MSSTA MTS PD Day - Environmental Changemakers: From Awareness to Action

Register here: https://memberlink.mbteach.org/Event.axd?e=2802

Keynote - Clayton Thomas-Müller

Climate change has had a devastating impact on Indigenous communities and ways of life. In this keynote address, author Clayton Thomas-Müller will discuss climate change and how it has affected the land from an Indigenous perspective. In addition to speaking to the harms and challenges specific to Indigenous peoples and communities, Clayton will share his perspectives as an Indigenous rights defender and climate action activist, including how educators can inspire and involve students in climate action.

Clayton Thomas-Müller is a member of the Treaty #6 based Mathias Colomb Cree Nation also known as Pukatawagan, located in Northern Manitoba. His national bestseller, Life in the City of Dirty Water, ties together the realities of intergenerational trauma faced by Canada’s First Nations peoples and frontline activism in the face of environmental injustice, exploring Clayton’s personal experiences of survival and healing.

In addition to being an author, film director, and media producer, Clayton has campaigned across Turtle Island (North America) to support Indigenous Peoples in defending their territories against the fossil fuel industry, including Canada’s tar sands and pipelines. His activism has garnered him recognition as a Climate Hero by Yes Magazine, as well as being featured as one of ten international human rights defenders in the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

1.01 - Follow Up Q & A with Keynote Presenter Clayton Thomas-Müller

This session is a continuation of the Keynote address.

Presenter: Clayton Thomas-Müller

Suitable for: All Educators

Time: 10:50 am - 11:40 am

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

1.02 - Social Studies "Matters" (8 spots remaining)

As the Manitoba Social Studies Curriculum is slated for renewal, this session will enable participants to reflect on the “raison d’être” of our discipline. Participants will have the opportunity to go beyond content, by collaborating and sharing their knowledge and understanding of Social Studies through an analysis of:
• Why is Social Studies important?
• What could be the guiding principles?
• How could Social Studies support MB Education and Early Childhood Learning vision?

Presenters: Linda Connor & Kelly Hiebert, Manitoba Education

Suitable for: All Educators

Time: 10:50 am - 11:40 am

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

1.03 - Teaching a Truth & Reconciliation Class to Middle School Students

École River Heights School (Grade 7 & 8) has been teaching a Truth and Reconciliation class to all Grade 7 students for 7 years. Students participate once per cycle throughout the year. How do you teach tough concepts age appropriately to twelve and thirteen-year-olds? Join our session to learn how!

Presenters: Katherine Abra & Jennifer Wiebe, Teachers, Winnipeg School Division

Suitable for: Middle Years

Time: 10:50 am - 11:40 am

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

1.04 - Cycling Education in Schools - the BEST Program

Active transportation is part of the solution in taking action on climate change. Peter Obendoerfer, BEST (Bicycle Education and Skills Training) Coordinator for Seven Oaks, will explore how cycling education and promotion could add an exciting and important component to your school division. This presentation will explain how the program has developed in Seven Oaks, highlighting the content and logistics necessary to prepare Middle Years students to safely bike for safety. It will also discuss how the program has expanded in Manitoba, including how non-profit organizations like the WRENCH, Bike Winnipeg, and the Green Action Centre are supporting and helping to accomplish the expansion of BEST. Beyond introducing the program itself, this presentation will include a discussion about the successes and challenges of cycling for transportation in Winnipeg and how BEST is contributing to the progress being made.

Presenter: Peter Obendoerfer, BEST Coordinator, Seven Oaks School Division

Suitable for: Middle Years

Time: 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

1.05 - Creating and Maintaining Pollinator-Friendly Spaces

When we say “All Our Relations”, we must take this to include even the smallest. Our fates are intertwined. Dwindling populations of native pollinators place ecosystems under tremendous stress or even threat of collapse. In response, new and innovative approaches are crucial to drive necessary change. We invite you to learn about local pollinators in Manitoba, the current threats, and how to nurture thriving ecosystems better adapted to climate change, that support native wildlife. Additionally, we will explore habitat restoration as a valuable teaching tool, and as a vehicle for decolonizing our spaces and ensuring the health of our communities.

