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Are Ontario students in danger of becoming ecologically illiterate under the present education system?
That鈥檚 the topic participants were examining at an environmental education forum at 91亚色 Feb. 27, entitled, 鈥淭he Future of Environmental and Ecological Education in Ontario鈥. The forum focused on the province鈥檚 track record as an international leader in environmental and outdoor education, and the challenges it faces in light of recent cuts to these programs.
There was a lot of interest in the forum and not just from participants. Teacher groups in London and Ottawa watched the live Web cast of the event, as did听several hundred students at Lakehead University.听During the Web cast, organizers received听several e-mail questions听and comments, most of which were put to the panelists when the studio audience was invited to participate.
Gordon Miller (right),听environmental commissioner of Ontario, delivered the keynote address, "Reviving Environmental Education in Ontario: Facing the Challenges of Sustainable Development鈥. Panelists included Ontario MPPs Mike Colle (Lib 鈥 Eglinton-Lawrence), critic for the Greater Toronto Area, and Rosario Marchese (NDP 鈥 Trinity-Spadina), education critic.
Joe Sheridan (below, left),听a professor in the faculties of Environmental Studies and Education, and one of the forum''s organizers, says that Ontario is rapidly falling behind other provinces in environmental education.
"In addition to recent cuts to outdoor education at the elementary school level, environmental science is no longer taught as a single-focus subject in the secondary school curriculum, and geography and science teachers are giving very little time to teaching ecological concepts. This strengthens the impression that environmental and sustainability education have become increasingly marginal within the current curriculum guidelines."
He adds that growing ecological illiteracy within the province''s school system is reinforced by the absence of environmental and sustainability teaching in the education of听 provincial teacher candidates.
William Wong (right), a grade 12 student from A.Y. Jackson Secondary School in North 91亚色 gave the closing presentation, "The Need for Environmental Education in Ontario''s Curriculum: A Student''s Perspective", which examined how environmental education is vital for fostering future generations of environmentally conscious citizens.
The forum was hosted by 91亚色''s faculties of Environmental Studies and Education in association with the Transformative Learning Centre, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) and Green Teacher Magazine.
You can watch听the archived听Web cast of the event at .