CWF at COP16: Education Can Change the Climate

Nov. 22, 2010 – The Canadian Wildlife Federation will bring its “Education Can Change the Climate” message to the United Nations COP16 summit in Cancún, Mexico.

“This is a critical international gathering, expected to involve 192 countries, 2,500 meetings and 20,000 delegates,” said Wade Luzny, CEO, Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Wildlife Federation. “CWF will be onsite with a youth exhibit and online with a new conference microsite site at CanChange.ca. Our goal is to engage teachers, students and members of the general public in discussions about conservation.”

Created by the CWF Learning Institute,Tangle Media and Gallant Productions, CanChange.ca is an experimental teaching tool. A brief poll will be uploaded to the website prior to the conference launch to find out which side events, conservation centres and climate change education questions users would prioritize. CWF will upload photos, videos and journals from Mexico to try to address those themes. CWF’s webisodes from last year’s COP15 conference in Copenhagen will be available as free downloads for background study. The website will link to CWF’s established educational resources, such as the Rivers to Oceans water ecology videos and teacher guides. The microsite will grow as the COP16 climate change conference evolves, so users can check in regularly to see new items. There will be no fees associated with any of the educational materials available through the site and everyone is welcome to follow the progress. There will even be a moderated blackboard for users to upload comments.

CWF’s delegation to COP 16 includes representatives from St. John’s, Halifax, Quebec City, Ottawa, Regina and Lethbridge.

“Through education, I truly believe we can change our world for wildlife,” Luzny said.

About the Canadian Wildlife Federation:
The Canadian Wildlife Federation is a national non-profit charitable organization dedicated to ensuring an appreciation of our natural world and a lasting legacy of healthy wildlife and habitat. By spreading knowledge of human impacts on the environment, developing and delivering educational programs, sponsoring research, promoting the sustainable use of natural resources, recommending policy changes and co-operating with like-minded partners, CWF encourages a future in which Canadians can live in harmony with nature. For more information, visit CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca.

The Learning Institute, a new component of CWF’s well established education program, is 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.

Contact:
Heather Robison
Media Relations Officer
(306) 550-4155
heatherr@cwf-fcf.org