CWF Learning Institute

In 2009, CWF Education launched a new program called the CWF Learning Institute to further enhance the connection between people and their environment by conducting strategic and scholarly research, creating, piloting and studying educational innovation and technology-based learning, improving and advancing professional practice and promoting innovative learning about wildlife issues.

The Founding Fellows of the CWF Learning Institute are:

• Wade Luzny, CWF Executive Vice-President;
• Dr. Luba Mycio-Mommers, CWF Director of Education;
• Dr. Grant A. Gardner, Associate Vice-President (Academic), Memorial University, St. John's, N.L.;
• Dr. Yves Jean, Professor and Director, University of Quebec in Montreal (TELUQ) and
• Dr. Richard Mrazek, Professor of Science Education, Faculty of Education, University of Lethbridge, Alta.

World Conservation Congress
While the Learning Institute was formally launched in Montreal in May 2009, international outreach began in October 2008, when members of the team attended the International Union of Conservation of Nature’s World Conservation Congress in Barcelona, Spain. CWF hosted several unique and popular presentations at the Water Pavilion. This was the international launch of CWF’s water ecology public education videos. CWF distributed business-card-sized discs of its message – to conserve and protect water – in English, French and Spanish. We also encouraged delegates to wear blue CWF wristbands to show their support for this campaign. CWF undertook this initiative because Canada’s water quality and quantity issues are impacting wildlife.

World Water Forum
The international outreach continued when members of the Learning Institute promoted CWF’s education initiatives at the World Water Forum in Turkey in March 2009. The focus was on the St. Lawrence Seaway and CWF’s plan to provide an educational French-language video resource on the many issues facing this important international waterway. The impacts of agriculture, infrastructure, climate change and the health of wildlife populations are examined in the documentary and webisodes called Navigating Troubled Waters. The French-language program is part of the CWF Rivers to Oceans video series.

5th World Environmental Education Conference in Montreal
As environmental educators from around the globe travelled to Montreal from May 10 to 14, 2009, to explore innovative educational approaches to sustainability, CWF took a lead role. As the major partner in this 5WEEC conference, titled “Earth: Our Common Home,” CWF further established its role as a forerunner in the conservation education movement. The CWF Learning Institute hosted a symposium at the 5WEEC conference on the current state of wildlife education in Canada. The Fellows developed and distributed a survey on conservation education in Canada to identify areas in need of improvement and advance professional development. CWF also profiled its resources and provided a stage for educational presentations. The formal launch of the Learning Institute was held during 5WEEC at Montreal’s Biosphere.

Summer Institute
Acadia University in Nova Scotia was the base for CWF’s first Summer Institute, from July 4 to 11, 2009. This innovative course offered educators from across Canada the unique chance to meet with conservation experts and study biodiversity. Students learned how farmers manage riparian and agricultural issues; they visited species at risk research and recovery sites for blanding’s turtles, ribbonsnakes and piping plovers, and explored wildlife education through the creative arts. On the shores of the largest tides in the world, the Bay of Fundy mud flats, the educators investigated estuarine life. These experiences were recorded on video as part of the course, and CWF’s You Tube channel featured some of the great footage.

COP 15
Along with 45,000 other delegates from around the world, CWF attended COP15, the United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Copenhagen in December 2009. CWF encouraged Canada to follow through for developing countries and hosted networking meetings for Canadian delegates. We also appeared on ClimateChange.TV and sent video feeds back home. Our webcasts provided a unique insight into the issues and featured interviews with CWF’s Executive Vice President, Executive Director and the Learning Institute Fellows. Members of the Learning Institute also attended a conference hosted by the Danish School of Education, University of Aarhus, Copenhagen, called Can Education Change the Climate? Climate Change Education continues to be a priority for the CWF Learning Institute as it develops new programs and follow-up projects, including presentations to education professionals.