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SEPT. 2022 REGISTRATION OPEN: National ESE-TE e-course for new educators

After a successful pilot year, we are thrilled to announce that we are once again offering our National Environmental & Sustainability Education in Teacher Education (ESE-TE) E-course for new educators. Registration for this e-course is officially open now until Sept. 19. There are limited spots available. Last year this course filled up extremely quickly, so please register ASAP if you are interested in joining!

Overview: This non-credit course is open to post-secondary students learning to be K-12 teachers & Early Childhood Educators who are registered in Canadian teacher education programs in 2022-23. This course is led by ESE experts from across Canada, and sponsored by EECOM, Canada’s only national Environment Education network. It is offered online through synchronous and asynchronous learning. A certificate & EECOM membership is awarded to those who successfully complete the course.
Course Details and Meeting Dates: Check out the FAQ
Registration opens Sept. 6 and ends Sept. 19, 2022. Register here
Questions: Dr. Erin Sperling erin.sperling@utoronto.ca

For more details about the multifaceted and thought-provoking topics you’ll explore and the exciting ways you’ll collaborate with your classmates from across the country please see full details here.


ESE Primer & Resources – Response to ACDE’s Accord

Breaking news – The Association of Canadian Deans of Education (ACDE) launched its Accord on Education for a Sustainable Future last week. This launch was part of the UBC Dean’s Distinguished Lecture: Climate Justice and Educational Responsibility featuring Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis – the recording is available online.

We commend the ACDE for recognizing the urgency of the climate crisis, and commit to supporting this policy statement, helping to ensure that all faculties of education embed its concepts into preservice and inservice teacher education across the country. We recognize that many faculties of education need support to fully implement the Accord, and so have prepared a ‘primer’ on Environmental & Sustainability Education (ESE) in Teacher Education as a starting point.

Please feel free to share the ACDE’s Accord and this primer with your networks to raise awareness about the critical importance of ESE, as well as starting points for enacting it, in Canadian faculties of education.

If you are a faculty member in a teacher education program in Canada, we encourage you to take advantage of the launch of this Accord to meet with your colleagues, program administration, Dean and community partners to advocate for a stronger presence for ESE and climate change education in preservice and inservice teacher education across the country.

To support your advocacy, you will find many resources, videos, course syllabi, research studies, reference lists and case studies on the ESE-TE network website. We are also offering a new speaker’s service to share expertise in ESE as requested.

We will continue to create and share supports and resources in the coming months, but need your help to bring these forward to your faculty of education to advocate for better embedding ESE in Teacher Education in our country, and around the world.


UPCOMING RELATED EVENT: Launch of the Accord for a Sustainable Future (March 29)

The Association of Canadian Deans of Education is launching its Accord for a Sustainable Future on March 29, 2022 (5:30-8pm PT), along with a lecture by Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis (hosted by UBC).

Please consider inviting your own Dean and colleagues to attend this event with you – this is an opportunity to advocate for a stronger presence for climate change education and ESE in teacher education across the country. The link with further information is below; register in advance for this free online event.

Launch of the Accord on Education for a Sustainable Future: Dean’s Distinguished Lecture, Climate Justice and Educational Responsibility Featuring Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis

March 29, 5:30-8pm PT

Registration is required


Help Deepen Research into Climate Change Education

A promotional image for Learning for a Sustainable Future's new Climate Change Education survey, with an embedded QR code link to the survey.
A promotional image for Learning for a Sustainable Future’s new Climate Change Education survey, with an embedded QR code link to the survey.

Learning for a Sustainable Future (LSF) is excited to follow up with their second climate change education survey to see how things have changed since their ground-breaking one in 2019. For the 2021 survey, LSF wants to hear from K-12 educators, parents of K-12 students, students 12-18 years of age, faculty of education instructors, and members of the general public. Access the survey here.


New National E-Course in ESE for Student Teachers starts its second semester

In September 2021 we launched a Canadian-wide E-course on ESE for preservice teachers. Over 260 students registered for the course, far exceeding expectations for filling the two cohorts (95 are currently enrolled.)  Unique in its co-curricular, online approach and national reach, this E-course introduces teacher candidates to core ESE principles connected to Land & place, Indigenous Knowledge, sustainability, diversity, equity & inclusion, wellbeing, and action & agency. Each month, students participate in a synchronous online class, and undertake 2 readings and learning tasks on their own, as well as develop a culminating Inquiry Project. A research study is investigating students’ experiences in this course.

The initial promotion image from August 2021 for the Canadian-wide E-course on ESE for preservice teachers.

The initial promotion image from August 2021 for the Canadian-wide E-course on ESE for preservice teachers.


Introducing our new ESE-TE Standing Committee Members

A warm welcome to the new ESE-TE Standing Committee Members!

