People

For over 40 years I have been an educator with a passionate and purposeful career focussed on place-conscious and nature-based experiential learning. Through my journey I have held leadership positions as the principal Co-administer at NV Outdoor School (aka. Cheakamus Centre), founding member of Environmental Educators of BC which led to C2C and founding director of the capacity building charitable not-for-profit Pacific Foundation for Understanding Nature Society (PacFUNS). I am also honoured to be a PICS Fellow working on re-writing the BC Education - Environmental Learning & Experience document and member of the Wild Pedagogies research consortium. At present as a sessional instructor and mentor of pre-service and graduate teacher-students my efforts are under the umbrella of SFU and UBC. As a PhD student at SFU my research focusses on how place and nature-based experiential education informs our learning and fundamental understandings, as well as, how that learning helps form the people we become.

It is important for everyone to understand climate and people's role within it, however, climate change education is not always accessible for Aboriginal learners, even though Aboriginal communities are especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.  Climate change education is already established as an important community need, so the goal of this project is to help individuals in Mi’kmaq communities understand the science of climate change, how human activities influence climate, and how individuals can take culturally-relevant action to mitigate the damage of climate change and make their communities more resilient to changing climate.This project will:1. Consult with Elders, youth, educators, science experts, and community organizations to determine relevant content and context of a climate change education project.2. Develop a climate change curriculum package based on existing activities and lesson plans, integrating local traditional knowledge and examples of climate change issues and actions.3. Develop a workshop on climate change for community organizations to better understand climate change and to commit to hands-on climate change action.4. Follow up with schools and community organizations to support climate change actions in the community.By early 2016, it is expected that the project will complete a curriculum package with activities and lesson plans, which will be made available to teachers in Mi’kmaq schools (through Mi’kmaw Kinamatnewey), and schools in the Cape Breton Victoria and Straight Regional School Boards, as well as three completed community workshops engaging local organizations and businesses in climate change education and action.Throughout this project, we hope to see more citizens engaged in environmental action in their communities through individual, organization, and local government changes to reduce ecological footprints and become more resilient to climate change. We hope to see Mi’kmaq communities become regional leaders in community climate change action.Please visit our sister organization, the Unama'ki Institute of Natural Resources.

Nadine grew up skipping stones, climbing trees, and playing in lighthouses on Cape Breton Island in eastern Canada. She didn’t realize it at the time, but that strong relationship with nature would strongly influence her life. She studied ecology and environmental education, with a focus on ways to foster relationships with nature through deep ecology practices.She spent several years managing a province-wide Environmental Education Program in British Columbia. She has worked with First Nations communities across Canada to develop culturally relevant learning tools that integrate traditional ecological knowledge and science that foster (re)connection with culture and our environment. She is currently Education and Outreach Coordinator with the Mi’kmaq Environmental Learning Centre in Eskasoni First Nation. She develops programs and resources that share and promote Mi’kmaq traditional knowledge on environmental sustainability.She sits on the board of the Canadian Network for Environmental Education and Communication, as well as a local environmental organization.  She spends her free time with her family on hiking trails, on beaches, and playing in their backyard.