Free Videos and Lesson Plans About Climate Change in Atlantic Canada!

(For use in middle and high school classrooms in New Brunswick.)

Book your training session before March 31st 2016!

La décennie des Nations Unies pour l’éducation en vue du développement durable (ÉDD) se terminera l’année prochaine. Qu’avons-nous accompli au Canada pour soutenir cette décennie? Quels défis avons-nous affrontés? Et vers quoi dirigeons-nous? Ce sont les questions qui ont encadré les discussions de l’atelier national sur l’ÉDD à laquelle j’ai participé récemment à la réunion annuelle de la commission canadienne de l’UNESCO. En général, l’atelier a permis des discussions intéressantes bien qu’à mon avis ce fut un peu trop d’écoutes de nos propres propos et pas assez d’actions concrètes.

Peut-être parmi les commentaires des plus aptes à susciter la réflexion que j’ai entendue concernaient les meilleures définitions de l’ÉDD, souvent appelée éducation à la viabilité ici au NB. La voici : l’ÉDD consiste à trouver le type d’avenir que nous souhaitons et puis à préparer les gens avec les compétences, les connaissances et les valeurs dont ils auront besoin pour faire de ce futur une réalité.

L’atelier m’a aidé à réfléchir aux diverses initiatives en ÉDD au Nouveau-Brunswick par rapport aux priorités internationales et celles des autres provinces. L’UNESCO a préparé trois priorités pour ÉDD internationale; celles-ci ont été adoptées au Manitoba. Devrions-nous au Nouveau-Brunswick nous concentrer aussi sur ces mêmes priorités? Ces priorités sont les suivantes :

• Dans toutes les écoles un plan en ÉDD ou sur la viabilité d’ici 2015;
• Les facultés d’éducation incorporent l’ÉDD dans leurs programmes d’éducations des enseignants; et
• La formation professionnelle (p. e. dans les collèges communautaires) réoriente sa programmation pour nous aider à transformer notre « économie brune » en « économie verte ».

Des recherches entreprises dans plusieurs pays pourraient aider notre cause dans la province. Nous, « les convaincus » savons que l’ÉDD améliore la qualité de l’éducation. Toutefois, des recherches sont nécessaires pour convaincre les « non-croyants ». Ces recherchent sont entreprises par un certain nombre de pays qui travaillent en collaboration pour explorer les liens entre l’ÉDD et la qualité de l’éducation et pour trouver des données qualitatives et quantitatives pour démontrer cette relations.

Vingt-neuf représentants d’organisations canadiennes ont participé à cet atelier. Le rapport officiel se trouve ici.

OUR 2019 CROWDFUND CAMPAIGN IS NOW LIVE!

As we get ready for our 2nd season on the farm and the new-and-improved Regenerative Farming Certificate program, we need YOUR help to continue doing this work.

We need your help to create a new generation of community-led farms, one person at a time. Help us train people to feed their communities as part of a new food and climate paradigm.

As a community-based farm, we are changing our focus from maximizing profit to maximizing production for greater community impact. With reduced revenue and public funding in 2019, we are asking for the crowd’s continued help in funding our current shortfall, so that this next cohort of farm learners (15 participants for the 2019 season!!) can get a meaningful education in feeding our (their) communities without taking on an undue burden.

Grand-Sault, N.-B. - Feu Vert NB Enviro Club Feu Vert, un organisme environnemental et de bienfaisance de Grand-Sault, a lancé une campagne pour encourager les résidents de Grand-Sault à ne pas tondre leur pelouse pendant le mois de mai. Mai Sans Tondeuses est l'occasion d'aider nos pollinisateurs indigènes et d'autres animaux sauvages à prospérer dans les espaces verts où nous vivons. Pendant un mois entier, les fleurs sauvages des pelouses fleurissent, offrant un festin de nectar et de pollen aux abeilles, papillons et autres animaux indigènes affamés dont les populations ont diminué ces dernières années en raison de la perte d'habitat, de la dégradation des terres et du changement climatique.

Nicole McLaughlin, présidente de Feu Vert, a demandé au conseil municipal de Grand-Sault de désigner certains sites appartenant à la municipalité à ne pas tondre. Le conseil municipal a accepté la proposition et a désigné neuf sites dans la municipalité qui ne seront pas tondus pour le mois de mai. Lors de l'assemblée municipale de Grand-Sault qui a eu lieu le 19 avril 2023, le maire, Bertrand Beaulieu a déclaré que la municipalité de Grand-Sault veut faire sa part afin d'aider les abeilles car les systèmes humains en dépendent. Il a encouragé les habitants de la communauté à faire de même.

