inclusive, and cost-effective neighbourhood planning protocol. Focused on long-term sustainability through growth, the charrette demonstrated and tested a streamlined sustainable community planning process in Vancouver’s Historic Area.
Project title: Ecological Education Project
The ecological education project was funded by NSERC (CRYSTAL) and addressed the question: “How can ecological literacy become a core educational standard in our schools?” Here many aspects of the BC Provincial Framework for Environmental Learning were implemented in a series of case studies. The process culminated in the implemention of the Seaquarium program and associated marine education activities at the Bowen Island Community school and Pacific Heights Elementary School (Surrey). The project was evaluated using the PLACES learning environment instrument and a qualitative protocol of observations and focus groups.
Project title: Environmental Learning and Experience
The primary objectives of this SSHRC and Vancouver Foundation-funded program was to disseminate, deepen and expand the current research on environmental learning and education for sustainable development (ESD) to K-12 teachers, and to seek greater engagement from community stakeholders (parent groups, business and community organizations, NGOs, First Nations, federal, provincial and municipal governments). While there is a growing interest in environmental learning and sustainability among educators, and recent reforms in British Columbia curricula have responded to this increasing awareness and demand. In 2007, a the provincial framework for K-12 environmental education – Environmental Learning and Experience (ELE) – was spearheaded by project lead, David Zandvliet, and SFU, along with broad representation form the Institute for Environmental Learning including members from the Environmental Educators Provincial Specialists’ Association (EEPSA) of the BCTF.