Presenter: Rene Hince, Director, Beez Please; Salem Roby, Team Lead, Beez Please

Suitable for: Middle Years, Senior Years

Time: 10:50 am - 11:40 am

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

1.06 - Outdoor Learning: Tools to Teach Climate & Mitigate Climate Anxiety

This session will focus on a few best practices for moving learning into the outdoors around your school community. It will equip you to use outdoor learning to both spark care and concern for the climate, and help students feel empowered to make change.

Presenter: Barret Miller, Manager of Education, Assiniboine Park Conservancy

Suitable for: Early Years, Middle Years

Time: 10:50 am - 11:40 am

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

1.07 - Teaching Children in the Era of Climate Collapse

In this workshop, we will discuss how teachers can provide opportunities for children to develop a reciprocal relationship with the natural world and build the skills for civic engagement. We will share practical activities to help children connect with nature and develop the abilities needed for collective action.

Presenter: Mike Link, Associate Professor, University of Winnipeg

Suitable for: Early Years, Middle Years

Time: 10:50 am - 11:40 am

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

1.08 - Understanding Our Carbon Footprint

This session will introduce teachers to a comprehensive variety of resources and engaging activities to deepen students' understanding of the concept of a carbon footprint and the environmental impact of human activities. These interactive experiences aim to make learning about carbon footprints and environmental impact more enjoyable for students. With these practices, students can identify and analyze everyday activities and behaviours contributing to their personal and household carbon footprints, and utilize cutting-edge tools and methodologies for precise carbon footprint estimation. The session will guide educators in facilitating the creation of actionable, personalized plans for students to effectively reduce their environmental impact, fostering a deeper understanding and commitment to sustainable living.

Presenter: Ayesha Shekh, Teacher, Avicenna Academy

Suitable for: Early Years, Middle Years

Time: 10:50 am - 11:40 am

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

1.09 - Eco-Warriors - Growing Climate Action in your School

James Nisbet Community School has gone through an amazing transition over the past year as we've seen an explosion of climate activism in our building and on our grounds. Our session will detail how a small group of motivated educators and an amazing group of students have taken a school with very little climate awareness and turned it into a leader of climate activism in our division.

Presenters: Darryl Reilly & Lori Barber, Teachers, Seven Oaks School Division

Suitable for: Early Years, Middle Years

Time: 10:50 am - 11:40 am

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

1.10 - Teaching Global Issues for a New Breed of Student

Although the Global Issues course is not that old, the technologies and issues of today demand new strategies and present new challenges.

Presenter: Greg Shedden, Retired Teacher

Suitable for: Senior Years

Time: 10:50 am - 11:40 am

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

1.11 - Our Shared Future: An Experiential Activity on the Climate Emergency

This experiential activity explores actions individuals and communities can take to survive extreme weather, lessen the impacts of climate change, and build just communities. It highlights that our potential to address the climate emergency is tied to our ability to collaborate and to take a diversity of climate actions.

Presenter: Marta Bunnett Wiebe, Program Coordinator, Mennonite Central Committee Canada

Suitable for: Senior Years

Time: 10:50 am - 11:40 am

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

1.12 - Cause & Consequences, Continuity & Change: Holodomor Genocide, Current Ecocide as a Weapon of War in Ukraine & Climate Education

"A genocide begins with the killing of one person, not because of what he has done, but because of who he is".
- KOFI ANNAN, Secretary General of the UN, 2001.
This workshop will address the best practices in the areas of inquiry, collaborative learning strategies, land-based learning, and how to scaffold students' learning while introducing you to the new The Historian’s Craft Lesson on Human Rights and the Holodomor written by Valentina Kuryliw, Director of Education for the Holodomor Research and Education Consortium (HREC). The book is designed for various grade levels and teaching contexts and provides well-organized and effective strategies and clear content for teachers to incorporate directly into their classrooms."

Presenters: Valentina Noseworthy & Orysya Petryshyn, National Holodomor Education Committee Members

Suitable for: Senior Years

Time: 10:50 am - 11:40 am

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

1.13 - Water Wonderings

This session will explore the practicality of water testing and data management to develop students’ connection, care, and respect for our water systems. We will also discuss launching hands-on, meaningful projects in the school, such as a "Thrift Store,” with a focus on how it all connects to water.

