Learning to Love the Natural World Enough to Protect It is an article from Louise Chawla that makes the connection between early childhood experiences outdoors with a caring adult and environmental action later in life.

Climate-Poverty Connections Fact Sheet summarizes a first-of-its-kind report produced by Drawdown Lift that shows how leaders do not have to choose among human development, climate mitigation, and climate adaptation; win-win solutions are at hand. Available in English and French.

Responding to Climate Change Education: A Primer for K-12 Education by The Sustainability and Education Policy Network. The purpose of the primer is to offer research-based understandings of how Ministries of Education, School Divisions, and Schools can help inform and empower climate action

Seven Principles for Cultivating Communities of Practice is an excerpt from Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge by Etienne Wenger, Richard McDermott, and William M. Snyder.

Closing the Achievement Gap prepared by the State Education and Environment Roundtable (Lieberman, Gerald A. & Hoody, Linda L, 1998) presents the results of a nationwide study using the Environment as an Integrating Context for learning (EIC). The report notes, “Using the environment as an integrating context is interdisciplinary, collaborative, student-centered, hands-on and engages students in learning”. Their research shows that student learning shows improvement in reading, writing, math, science and social studies; exhibit increased pride in their accomplishments; greater engagement and enthusiasm for learning; better ability to apply science to real-world situations; better application of systems thinking; increased ability to think creatively; and more advanced skills in applying civic processes to real-life situations.

Pathway to Stewardship is a framework providing a guide and roadmap towards stewardship. It covers every stage of a child's development using a series of benchmarks or goals. It is grounded in extensive research and interviews with 75 community leaders. Pathway to Stewardship is a call to action for everyone who plans for or spends time with children - parents, teachers, relatives, community groups, health professionals and government agencies.

Environmental Learning and Experience: An Interdisciplinary Guide for Teachers provides assistance to British Columbia teachers of all subjects and grades to integrate environmental concepts into teaching and learning. The Teaching and Learning Principles as well as the Principles for Conceptualizing ‘Environment’ can be applied in Alberta classrooms.

Using Emergence to Take Social Innovation to Scale is an article by Margaret Wheatley and Deborah Frieze looking at the characteristics of networks and how they can lead to change.

Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv coined the phrase ‘nature deficit disorder’ to describe the negative effects of children not spending time in nature. He brings forward the growing body of research indicating that direct exposure to nature is essential for healthy childhood development and for the physical and emotional health of children and adults.

Green Street Guide to Authentic Youth Engagement outlines some of the best ways to encourage authentic youth participation within organizations and includes practical advice and real-life examples.

The second edition of Natural Curiosity supports a stronger basic awareness of Indigenous perspectives and their importance to environmental education. The driving motivation for a second edition was the burning need, in the wake of strong and unequivocal recommendations by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, to situate Indigenous perspectives into the heart of Canadian educational settings and curricula, most notably in connection with environmental issues.

The Indigenous lens in this edition represents a cross-cultural encounter supporting what can become an ongoing dialogue and evolution of practice in environmental inquiry. Some important questions are raised that challenge us to think in very different ways about things as fundamental as the meaning of knowledge.

Le présent document est un excellent outil pour l’enseignante ou l’enseignant de même qu’un incitatif pour l’élève à découvrir le monde qui l’entoure. Dans cette deuxième édition de Curiosité naturelle, on découvre plus en détail l’apprentissage environnemental vu par les Autochtones. Avec cette découverte, on ne peut que remettre complètement en question la place que l’on occupe dans le monde. Le point de vue autochtone de cette édition donne le coup d’envoi d’un dialogue qui permet à l’enseignante ou à l’enseignant de découvrir la vision autochtone des choses et à l’élève de tisser des liens durables avec le monde naturel. Vous pouvez acheter le ressource ici.

Education for a Sustainable Future: A Resource for Curriculum Developers, Teachers, and Administrators is intended to assist Manitoba curriculum developers and educators to integrate sustainability concepts into new and existing curricula. It is interdisciplinary in approach, and provides direction, that is relevant to Alberta educators, for the integration of sustainability knowledge, skills, values, and life practices within the curriculum, the classroom, and the community. 

The Community of Practice Design Guide provides a practical approach to creating communities of practice.

Connecting Canadians with Nature: An Investment in the Well-Being of Our Citizens from the Canadian Parks Council is a report that provides an overview of the benefits of connecting with nature.

Backgrounder on Youth Engagement by the the Alberta Emerald Foundation (AEF) and What we Heard from the province-wide consultations conducted by ACEE, on contract to AEF.

NEW Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults! 

Robin Wall Kimmerer’s beloved bestselling book has been adapted for young adults by Monique Gray Smith. Monique is Cree, Lakota and Scottish, and is well known for her storytelling, spirit of generosity and focus on resilience. This new edition reinforces how wider ecological understanding stems from listening to the earth’s oldest teachers: the plants around us.

With informative sidebars, reflection questions, and art from illustrator Nicole Neidhardt (Navajo), Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults will help provide educators to bring Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the lessons of plant life to a new generation. This new version will provide the essence of this book in a way that better engages high school students. You can purchase it from the Outdoor Learning Store.

Climate Science Belongs in the Classroom factsheet by the Climate Reality Project is a free resource containing facts and information for teaching about climate change.

Connecting the Dots focuses on learning strategies and the ways of organizing learning experiences; the “how to” of learning. These learning strategies involve students as engaged learners, learning within the context of their communities and addressing relevant, local issues.

Environmental Outdoor Education and Exposure to Nature: The Positive Effects on Student Wellness and Academic Achievement is an annotated bibliography by Bill Bagshaw. It provides an extensive list of research on the effects of outdoor education on mental well-being, abilities and physical wellness.

Community Climate Change Education: A Mosaic of Approaches features information and resources on over a dozen approaches to community climate change education, from public art, resilience gardening, and climate justice, to social innovation, marine science, and youth programming.