We are happy to announce that there are four new members of the ESE-TE Standing Committee (SC) from across Canada: Dr. Thomas Falkenberg (MB), Shannon Harding (NS), Dr. Andrejs Kulnieks (SK), and Alisa Paul (BC); read more about them on the SC webpage. We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to SC members who have recently completed their terms for all of their hard work and dedication to ESE-TE: Dr. Debra Harwood (ON), Dr. Patrick Howard (NS), Dr. Rick Kool (BC), & Dr. Janet McVittie (SK). Our sincere thanks also to Dr. Douglas Karrow, who has completed his term as founding Co-Chair and will remain on the SC. Dr. Paul Elliott will be our new Co-Chair, joining Dr. Hilary Inwood. Thanks to all for their involvement!


Introducing a new research report on Environmental and Sustainability Education in Canadian Teacher Education

We are pleased to announce an exciting new report is now available! Environmental and Sustainability Education in Canadian Faculties of Education, 2017-2018: A research report for the EECOM Standing Committee on Environmental and Sustainability Education in Teacher Education completed by Drs. Richard Kool, Douglas D. Karrow, and Maurice DiGiuseppe can be downloaded by clicking the ‘download’ button above.

This study was conceived in June 2016 at the first National Roundtable on Canadian ESE-TE (ESE-TE stands for “Environmental Sustainability Education in Teacher Education”) held at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, where a “National Action Plan” was prepared, suggesting that a survey-based study be conducted to “assess the state of ESE-PTE in Canada” (Karrow & DiGiuseppe, 2019, p. 16).

From this event, a group of National Roundtable participants established the “EECOM Standing Committee on ESE-TE”, which, in the fall of 2017, formed a “Research Development Group” that planned and designed the current study. Three members of this Group formed a “Research and Author Team” that created the research materials, carried out the study, analyzed the data, and prepared this report. 

The report presents the findings of this 2019 online survey assessing ESE in preservice teacher education (PTE) programs across Canada. Do you want to learn more about this report and the state of ESE in Canadian faculties of education? Register today for the upcoming online Research Symposium on April 21st as part of the EECOM conference!

EECOM conferences are the largest annual gatherings of people passionate about Environmental and Sustainability Education! This year’s conference is hosted by Toronto-based partners EcoSchools Canada, OISE, TDSB EcoSchools and Natural Curiosity. Find out all about this four-day event on the conference website. We look forward to seeing you online!



Register now for EECOM 2021, the largest environmental education conference in Canada!

Registration is open for EECOM 2021, Canada’s largest annual national environmental education conference! For the first time ever, EECOM 2021 will be taking place exclusively online, running April 21-24, 2021 and welcomes educators, grades 11, 12, and post-secondary students, classrooms, community organizations, and parents.

A child looks at a tree outside. The text over this background imagine reads "EECOM 2021 - Exploring the Nature of Cities - Urban Environmental Education in Action; Streaming virtually April 21-24, 2021 - Register now"
Register for EECOM now to guarantee your spot!

The conference kicks off with a Research Symposium featuring some of the leading researchers and educators from Canada and around the world on April 21 and an opportunity to provide input on identifying and prioritizing a national ESE-TE research agenda, followed by three days of dynamic sessions and workshops focusing on four themes: City as Classroom, Indigenous Education, EcoJustice Education, and Water Education.

We’ll also be bringing you three inspiring keynote addresses: a powerful and free public Earth Day kick-off by youth activist Larissa Crawford; a special co-presentation from Indigenous artists Christi Belcourt and Isaac Murdoch; and a deep-dive into climate justice with Julian Agyeman.

In addition to over 100 presenters across 70+ sessions, attendees will experience lively and unique opportunities to safely socialize with other passionate members of the EECOM community through a variety of “Nuit Verte” social events. From a vegan cooking class to a guided organic beer-tasting, this is one conference you won’t want to miss!

The best part? There’s no travel required, so you can learn and build your network while decreasing your environmental impact.

Learn more, view the schedule and speakers, and register your spot now at ecoschools.ca/eecom.


NEW English & French Webinars on Eco-Anxiety from EECOM

We have two exciting new Zoom webinars to announce from our partners at EECOM. These are about eco-anxiety and there are two offerings on two days (one in English and one in French). See below!


Nov. 30, 2020 7:00 PM (Winnipeg) – EnglishRegister in advance for this meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYpc-ugqT4uGdSR2DWzAIQi38JmvzwCue-N

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.


2 déc. 2020 07:00 PM (Winnipeg) – Français – Veuillez vous inscrire à la date et l’heure qui vous conviennent le mieux: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAod–orzsoH9MZIgucUrMzd1JBJAbdcq5o

Après votre inscription, vous recevrez un e-mail de confirmation contenant les instructions pour rejoindre la réunion.


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