Environmental Education Program

Sierra Club's Education Program brings important environmental messages to students through programs that are fun, engaging, and interactive. Sierra Club BC understands that a sustainable future relies on teaching today’s youth about ecological processes and our interactions with the environment. We want young people to become involved with their communities as green stewards, and we want such action to be grounded in sound knowledge.

Our project’s budget for the year is approximately $300,000. Sadly, funding has been cut several times over the year with the recent loss of a $75,000 grant from BC Gaming. The impacts of this loss of funding include:

• An immediate freeze of delivery of all elementary school programs throughout BC • Severe reductions to program delivery for secondary programs, particularly to non-urban areas. • An immediate cut of 3 staff that deliver our programs in schools. • Cancellation of all in-progress curriculum development projects. • Cancellation of all distribution of program learning resources and teacher support materials.

$200,000 from The Aviva Community Fund would enable us to get back in the classroom with our young learners and make sure they receive the education about our environment that is so crucial to our future.

Sierra Club BC

Since 1969 Sierra Club BC has played a leading role in environmental stewardship in British Columbia. We are passionately committed to safeguarding BC's wild places.

Our achievements this year alone, despite funding cuts include:

• delivering Sierra Club BC’s award-winning environmental education programs across BC to 7,000 students, fostering children’s understanding and love of nature, and inspiring them to be the new generation of environmental stewards;

• protecting 2.1 million hectares of the Great Bear Rainforest from logging and implanting lighter touch logging in the remainder of the this unique natural area, thus saving the unique Kermode Spirit Bear’s home; and

• drawing international attention to the endangered Flathead River Valley in SE BC - “One of the most diverse and ecologically intact natural ecosystems in the temperate zones of the world,” according to National Geographic. At our urging, delegates from the United Nations arrived last month to investigate potential destructive mining proposals in the Flathead.

Environmental Education Program

The goal of Sierra Club's Education Program is to empower students to become environmental stewards in a way that is fun and inspiring, through unique hands-on programs that meet teacher & student needs from grade 1 through 12. We have along & established history as a leader in environmental education in BC.

Over the school year, Sierra Club Educators deliver 14 different programs across BC ranging from climate change to endangered species to sustainability. We help classes plan stewardship projects, & through our programs, students become part of a network of enthusiastic youth taking environmental action in their communities.

Our highly-demanded multi-visit programs are directly linked to BC's curriculum, and include support through Pre- & Post-Program Learning Packages, print and electronic resources, & access to our innovative web-based, youth-friendly Online Sustainability Calculator Tool.

There are significant impact and benefit to participating communities - on many different levels. Classes involved in the program engage in hands-on learning, and in long-term community stewardship projects through our "Action Challenge" component. These measurable projects directly benefit participants, the environment, and the local community. Previous Action Challenges inspired by our program include Anti-Idling Campaigns, tree and garden planting, neighborhood clean-ups, fundraisers for green spaces, classroom composting, and school-wide energy conservation.

Students, teachers and administrators all learn important stewardship skills that apply to life-long learning and community engagement. Each program includes a "take home" component, engaging families and larger community, with the goal that youth will lead their communities in a process of ongoing, transformative change that reduces their ecological and carbon footprint.

Today’s children are increasingly disconnected from the natural world, falling victim to what the famous researcher Richard Louv calls ‘nature-deficit disorder’. There is a desperate need to teach our children about issues and the positive steps towards solutions that they can take. Teachers are especially vocal about this need, citing a desire for a program that includes environmental learning that involves the whole school and that gives students an opportunity to make the jump from knowledge and awareness to action. Sierra Club BC programs have been directly addressing this need, and with the support of the Aviva Community Fund we will be able to continue our crucial work with the young green leaders of today.