Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan Education for Sustainable Development Network Inc. (SESDN)

http://saskesd.ca/

Mission

To provide tools and approaches that foster collaboration between people and organizations who are facilitating sustainable development through formal education, community and advocacy groups, industry, government, media and other forms of education.

Vision

All forms of education encourage Saskatchewan residents to understand and manage themselves as parts of larger, living systems.
Sustainability requires people to be life-long teachers and learners, actively changing themselves, their economies, and their societies through educational processes that recognize our dependence on ecosystem services and support a just society to meet the needs of all, locally and globally, seen and unseen, present and future.

Goals

To Foster Public Education and Awareness of Sustainable Development

To Build Partners within Saskatchewan and Beyond to Further Education for Sustainable Development
To Integrate Sustainability into Formal Education
To Support Sustainable Development Training for all Sectors
To Promote "Learning by Doing"

Approaches:

Communication: Provide a forum to share tools and resources that improve public awareness and understanding of the need for sustainable development.
Partnerships: Facilitate collaboration between people and organizations in the province.
Empowerment: Provide opportunities for people and organizations to apply their ideas and learn through their actions

Initiatives

Action Framework Presentation at RCE Saskatchewan Conference

The SESDN showcased the emerging Action Framework at the RCE Saskatchewan Conference of the Americas in Regina. The SESDN presented as part of a panel session on Regional Capacity Building. “Searching for Common Ground - Engaging Organizations through an ESD Action Framework” was presented by Dr. Glenn Sutter, Chair of SESDN. This session was attended by roughly 95 people including both regional and national delegates. SESDN also helped sponsor Severn Cullis-Suzuki as the keynote speaker for the conference. This part of the conference was free and open to the public, with over 265 attendees. SESDN saw this as an excellent opportunity to gain additional public and international visibility

We Are Many Pact Launch

The evening of April 22nd marked the launch of the We Are Many Pact. SESDN sees this project as an opportunity to support an emerging group whose goals are in line with their own and increase their visibility with many youth driven ESD organizations and other potential partners who support We Are Many by sponsoring the food and beverages available for the Pact Launch which was primarily comprised of local, organic and fair trade options.

Earth Day Event with Saskatoon Public Schools and Special Guests

SESDN invited the Network and potential network members to take part in their SESDN Earth Day event in Saskatoon, on April 22 2008, and learn more about the Action Framework and the SESDN. Pat Jamison of the SESDN steering committee opened with an ESD showcase highlighting the various ESD initiatives taking place in the Saskatoon Public School Division, initiatives of RoadMap 2020’s Sustainability Champions as well as giving SESDNs invitees an opportunity network with other organizations that are involved with ESD in Saskatchewan. It is estimated that over 95 people were in attendance. Over 15 schools with 75 students participated in the project fair and many of the students were able to stay for the presentations portion to hear from a variety of local ESD experts including: SESDN, the Saskatoon Public Schools and special guest Manitoba’s Deputy Minister of Education and longtime supporter of ESD, Dr. Gerald Farthing.

Sustainability Symposium

The SESDWG held an education for sustainable development symposium on April 19-20, 2007, beginning with a keynote address by Dr. William Rees, co-inventor of the ecological footprint. Approximately one hundred and fifty people attended Dr. Rees' address, which was entitled "Mything out on Sustainability (Barriers to Eco-Education)" and is available as a streaming video at www.saskesd.ca. SaskTel's Max subscribers were also able to view the address on a "local on demand" channel, where it was available for a month.

The April 20th event included a panel discussion on sustainable livelihoods - from what these are, to how ESD might foster them. There was also moderated discussion on "what is education?" and "the role of education in changing the world." A summary, outcome-based plan was developed in advance, to frame the event and facilitate discussion of provincial ESD goals and actions. Over ninety people took part, representing a variety of backgrounds, organizations, sectors and regions.

Youth Action Forum Project

The SESDN has been facilitating the development of additional Youth Forums on Sustainability in the province, to complement the one that took place in Regina at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum (RSM). With the funding provided by CIDA, Youth Forums were initiated in the Prince Albert and Humboldt/Muenster areas, and will be taking place shortly in Saskatoon and Ile la Cross.

Action Framework Development Project

An action framework is currently being developed that will allow members to identify how their efforts reflect provincial ESD objectives. Opportunities for cross-sector collaboration and experience sharing that involve formal, non-formal, and informal education will also be created. The action framework will ultimately support an increase in sustainability action projects and help to foster a culture of sustainability in Saskatchewan. In December 2007, SESDN held Action Framework Consultation Sessions with smaller focus groups in Regina, Craik, Saskatoon and Prince Albert to test the draft action framework. SESDN aims to officially launch the SESDN Action Framework with a large network event in the spring of 2008.

Green Life TV Series

SESDN is the acting advisory board for the documentary style TV series Green Life. The program explores how the people of Saskatchewan are changing the way they think, play, and work in an effort to create a more environmentally conscious lifestyle, thus deepening the viewers understanding of environmental issues and how their communities are impacting the environment in a positive way.

Work Plan 2008 Highlights:

SESDN Action Framework Development and Implementation
“Learning by Doing” Youth Action Forums
ESD partnership development
Development of the SESDN website (http://www.saskesd.ca )
Showcasing the SESDN Action Framework at the May 2007 RCE Conference of the Americas

Key Documents

Action Framework

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