Feu Vert a également lancé un concours Facebook où les citoyens de la municipalité de Grand-Sault sont invités à partager des photos de leurs pelouses non tondues sur Facebook et à utiliser le mot-clic #FVGL2023. Ils courront la chance de gagner des prix reliés aux pollinisateurs (ex : miel, confitures, etc.).

D'autres membres de la communauté participent également à la promotion de la campagne. Les élèves de l'école primaire Mgr Lang demandent à la famille et aux voisins de s'engager à ne pas tondre leur pelouse en mai.

De plus, Feu Vert a imprimé des enseignes qui sont disponibles gratuitement pour les résidents de Grand-Sault participant au défi Mai Sans Tondeuses. Les enseignes expliquant pourquoi la pelouse est laissée longue sont disponibles aux bureaux municipaux de la municipalité de Grand-Sault. "La beauté de l'initiative Mai Sans Tondeuses est qu'elle ne demande pas beaucoup d'efforts mais elle peut avoir un impact important sur les pollinisateurs", explique Nicole McLaughlin.

L'idée de Mai Sans Tondeuses est née d'une campagne de rewilding qui a commencé au Royaume-Uni et s'est propagée dans le monde entier. Il encourage à ne pas tondre les pelouses pendant le mois de mai pour soutenir les abeilles, les papillons, les fourmis et autres insectes qui sont un élément vital de notre chaîne alimentaire. Il fournit à leurs premières sources de nourriture (telles que le trèfle et les pissenlits) l'occasion de fleurir et de produire du nectar.

NB Groups Want The Provincial Government To Heed Their Message
For Immediate Release
September 16, 2011

Moncton -- On Saturday, September 17, the anti-shale gas network of citizens have planned
another march for New Brunswickers to say “NO!” to shale gas in the downtown core of
Moncton.

More than 2 dozen groups from around the province, from places like Cornhill, Sackville,
Taymouth and Hampton, recently announced the network they’ve formed to stop shale gas
development in New Brunswick, and their next step is to hold another rally to continue sending
their message to the provincial government that the shale gas industry is not welcome here.

This grassroots movement has committed itself to informing their fellow New Brunswickers of
the dangers of shale gas. “It’s shameful that our government has not honestly engaged and
informed its citizens of the dangers of this industry,” says Debra Hopper, a spokesperson for Our
Environment, Our Choice, Notre Environnement, Notre Choix. “We have an intelligent group
here. We have done our homework; now the government needs to do the same. It has been
reading off of cheat sheets provided by industry. The same tired lines that we’re all sick of
hearing. The people of New Brunswick have a right to know what we are really facing.”

“We ask that our government do its job in protecting our life sustaining resources against an
industry that is advancing at an accelerated rate and that threatens our quality of life for
generations to come. Once the damages are done, there is no return,” says Patricia Léger,
spokesperson for Memramcook Action. “We cannot expect industry to warn us of the dangers of
this toxic method of extracting natural gas and our government seems to only be listening to
industry.”

In our ongoing effort to get the facts about the dangers of shale gas drilling out into the open, a
second march is being held this time in Moncton.  It will begin at 12:00 noon at the Hal Betts
Ball Fields – Moncton SportPlex, located at 250 Assomption Blvd at the corner of Vaughn
Harvey. Protesters will march along Vaughn Harvey Blvd, and down Main Street before
congregating at Moncton City Hall, next to SWN Offices.  We invite all water drinkers and air
breathers to join us in our PEACEFUL display of democracy in action. 

At City Hall, there will be speakers from various groups and communities from across the
province, including the Youth Environmental Action Network, Elsipogtog First Nation, Friends
of Mount Carleton, the Maliseet Grand Council, and Ban Fracking NB. 

