In April, the Columbia Basin Environmental Education Network (CBEEN) was recognized by the British Columbia School Superintendents Association (BCSSA) at their Retirement and Recognition Ceremony in Vancouver.

CBEEN was presented with the BCSSA 2015 Community Award of Recognition which recognizes their outstanding contributions to support and enhance public school education in the Province of British Columbia. Past recipients that may be familiar to residents of the Columbia Basin include the Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy (2008), the Vancouver Aquarium (2007) BC Hydro (1993) and Science World (1992).

Cheryl Lenardon, Assistant Superintendent for School District No. 6, expressed: “CBEEN is a leader and supporter of place-based, community-partnered learning. One of the key CBEEN initiatives in our school districts is the Wild Voices for Kids (WVFK) program. WVFK is an environmental and heritage education program, which provides students with curriculum-based presentations and field trips by local experts. CBEEN also enhances the learning of our school district educators in the area of environmental education with a professional-development bursary program and offering opportunities including the annual Voices for Sustainability Symposium and a National Environmental Education Leadership Clinic. It is truly a gift to our educators and students for us to have CBEEN as a partner!”

Upon accepting the award, CBEEN’s Executive Director Duncan Whittick, shared that “this award is deeply appreciated, and is the result of over a decade of work by countless volunteers. Our organization feels privileged to support the education system in such a dynamic and important interdisciplinary field as environmental education.”

With the transformation of the BC Curriculum, CBEEN and School District No. 6 are working together to ensure that teachers are supported and that students will be the ones to benefit from these changes. CBEEN is supporting School District 6 in their new District Direction that students “experience environmental, outdoor, and community-based learning.”

For a second year in a row, a team of educators from School District 6 was been awarded a spot at CBEEN’s Environmental Education Leadership Clinic which took place at Nipika Mountain Resort in April. This team of teachers hopes to be able to support the district in achieving this district direction and moving towards the new curriculum, which highlights the value of place-based, experiential and inquiry-based education.

CBEEN

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