Presenters: Kathryn Laframboise & Sabrina Ferraz, Teachers, Seven Oaks School Division

Suitable for: Middle Years, Senior Years

Time: 10:50 am - 11:40 am

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

1.14 - Essentials to Engaging Students in Climate Change

This session will provide you with the confidence and knowledge to launch or expand climate change education in your classroom. We will provide you with the background, resources, ideas, and community connections to engage and inspire your students in climate action. We believe all classrooms and all subjects can embed climate change education and we can do this by focusing on solutions, modelling environmental behaviours in classrooms, empowering students, and understanding best practices.

Presenter: Susan Lindsay, Climate Change Connection

Suitable for: All Educators

Time: 10:50 am - 11:40 am

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

1.15 - Explore Energy Efficiency Resources for your Classroom

Discover Generation E, an exciting Efficiency Manitoba education initiative that brings the conversation about energy efficiency and sustainability to Manitoba classrooms. In this session, you’ll have the opportunity to explore Generation E’s activities and free resources, learn how you can incorporate them into your lessons, and share your insights.

Presenter: Erin Dueck, Efficiency Manitoba

Suitable for: All Educators

Time: 10:50 am - 11:40 am

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

1.16 - The Impacts of Hydropower: A Manitoba Case Study (7 spots remaining)

Ellen Cook will present on the historical and present impact of hydroelectric power in Northern Manitoba, and Derek Eidse will guide participants through a 1-2 week-long interdisciplinary unit of study he's developed in collaboration with Ellen and the Interfaith Council on Hydropower.

Presenters: Ellen Cook, Language Instructor, University College of the North; Derek Eidse, Teacher, University of Winnipeg Collegiate

Suitable for: Middle Years, Senior Years

Time: 10:50 am - 11:40 am

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

1.17 - Connecting Climate Action with Curriculum

Communicating climate change in a world full of information overload can be challenging and overwhelming - but the good news is that strategies exist to make talking about the crisis easier, and you don't need to be a scientist to do it. In this presentation, Manitoba's Climate Action Team will share climate communication tips in an effort to help educators connect existing curriculums with the climate action message. The presentation will include examples from our climate resiliency work in communities around Manitoba to help educators take climate action into conversations beyond the classroom with fellow educators, trustees, and parents.

Presenters: Sarah Reid & Bethany Damon - Manitoba's Climate Action Team

Suitable for: All Educators

Time: 10:50 am - 11:40 am

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

1.18 - FREE Lessons and Resources: Indigenous History in Canada, Deciphering Online AI and Misinformation, and more curriculum based lessons!

Kids Boost Immunity (KBI) offers Indigenous lessons on Pre-Contact, Contact, Treaties, Colonialism and The Indian Act, as well as special teachings, co-developed by Manitoba Indigenous educators and Elders, linked to the Manitoba curriculum. KBI also offers lessons and tools to help students address ways that personal biases are exploited by makers of misinformation/disinformation. In this interactive workshop, teachers become students and experience the engaging learning format that includes audio, images, videos, and quizzes that link learning to helping others, as a score of 80% or higher earns life-saving vaccines (polio, diphtheria, tetanus and measles) for others around the world in need. There is also a teacher-led option where a class can still earn vaccines to help others without being online.

Presenter: Jason Wiens, Teacher, Western School Division

Suitable for: Middle Years

Time: 10:50 am - 11:40 am

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

1.19 - Visualizing Climate Education: Collaborate Art Project by Manitoba Teachers

Each educator carries the emotional weight of the climate crisis in different ways and self-expression through art can be a powerful tool for channeling these feelings. This session is being organized in collaboration with Dr. Bruno de Oliveira Jayme from the University of Manitoba, and by the end of the day, a piece of collaborative art will be produced by Manitoba educators. It is our hope to produce a similar student-made piece of collaborative art at the UNESCO schools conference later this year and display the two pieces side-by-side.

