Education came alive in April as eight teams of educators gathered at Nipika Mountain Resort with the opportunity to turn their goals for environmental education into action.

Team members came from all corners of the Columbia Basin including Invermere, Kimberley, Nelson, Golden, Revelstoke, Castlegar, Creston, Jaffray and New Denver. They spent four days addressing critical issues such as reducing wildlife-human conflict and the threat of aquatic invasive species, integrating the new BC curriculum, and looking at strategies for increasing community participation and engagement.

Jenny Wallace from the Human-Wildlife Conflict Reduction team reflected on the Clinic, saying, “We were so inspired by both the setting and the network of educators at this incredible clinic. Our team is walking away with a renewed focus and exciting new set of strategies to more effectively engage our communities.”

Susie MacDonald from the Wild Voices for Kids team remarked: “The guidance and direction that were provided gave us such a head start into the process and we came away far more successful than we expected.  The venue and agenda created an atmosphere that supported our goals and modelled strategies for sustainability we are trying to implement.”

CBEEN’s Executive Director Duncan Whittick shared, “It was wonderful to see such a diverse group of educators come together, collaborate, and come away with a solid plan. The Leadership Clinic continues to evolve and into an even better process by which educators can put their knowledge, experience and creativity to the test for the benefit of their communities. We look forward to hosting this event again in 2016.”

The 2015 Leadership Clinic was made possible by generous support from the Columbia Basin Trust, Vancouver Foundation, Columbia Power Corporation, Columbia Valley Community Foundation, Environmental Education Provincial Specialist Association, Kicking Horse Coffee and Nipika Mountain Resort.

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