Clayoquot Sound / Faculty (Steven & Dennis) discussing culturally modified trees Field Biology and Field Geology of the Canadian Temperate Rainforest (Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve), British Columbia , Canada. "The Environmental Learning Institute program that I participated in on Clayoquot
Sound, BC has been invaluable. The staff is a remarkable combination of
brilliance, experience, scientific knowledge, and cultural understanding.
To be immersed in this unique environment has enriched my professional
and personal life. Already I have developed and presented two workshops
using inquiry and environmental themes from this workshop. The Hesquiaht
First Nations perspectives and a western science grounding are combined
in a setting that is absolutely breathtaking. This is an international
learning and service experience not to be missed."
"As an Associate Professor of Education at St. Cloud State University, I found the BC Environmental Learning Institute program invaluable to myself as a "teacher of teachers," and feel teachers, educators and serious post-secondary learners at all levels would benefit through participating in similar experiences. Of particular value to teachers is the manner in which Inquiry Teaching and Learning are emphasized. This emphasis stems from the readings and preparation for the course, but more strongly through the hands-on experiences. For example, our team participated in a conservation biology research project in collaboration with our First Nations hosts. This project helped solidify the Inquiry approach to teaching and provided a valuable cultural link between our group and our First Nations host family. Other activities of interest included: learning about how First Nations people utilized their natural resources in a sustainable way, observing the myriad wildlife living close to our camp (wolves, bears, whales & salmon), working with Hesquiaht and Anglo Canadian scientists and educators to learn more about local salmon stream integrity and the inter-tidal ecosystem, and hiking and climbing through the various bio-geological zones of Olympic Peninsula in Washington and the Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve in Canada. I found the workshop extremely helpful. In my 30 years of teaching and numerous research opportunities it was absolutely the best, most valuable, experience Ive ever had and the benefit to my students is priceless." - Professor Gregory Coverdale, St. Cloud State University Required Personal Clothing and Gear National Science Teaching Standards To Pay Program Fee by Credit Card Pisasters / Out the Longhouse Door Team loading the water taxi / Traditional knowledge lesson in the rainforest / Assessing salmon streams
August 1-8 , 2007 Deadlines: Rolling Admissions. If space is available participants may be admitted up to the course date so long as all required forms, including medical form and release form, are received prior to the rendezvous. Participant Share of Cost: A comprehensive course fee of $1200. $150 non-refundable deposit. Payment may be made by credit card (using PayPal) or check made out to Environmental Learning Institute. The Environmental Learning Institute provides course transport from the Victoria rendezvous to the Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve, Canada, on-course travel, food, cooking equipment, lodging, protected area fees, course reader and all scientific and research equipment. This fee does not include airfare from the participant’s home to and from Victoria, personal clothing, personal equipment expenses, personal expenses or optional travel. PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO COMMUNICATE WITH PREVIOUS PARTICIPANTS! Rendezvous: 1 PM, August 1, Victoria, British Columbia Provincial Museum. Please have your lunch before the rendezvous. Dropoff: Noon, August 8, Victoria, BC. Therefore you can book flights from Victoria or ferries to Seattle for the next morning. Credits: Option 1. 2.5 graduate-level relicensure hour credits available through Colorado School of Mines (additional roughly $150). Registration for this credit is done before the course with payment by credit card or check.