Presenter: Riane Kandia, Teacher, Winnipeg School Division

Suitable for: Early Years, Middle Years, Senior Years

Time: 10:50 am - 11:40 am

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

2A.01 - Digital Citizenship for Educators

In an age where technology is deeply integrated into our lives, it's crucial to understand the human rights principles of digital citizenship to make informed decisions and contribute positively to the online community. This workshop is designed to empower individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate the digital world responsibly, ethically, and safely. It covers skills in fact-checking, ethical dilemmas, and socialization through digital medias. This workshop aims to equip educators in guiding students to become ethical digital citizens.

Presenter: Bea Basaran, Education Coordinator, Manitoba Association of Rights and Liberties

Suitable for: All Educators

Time: 12:50 pm - 2:40 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

2A.02 - The Key to Sustainable School Transportation

Many of our students arrive at school by car, contributing to noise pollution, air pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions, all of which negatively impact our community. Unlike those who use active means of commuting, children who are regularly driven to school and other activities become more dependent on adults, which affects their physical and mental health. Research has shown that increasing walking, biking, and cycling can help reduce pollution and promote a healthier population. The question is, how do we achieve this?

Join Ian Walker, a parent, elementary school teacher, bike advocate, and LRSD school trustee, as he shares his firsthand experience leading a bike bus, running a community bike hub, and advocating for separated bike infrastructure and 30 km/h residential speed limits.

Presenter: Ian Walker, Teacher, River East Transcona School Division

Suitable for: All Educators

Time: 12:50 pm - 2:40 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

2A.03 - 3 Ways to Get Students Outside Year Round

Learn all about Wilderness Wednesdays, the Jack Frost Challenge and Polar Bear Recess in this session with tips and tricks for those who are new or want to learn more about taking students outside year round. The second half of this session will be outdoors, rain or shine, so—as we tell our students—please come prepared.

Presenter: Amanda Lake, Teacher, Louis Riel School Division

Suitable for: Early Years, Middle Years

Time: 12:50 pm - 2:40 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

2A.04 - Mitigoog, Ditibitwabishkiga nag, Miikana Minawa Gikinoo’Amaadi Wigamigag (Trees, Bikes, Trails, and Schools)

A wide-ranging presentation touching on the intersection between sustainable transport, outdoor learning, planting, Indigenous languages and culture shift in cities and schools. A practical introduction to reimagining school spaces with real world examples of how to get youth involved. Learn about the major projects of Winnipeg Trails, especially LittleTrails, FutureForests, and Plain Bicycle, and how to apply them.

Presenter: Anders Swanson, Winnipeg Trails

Suitable for: All Educators

Time: 12:50 pm - 2:40 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

2A.05 - Teaching Rocky Cree History & Culture with Picturebooks and Apps

The Six Seasons Series is a collection of historical picturebooks, apps, and teacher’s guides telling the stories of the Rocky Cree as they move through the year and around their territory in northern Manitoba. In this session, participants are introduced to the materials and get to try out the apps.

Presenters: Melanie Braith, Audrey Barkman-Hill, Connie Wyatt Anderson, Mavis Reimer - University of Winnipeg

Suitable for: All Educators

Time: 12:50 pm - 2:40 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

2A.07 - A Fighting Chance -Teaching for Just Transition

Learn about a framework and tools for a just transition–a move away from growth economics and the politics of division necessary to avoid collapse due to converging challenges of climate change, mass extinction, growing inequity and concentration of wealth, austerity, reduced capacity of government, increased trauma, militarism, war and authoritarianism. The framework includes making sense of political, economic, ecological, social and cultural aspects, with tools for strategizing and organizing around 4 main tasks: building solidarity, developing awareness or critical consciousness, creating alternatives, and disrupting and stopping more harm. As we leave the world in a mess for youth to clean up, we are obligated to teach them skills, knowledge, attitudes and tools so they have a fighting chance at success and survival. This includes ways to embrace complexity to make systemic changes and not be overwhelmed by the challenges.

