ABOUT US
CBEEN is the regional network for environmental education in the Columbia Basin.
MISSION
To encourage environmental stewardship and sustainability in the Canadian Columbia Basin by supporting environmental educators.
VISION
People in the Canadian Columbia Basin respect the natural environment and engage in sustainable activities.
GOALS
1. Maintain a vibrant and engaged network of educators in the Canadian Columbia Basin, and provide this network with excellent environmental education professional development resources and opportunities.
2. Facilitate collaboration amongst members, partner organizations, and Basin communities to effectively achieve our shared mandates and vision.
3. Undertake a process to better role model and support diversity, equity, and inclusion in the field of Environmental Education.
4. Expand network to increase engagement with and support for early years educators.
5. Maintain a sustainable organization which has effective and ethical governance in accordance with its non-profit and charitable status.
CBEEN is a Non-Profit Society and Registered Charity.
Over a decade ago, educators from across the Canadian Columbia Basin recognized that they shared geographic and cultural links and also a common interest in environmental education (EE).
The Columbia Basin Environmental Education Network (CBEEN) was born out of this shared sense of identity and from the common desire to support and promote EE on a regional scale. Over the past 10 years CBEEN has grown from a small group of passionate educators to a large and vibrant network of educators from across the Columbia Basin and beyond.
The Canadian Columbia Basin stretches from the Okanagan in the west to the Alberta border in the east and from Valemount in the north to the United States border in the south.
The communities within this region are linked through the water and their citizens’ past and future are intertwined historically, socially, economically, and environmentally. The region is also internationally recognized for its biodiversity values. Networks like CBEEN facilitate connections and information exchange among individuals who share common interests, inspiring innovation and efficiencies at all levels. This is especially important in the largely rural context of the Canadian Columbia Basin where communities are small, geographically dispersed and resources are limited.
Staff & Board of Directors
Awards
In 2018, CBEEN’s Executive Director, Duncan Whittick, won the Canadian Environmental Education ‘Outstanding Individual in an Organization’ award. This national award is presented to an individual associated with an organization who has made a significant contribution to environmental education in Canada.
In 2018, Cheryl Lenardon (CBEEN Director) received a Canadian Award of Excellence on behalf of the Kootenay-Boundary Environmental Education Committee (KBEE), representing school districts 5, 6, 8, 10, 20 and 51. This is an initiative of the Kootenay-Boundary Chapter of the BC School Superintendents Association.
In 2014, CBEEN was successful in nominating the Columbia Basin Trust for a National Award of Excellence, recognizing their outstanding capacity building efforts of environmental education across the Columbia Basin. CBEEN had the privilege of presenting this to CBT on behalf of the Canadian Network for Environmental Education and Communication.
In 2015, CBEEN was the sole recipient of the province-wide BC School Superintendent Association (BCSSA) Community Award of Recognition. This award recognized CBEEN’s “outstanding contributions to support and enhance public school education in the Province of British Columbia”.
In 2015, CBEEN Director Monica Nissen was named ‘Outstanding Environmental Education Non-Profit Individual’ by the Canadian Network for Environmental Education and Communication (EECOM) at its national conference in Canmore.
In 2013, CBEEN was named ‘Outstanding Environmental Education Membership Organization’ by the Canadian Network for Environmental Education and Communication (EECOM) at its national conference for its ongoing successful support of environmental education across the region.
Our Summer Courses are confirmed! ☀ Find some shade under a tree, tune in, and join us for some fantastic learning. 🌳
Early bird registration closes May 31. 🦆 Learn more & sign-up: outdoorlearning.com/events/category/online-courses/
We invite you to join us for:
🌻 Connecting Children to Nature through Indigenous Teachings with Rise Up Indigenous Wellness
🌷 Indigenous Scientific Principles and Applications with Lyla June
🪻 Secwepemctsín (Shuswap) Introductory Language Course with Samantha Mathew
🪷 Nature Journaling through the Seasons with Sonya Rokosh
We hope you can join us! outdoorlearning.com/events/category/online-courses/ ... See MoreSee Less
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New Release! 🦅 outdoorlearning.com/product/every-story-is-a-call-to-action/
☀ Learn more about David A. Robertson, and his other titles, here: outdoorlearning.com/2025/03/06/david-robertson/
🍂 Sign-up for David's virtual presentation on June 11th where he will share more about reconciliation: outdoorlearning.com/event/4-seasons-presentations-2025-2026/ ... See MoreSee Less
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☀ Our team is soaking it all up on the final morning of the Spring Outdoor Learning Conference! We hope you can join us for one of our upcoming events: outdoorlearning.com/event/ ... See MoreSee Less
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⭐️ Last night we had the great honour of presenting our annual Awards of Excellence to 5 incredibly deserving educators:
🌻 Mara Nelson
🌷 Bridget O'Malley
🪻 Charlotte Soles
🌸 Myia Malakoff
🌼 Graeme Lee Rowlands
A HUGE amount of gratitude to all of them for all of the incredibly positive and impactful work they do. 💓
Ktunaxa Nation
Wildsight
School District No. 20 - Kootenay-Columbia ... See MoreSee Less
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Day #1 Conference Highlight ☀ Staff and partners coming together in-person! 💞 ... See MoreSee Less
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And we're off! Leona Prince & Launa Purcell are kicking the day off at our table with an author meet & greet. If you're not at the conference, you can order their books here:
Leona: outdoorlearning.com/2025/12/28/3-leona-prince/
Launa: outdoorlearning.com/launa-payne-purcell/ ... See MoreSee Less
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The Outdoor Learning Conference is finally here! We look forward to welcoming 500 educators today. 🥰 ... See MoreSee Less
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WOW! 🤩 Our Director of Indigenous Learning has confirmed an INCREDIBLE line-up of monthly Indigenous presenters for the year ahead. These start in the fall, and run until the spring, and early bird registration is now open! outdoorlearning.com/4-seasons/ ... See MoreSee Less
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🏔️ If you're heading to the Outdoor Learning Conference in Banff, make sure you leave a little room in your bag! We'll have dozens of Outdoor Learning Resources and Tools available for purchase at our table, and there will also be 14 authors in attendance who are each scheduled for time at our table to meet you, answer any questions, and sign their beautiful books. 📗📘📙 ... See MoreSee Less
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