CBEEN’s Environmental Education Leadership Clinic provides an incredible opportunity for teams to come together and turn their great ideas into action. It is based on a model created nationally, and uses creative group thinking to identify and develop strategic approaches to solving complex issues that results in outcome-based action plan that truly makes a difference.

The 2016 Environmental Education Leadership Clinic supported School District teams across the Columbia Basin to work collaboratively to turn great ideas in place-based environmental education into action by providing opportunities for networking, team-building, and capacity-building which resulted in goals and action plans that will help to effectively guide implementation of the redesigned curriculum. The redesigned BC curriculum provides an excellent opportunity to advance ecological literacy and place-based environmental learning throughout school districts in the Columbia Basin. There are already many great examples of place-based, inquiry-led, and experiential learning taking place yet many individual educators, schools and school districts would like to further increase their capacity to achieve the curricular and core competencies that will result in greater impacts in both learning outcomes and sustainable behavior. This Leadership Clinic was a means of accomplishing this. 

Feedback from 2016 participants:

• This Clinic cultivated authentic, place-based learning through connecting passionate educators to collaborate on common goals. We are so blessed to have this time.
• A workshop that walks the talk: transformative, rejuvenating, creative, thought provoking and motivating.
• The Leadership Clinic has been an incredible gift of precious time , skillful facilitation and an inspiring environment for our team to plan a future for every child, every day, to learn outside.
• This Clinic has shown me of the shift in my own thinking that has to occur to develop my practices.
• An empowering Clinic that develops connections and inspires leadership within our multi-layered communities. The value of this transformational experience is immeasurable.
• The Clinic brought together passionate people connecting in nature to inspire change in our local districts.
• This Clinic has given us the space and connection for us to develop a coherent plan for moving place-based deep learning to occur in our District.
• The amount accomplished in developing a directive to implement within our district that will have success was incredible in a 4 day workshop.
• This was a very inspiring way to engage all the local districts in collaborative planning and to ignite excitement and motivation in the very important work of connecting kids with community and nature.
• The Leadership Clinic provides real skills and strategies to help develop a sound plan to implement place-based learning.
• An incredible opportunity to have dedicated planning time and take concrete actions, plus contacts and resources, back to our District to further the collective vision.
• A powerful networking experience to create common goals and support systems between school districts working towards EE.
• The EELC provides a rich opportunity to share, connect, build and inspire invested adults in getting kids outdoors!
• I am inspired and rejuvenated. I can’t wait to get home to share our collective ideas and to take my class outside!

Thanks so much to our supporters!