David / Sarah / Karen 1. Facilitator Contact Information: David Scott Silverberg, Ph.D.,
520 245-3711, silverberg@alum.mit.edu Steven and Karen Charleson, Hooksum Outdoor School, Hesquiaht Harbor, B.C. Dennis Morgan, M.Sc., Director, Bamfield Community Forest Sarah Tyne, M.Sc., Instructor, Bamfield Marine Station
The Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve is composed of the largest intact virgin rainforest in southern British Columbia, inland seaways, fiords and an incredibly rich marine environment. In this TORCH we will explore through authentic inquiry-based learning-research activities the incredible temperate rain forests of British Columbia's Vancouver Island's West Coast. Towering cedar trees, several salmon species, wolves, bears, eagles, resident grey and orca whales typify the region. We will live with the Hesquiaht First Nations and Anglo-Canadian communities whose lives are fundamentally dependent on the sustainable management of the region's still intact watershed. After a camping study tour from Seattle to Clayoquot Sound, we take a 2 hour boat ride to Hesquiaht Harbor. Our home base will be at a Hesquiaht First Nations traditional Longhouse. The group will study coastal temperate rainforest ecosystems in the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada through hands-on explorations guided by local area experts. (Dr. Silverberg co-founded and directed the Boston University Affiliated School for Field Studies in Bamfield, B.C.) The program will take place in a 8-day session in August of 2007. Teachers will:
3. Itinerary: The 8-day institute will be spent traveling to and from and staying in the Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The group will meet in Victoria, BC and then take a study tour enroute to the Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve. 1 August 2007 1 PM, Victoria Provincial Mueseum, drive
to Tofino, arrive late afternoon 2003 BC TORCH Team 4. Levels of educator-participants: ELI structures this program to be intergenerational and inter-academic level. The greatest goods develop from seriously committed learners from undergraduates to practising professionals. We invite pre-service, in-service, undergrad and graduate student, education professors (teacher of teachers) and education professionals (e.g. science education coordinators, university, park, museum and outdoor center affiliated). Those students taking the program for credit will be required to complete an individually-designed comprehensive final exam. 5. Structure of workshop: 6. Content Knowledge Topics: Field Geology and Field Biology in the Context of Natural Ecosystems and Ecological Concepts This course provides an overview of the British Columbia coastal rainforest ecosystems: what they are; how they work from a geological and biological perspective; and how they evolve and adapt to change. Ecosystem structure and function, as well as ecosystem development and dynamic equilibrium are integrated into a central theme of sustainability from a local and global perspective. Particular emphasis will be given to the ecology of British Columbia's Vancouver island coast , the Clayoquat Sound Biosphere Reserve. Biosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere interactions and exchanges within the coastal zone and temperate biomes are introduced as related to issues of local and global environmental change. The philosophy, pedagogy and learning activities of the course employ a standards- and inquiry-based approach.
Environmental History of Canada Hesquiaht, Nuu-chah-nulth Culture Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Processes of Inquiry Canada and Global Environmental Change Experimental Design and Data Interpretation Watersheds and Coastal Environmental Change Tectonic, Geologic and Physical Geographic Development of British Columbia and Vancouver Island, Canada Glacial Geomorphic Processes Coastal Geologic Processes Tides and Currents Physical Oceanography of the Coastal Zone Biogeochemical Cycles in the Coastal Zone Causes and Consequences of Biodiversity Temperate Rainforest Structure & Function Habitat Fragmentation and Degradation How Coastal Temperate Rainforests Work Canada's Protected Areas and Communities 7. Curriculum materials: 8. Field Equipment: Our field lab includes several notebook computers, and standard geological and biological field equipment. A digital projector, compasses, barometers, digital cameras, mini-DV camcorders, 35 mm SLR, dissecting microscope, GPS units. 9. Food and Lodging: We will be cooking in a camp and also occassionally eating in simple local restaurants. Participants will be asked to help the camp manager with cooking and cleaning chores in rotation. In Clayoquot Sound we will be living in a traditional longhouse. Enroute, we will be camping in tents and using sleeping bags. You need to bring your own sleeping bag and sleeping pad. Two person tents are provided, though you are welcome to bring your own if you prefer. 10. Physical Fitness Requirements: The British Columbia Rainforest TORCH course involves hiking in the wet temperate rainforest, dayhiking with a 20 pound daypack, hiking on trails and off-trails, traveling in a van for several hours on sometimes curvy coastal and mountain roads, traveling in a motorboat on a choppy water surface. Participants will sleep in tents, in sleeping bags with sleeping pads on the ground. |
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