Presenter: Marianne Cerilli, Change Agent

Suitable for: Middle Years, Senior Years

Time: 12:50 pm - 2:40 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

2A.08 - Sustainability Education in the Classroom

MCIC's vision is a just world, and our educational programs aim to grow the next generation of global citizens. We provide teachers and students with the tools that they need to learn about and teach topics related to sustainability by focusing on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and linking them back to MB curriculum topics. Climate Change is connected to many other sustainability topics including access to clean water, poverty, hunger, biodiversity, and more. MCIC offers workshops and lesson plans that deal with these topics and help bring sustainability education into the classroom in a way that is engaging and interactive, and leaves students feeling empowered to make change. Some examples include learning how the fashion industry impacts people and the environment in our new board game about Fast Fashion, exploring how climate change affects urban communities in Designing for the Future, and thinking about the ways that climate change affects hunger and poverty rates in Building a Good Life. Learn about these and more at our booth and in our session.

Presenter: Amanda Benson, Education Specialist, MCIC

Suitable for: Middle Years, Senior Years

Time: 12:50 pm - 2:40 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

2.01 - Co-Anxiety: Supporting the Mental Health of Young People in Climate Crisis

A 2023 Canadian study found nearly 4 in 5 young people feel the climate crisis impacts their mental health, with over 50% feeling sad, anxious, and powerless. This workshop aims to share curriculum and resources to support students' mental health, develop emotional-literacy, and address eco-anxiety.

Presenter: Scott Durling, Teacher, Seven Oaks School Division

Suitable for: All Educators

Time: 12:50 pm - 1:40 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

2.02 - Introducing the Holocaust to Middle Years Students

Teaching students about the Holocaust is a difficult but vitally important task that faces all educators. Arguably, one of the greatest obstacles is knowing how to responsibly introduce the Holocaust in the classroom. In this presentation, I plan to use my early and middle years teaching experience combined with my history background to create methods for introducing and teaching the Holocaust to middle years students.

Presenter: Scott Templeton, Teacher, St. James-Assiniboia School Division

Suitable for: Early Years, Middle Years

Time: 12:50 pm - 1:40 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

2.03 - Teaching for Climate Change with the Manitoba Curriculum

What is climate change education? How does it align with the Manitoba Education and curriculum documents? This session will provide an overview of climate change education and offer entry points and examples of it that align with the K-12 curriculum.

Presenter: Will Burton, University of Winnipeg

Suitable for: All Educators

Time: 12:50 pm - 1:40 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

2.04 - Honouring Indigenous Veterans

Thousands of Indigenous veterans served in world wars to support Canada and Great Britain. These individuals were treated mostly equitably while serving, but did not receive recognition or benefits upon returning home. The CSS Museum at Minto Armouries created a feature display to acknowledge and to honour Indigenous veterans.

Presenters: Dale Watts & Ervin Gerbrandt, The Service Battalion Senate

Suitable for: Senior Years

Time: 12:50 pm - 1:40 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

2.05 - Polio Epidemics and the Consequences for Young People

How polio epidemics terrified society, affecting children especially in the first part of the 20th century. Using my award-winning novel, Second Chances, I show that the issues about vaccines and conspiracy theories during the polio epidemics were the same as during the Covid pandemic. Relates also to the expropriation of the Métis community of Rooster Town in Winnipeg in the 1950s.

Presenter: Harriet Zaidman, Writer

Suitable for: Middle Years, Senior Years

Time: 12:50 pm - 1:40 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

2.06 - Why Indigenous Communities Matter in the Fight Against Climate Change

In a world that Terry Teegee, Regional Chief of the British Columbia Assembly of First Nations, calls "out of balance", why is it important that knowledge from the Métis, First Nations, and Inuit people be included in the fight against climate change?
Indigenous communities are, at their core, connected to the land. Climate change is affecting our relatives from coast to coast. Our lived reality and our indigenous knowledge needs to be respected and reflected in the dialogue surrounding climate education.
What can we do, as educators, to put this knowledge and these perspectives into action in our classrooms?

Presenter: Pamela Schoen, Teacher, Louis Riel School Division

Suitable for: All Educators

Time: 12:50 pm - 1:40 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

2.07 - Social Polarization Leading to Extremism and Violence: A Guide for the Educators

This workshop is designed for K-12 teachers. It focuses on equipping educators with strategies to identify and address social polarization in their classrooms, thereby preventing the rise of extremism and violence. Educators play a crucial role in fostering inclusive environments, promoting critical thinking, and encouraging respectful dialogue among students. This workshop, supported by ERIMCA's comprehensive resource toolkit, provides practical tools and methods for teachers to effectively counteract extremist ideologies.