Media Contacts:
Our Environment, Our Choice, Notre Envrionnement, Notre Choix, Denise Melanson: 523-9467
Quality of Life Initiative, Otty Forgrave: 839-2326
CCNB Action, Stephanie Merrill: 261-8317
Ban Fracking NB, Terri Telasco: 866-7658
New Brunswickers Against Fracking, Mary de La Valette: 369-1995
Council of Canadians, St. John Chapter, Carol Ring: 847-0953
Grand Lake Watershed Guardians, Amy Sullivan: 339-1980 or 339-5324
Sierra Club Atlantic, Hazel Richardson: 452-8915

The UN Decade on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) comes to an end next year. What have we accomplished in Canada to support the Decade? What challenges did we face? And where do we go from here? It was these questions that shaped the discussion at a national ESD workshop I attended at the Canadian Commission for UNESCO annual meeting recently. In general, the workshop provided an interesting discussion, although it was a bit too much of listening to ourselves talk and not quite enough of concrete action items for my liking.

Perhaps one of the most thought-provoking comments included the best definition of ESD – more often called sustainability education here in NB! – that I have ever heard. Here it is: ESD is about figuring out the kind of future we want and then preparing people with the skills, knowledge, and values they need to make that future a reality.

The workshop helped me think about our various ESD initiatives in New Brunswick in terms of international priorities and those in other provinces. UNESCO has developed three priorities for ESD internationally; these have been adopted provincially in Manitoba. Should we in NB be focusing on these priorities also? The priorities are:

• All schools have an ESD or sustainability plan by 2015,
• Faculties of Education incorporate ESD into their teachers’ education programs, and
• Vocational education (e.g., community collges) re-orient their programming to help us move from a “brown economy” to a “green economy.”

There is research underway internationally that may help our cause here in the province. We, as “believers” know that ESD improves the quality of education. However, research is needed to demonstrate this to non-believers. This research is being undertaken by a number of countries working together to explore the links between ESD and quality education and to find qualitative and quantitative data to support these links.

This workshop was attended by 29 representatives from organizations across the country. The official minutes can be found here.

Grand Falls, NB- Green Light NB Enviro Club Feu Vert, a charitable environmental organization in Grand Falls, launched a campaign to encourage Grand Falls residents not to mow their lawns for the month of May.   No Mow May is an opportunity to help our native pollinators and other wildlife thrive in the greenspaces where we live. During an entire month, wildflowers in lawns are left to bloom, providing a feast of nectar and pollen for hungry native bees, butterflies, and other animals whose populations have been declining in recent years due to habitat loss, land degradation, and climate change.

Nicole McLaughlin, president of Green Light, requested that the Grand Falls municipal council designate certain sites belonging to the municipality not to be mowed.  The municipal council accepted the proposal and has designated nine sites in the municipality that will not be mowed for the month of May.  During the Grand Falls municipal meeting which took place on April 19^th 2023, the mayor of Grand Falls, Bertrand Beaulieu stated that the Grand Falls municipality wants to do their part in order to help the bees as human systems depend upon them.  He encouraged the residents of the municipality to do the same.

Green Light has also launched a Facebook contest where citizens of the Grand Falls municipality are asked to share pictures of their unmowed lawns on Facebook and use the hashtag #FVGL2023.  They will have a chance to win prizes related to pollinators (ex: honey, jams, etc).

Other members of the community are also involved in promoting the campaign.  Students at the Mgr Lang elementary school are asking family and neighbors for their commitment not to mow their lawns in May.    

In addition, Green Light has printed a number of signs that are available for free for Grand Falls residents participating in the No Mow May challenge.    The signs explaining why the lawn is left long are available at the town offices in the Grand Falls municipality.  “The beauty of the No Mow May initiative is that it does not require a lot of effort but it can have an important impact on pollinators,” explains Nicole McLaughlin. 

The idea of No Mow May came from a rewilding campaign that started in the UK and has spread around the world. It encourages leaving lawns un-mowed for the month of May to support bees, butterflies, ants and other insects that are a vital part of our food chain. It provides their early sources of food (such as clover and dandelions) an opportunity to bloom and produce nectar.

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CPAWS NB is looking for Wilderness Ambassadors, ages 18-30, for an 8-month conservation volunteer program!

Join us ona wilderness trip to the beautiful Bay of Fundy, St. Andrews region (August 25-26, 2022), for whale watching and sea-kayaking, as well to take part in local conservation volunteer work and a Regional Summit (location TBD) - all expenses paid!

To learn more about the Canadian Wilderness Stewardship Program, please visit https://cpawsnb.org/wilderness-stewardship-program or emailmjellett@cpaws.org

Deadline to apply is July 6th.Please note:Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so apply early!.

Applications are available online in English and French:

www.cpaws.org/cwsp (EN)

www.snapcanada.org/pgfc (FR)