Presenters: Dr Kawser Ahmed & Linda Mldozinski, ERIM

Suitable for: Middle Years, Senior Years

Time: 12:50 pm - 1:40 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

2.08 - Climate Change Simulation

Play a whole-class climate change simulation! This interactive workshop introduces you to a simulation in which students take on the role of various global stakeholders whose goal is to reach the Paris Agreement target “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.”

Presenters: Nathan Boulanger, Hanover School Division

Suitable for: Senior Years

Time: 12:50 pm - 1:40 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

2.09 - Get to Know an NGO: Exploring Sustainability and Collaborative Action

The goal of this session is to introduce the role of NGOs in promoting sustainable practices and leading community-driven action, while also understanding the operational aspects of an NGO. Teachers will gain the knowledge and confidence to effectively integrate NGO examples and sustainability topics into their curriculum, while enhancing students’ understanding of global issues and fostering a sense of responsibility towards sustainable practices.


This session will highlight Green Action Center and
Green Kids Inc.
Green Action Center’s primary areas of work are green commuting, composting and waste reduction, sustainable living, and resource conservation.
Green Kids Inc. is a live theatre company dedicated to environmental education through performance. They explore environmental science through theatre, allowing participants to imagine, empathize and laugh, all while understanding the serious issues we face.

Presenter: Suzanne Simpson, Teacher, Louis Riel School Division

Suitable for: All Educators

Time: 12:50 pm - 1:40 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

2.10 - The Effects of Weather on Recess: Climate Change in Physical Education and Health, Children's Activities, and Connections to Social Studies

This presentation will take a health geography lens on weather and climate change. Health geography is a subfield of geography and can be used to understand and interpret geographic issues. Using a health geography lens by examining inequality and injustice related to environmental exposures. At the end of the session, participants will understand how various weather conditions impact children’s play behaviours and how social studies can connect with health and physical education to educate students on climate change.

Presenter: Chloe Simpson, Teacher Candidate, University of Winnipeg

Suitable for: Early Years, Middle Years

Time: 12:50 pm - 1:40 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

2.11 - Social Studies "Matters"

As the Manitoba Social Studies Curriculum is slated for renewal, this session will enable participants to reflect on the “raison d’être” of our discipline. Participants will have the opportunity to go beyond content, by collaborating and sharing their knowledge and understanding of Social Studies through an analysis of:
• Why is Social Studies important?
• What could be the guiding principles?
• How could Social Studies support MB Education and Early Childhood Learning vision?

Presenters: Linda Connor & Kelly Hiebert, Manitoba Education

Suitable for: All Educators

Time: 12:50 pm - 1:40 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

2.12 - Bearing Witness: Using the Witness Blanket & Survivor Testimony as Texts to Teach About Residential Schools

The Witness Blanket is a large-scale work of art containing hundreds of items reclaimed from residential schools, churches, government buildings, and both traditional and cultural structures from across Canada. The Witness Blanket invites visitors to explore objects from the blanket and hear directly from survivors about their experience.

This session will introduce participants to the Witness Blanket and witnessblanket.ca and discuss how to incorporate a trauma-informed approach when bringing voices of residential school survivors into the classroom. Additionally, educators will learn how to walk alongside their students in taking the next steps on their pathway of reconciliation. The Witness Blanket will be available for visitors and
students to experience beginning on September 20, 2024.

Presenter: Graham Lowes, Manager, Education & Program Development, Canadian Museum for Human Rights

Suitable for: Middle Years, Senior Years

Time: 12:50 pm - 1:40 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

2.13 - Visualizing Climate Education: Collaborate Art Project by Manitoba Teachers

Each educator carries the emotional weight of the climate crisis in different ways and self-expression through art can be a powerful tool for channeling these feelings. This session is being organized in collaboration with Dr. Bruno de Oliveira Jayme from the University of Manitoba, and by the end of the day, a piece of collaborative art will be produced by Manitoba educators. It is our hope to produce a similar student-made piece of collaborative art at the UNESCO schools conference later this year and display the two pieces side-by-side.

Presenter: Riane Kandia, Teacher, Winnipeg School Division

Suitable for: Early Years, Middle Years, Senior Years

Time: 12:50 pm - 1:40 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

2A.06 - Mashkiki Babaamose: Medicine Walk at The Leaf (4 spots remaining)

"Learn about the four Sacred Medicines, and many other plants that are culturally significant to Indigenous peoples on these lands and how they have been used since time immemorial. Good conversation and delicious refreshments inspired by and sourced from the gardens and biomes at The Leaf will follow.
This satellite location will take place at The Leaf at Assiniboine Park from 1:30-3:30. An additional
$25 per registrant will be added to your registration fees and transportation to and from the park will be the responsibility of registrants. Please note: This program will have an outdoor and indoor component, please dress accordingly."

**Extra $25 fee for this session***

Presenters: Barret Miller & Chandra Petti, Assiniboine Park Conservancy

Suitable for: All Educators

Time: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm

Location: The Leaf at Assiniboine Park

Participant Max: 25

3.01 - Remembrance Day: Keeping it Meaningful

Social Studies teachers are often called upon to lead or help organize school-wide Remembrance Day ceremonies. This session will provide a forum for participants to share practical ideas and past practices with the goal of providing logistical and creative ways of organizing meaningful, contemporary and educational assemblies. The presenters have designed a series of Remembrance Day presentations over the years and will be sharing one of their favourite ones with participants. (Bring a memory stick!)

Presenters: Kevin Szajkowski & Timothy Parker, Louis Riel School Division

Suitable for: All Educators

Time: 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

3.02 - 1919 Winnipeg General Strike: Through the Eyes of Young People

A description of the conditions leading up to and during the Winnipeg General Strike - the impact on society then and the ripples through the decades. Using my novel, City on Strike, I show how working class immigrant children were affected by the deep poverty and social situation.

Presenter: Harriet Zaidman, Writer

Suitable for: All Educators

Time: 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

3.03 - Climate Change Challenges: Educators Exploring The Opportunities

Climate change is the most complex challenge facing human kind today. Explore climate change and learn how to prepare students to meet the challenges of climate change as confident, solutions-minded citizens, now and into the future. The session will include an overview of research, strategies, and resources for climate change education, and include opportunities for teachers to share ideas on how best to support and engage their students in climate inquiry and action. This session will highlight LSF's newest resource, Empowering Learners in a Warming World (climatewarning.ca).

Presenter: Kim Hartikainen, Teacher, River East Transcona School Division

Suitable for: Middle Years

Time: 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

3.04 - Online Resources for Manitoba Educators

An overview of the online resources available to educators and students through Manitoba Education's ORME site (https://mbcsc.edu.gov.mb.ca/onlineresources) will be presented with a particular emphasis on the theme of climate education.

Presenter: Nancy Girardin, Librarian, Manitoba Education & Early Childhood Learning

Suitable for: All Educators

Time: 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

3.05 - Bird Detectives: Hands On Field Work to Foster Lifelong Environmentalism

Come work with Alex, an experienced wildlife biologist and founder/program director of the Manitoba Burrowing Owls Recovery Program, to learn about a hands-on eco-system appreciation program she has developed! This program can easily be adapted to work for Grade 2-12 and to meet environmental curricular standards. One of the best ways to encourage students to develop a lifelong love of sustainability is to help them better connect with the environment around them!

Presenter: Alex Froese, Teacher Candidate and Wildlife Biologist

Suitable for: All Educators

Time: 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

3.06 - Dealing with Controversy in the Classroom (2 spots remaining)

Social studies teachers have to address many challenging topics in their courses. This session will give teachers some strategies they can use with students when controversial topics come up in class. It will also provide strategic advice for dealing with concerns from parents and other community members.

Presenter: Michael Zwaagstra, Teacher, Hanover School Division

Suitable for: Middle Years, Senior Years

Time: 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

3.07 - Camp Hughes: Prelude to Victory

Camp Hughes was a military training site near Carberry, MB from 1909 - 34. During the First World War approximately 38,000 prairie soldiers trained there for overseas service with the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Many of these soldiers went on to fight in some of the major Canadian battles of the Great War (documentary).

Presenter: Dale Watts, The Service Battalion Senate

Suitable for: Senior Years

Time: 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

3.08 - Building Relationships with the Land

In this workshop, CPAWS MB Environmental Educator Carly Gray will share her experience with conducting a meaningful land acknowledgment, engaging students in environmental stewardship through Indigenous Pedagogy, environmental inquiry in the classroom, and how CPAWS Manitoba supports Indigenous-led conservation initiatives in Manitoba (and how your students can too!).

Presenter: Carly Gray, Environmental Educator, Canadian Parks & Wilderness Society

Suitable for: All Educators

Time: 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

3.09 - Student Ideas into Community Action: Caring for Our Watersheds

Learn about how free workshops and access to funding can help turn your students' ideas into community solutions. Young minds often hold the key to amazing innovations that can protect and improve our environment.
Caring for Our Watersheds is more than just a classroom assignment. The program teaches students real life skills including researching, planning, budgeting, and written and verbal communication. Most importantly, the program teaches students that they CAN make a difference. Students are encouraged to implement their ideas and have access to funding.

Presenter: Kandra Forbes, Educator, Caring For Our Watersheds, Oak Hammock Marsh

Suitable for: Middle Years, Senior Years

Time: 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

3.10 - Get to Know an NGO: Exploring Sustainability and Taking Action through NGOs

The goal of this session is to introduce the role of NGOs in promoting sustainable practices and leading community-driven action, while also understanding the operational aspects of an NGO. Teachers will gain the knowledge and confidence to effectively integrate NGO examples and sustainability topics into their curriculum, while enhancing students’ understanding of global issues and fostering a sense of responsibility towards sustainable practices.


This session will highlight Climate Change Connection and Wilderness Committee.
Climate Change Connection is working to educate Manitobans about climate change and facilitate climate change solutions.
Wilderness Committee envisions a Canada where wilderness and wildlife thrive for the benefit of all. They are united to protect life-giving biological diversity through strategic research, community mobilization, and grassroots public education.

Presenter: Suzanne Simpson, Teacher, Louis Riel School Division

Suitable for: All Educators

Time: 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

3.11 Bearing Witness to October 7 and Combatting Antisemitism in Our Schools & Classrooms

In this session, presenters Naama Samphir and Kelly Hiebert share their experience and insights from their participation in the Binat Halev educational seminar. The seminar took us to various parts of Israel and the Gaza envelope to see the aftermath of the October 7 massacre committed by Hamas terrorists. We had the privilege to meet with and hear from survivors, families of victims and hostages held in Gaza, Israeli and Arab educators, and high school students from a school in Sderot. We walked through the remnants of the Be’eri kibbutz, and the Memorial erected at the Nova Festival site. This presentation aims to bring facts, that are not sufficiently reported in Western media, to light and to clearly convey the message that we must speak up as Antisemitism and other forms of hate have no place in society.

Presenter: Kelly Hiebert, Teacher, St. James Assiniboia School Division; Naama Samphir, Teacher, Gray Academy

Suitable for: Middle Years, Senior Years

Time: 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25

3.12 Taking Action for Human Rights: Student Showcase at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights

This session will introduce educators to the Be an Upstander program and discuss how students can share their work in the Museum gallery spaces as a part of the annual Upstander showcase. Be an Upstander uses project-based learning to support students in taking action for human rights. Students examine human rights issues, then use their unique strengths to create exhibits or artifacts to tell others. Students also develop and implement an action plan for creating change. During the session, participants will learn about resources, hear from educators who have implemented the program in their classes, and learn how to create and participate in showcase events where students can share their learning with authentic audiences.

Presenter: Graham Lowes, Manager, Education & Program Development, Canadian Museum for Human Rights

Suitable for: Middle Years

Time: 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm

Location: Chief Peguis Middle School, 1400 Rothesay Street, Winnipeg, MB

Participant Max: 25