C&NN 2017 International Conference and Summit

In this field trip, travel to recently-greened school grounds in West and North Vancouver for on-the-ground inspiration and understanding of what it takes to develop a successful green school grounds program. You will have an opportunity to see outdoor classrooms, playgrounds, and food gardens in action at three schools, hearing from the teachers, administrators, and parents who helped create them. You will learn about the process of greening school grounds from design to installation. Hosted by Evergreen’s Executive Director Cameron Collyer and design consultant Caron Cheng, we will visit the outdoor classroom at École Pauline Johnson, the nature and active playground at Highlands Elementary, and the school ground market garden at Sutherland Secondary. 

Max Capacity: 30

Traditional playground equipment can be found in diverse settings, sometimes surrounded by natural elements and other times placed in cement blocks. All offer opportunities for children to connect to nature. Visit two urban playgrounds in Vancouver and join the conversation on the that role playground designers, parents, educators and park planners can play in creating links to the natural world through play. Parks feature play equipment built by Landscape Structures and Habitat Systems.

Max Capacity: 35 

By their nature, gardens embody diversity. This field trip explores the cultural significance and value of learning gardens for diverse communities in restoring and reclaiming their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health and resilience through stories, myths, nature connection, and practical examples. This on-site workshop will engage participants in dynamic, creative, community garden-based learning at the UBC Orchard Garden. Participants will leave with actionable strategies and inspiration for initiating community-collaborative, inclusive learning gardens. This workshop features garden researcher/practitioners bringing indigenous, multicultural, and urban perspectives from four different learning gardens in the Pacific Northwest. Participants will: (a) share cultural stories of hands-on engagement with garden-based learning; (b) practice the art of poem-making and cordage with the use of harvested site materials; and (c) use patterns from nature to capture permaculture-inspired wild design activities. Dress for the outdoors. An herbal tea will be served.

Max Capacity: 40 

This field trip offers an outdoor sensory exploration in a beautiful botanical garden on the perimeter of the Pacific Ocean. The Sustainable Communities Field School (SCFS) is a community-based research and education program hosted at UBC Botanical Garden in Vancouver. This innovative program is designed to engage local businesses, community groups and families to learn about sustainability and inspire them to adopt sustainable habits in their daily lives. Hosted in collaboration with the Society Promoting Environmental Conservation and the UBC Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, the program has a significant research mandate to evaluate the impact of the education on people's values, behaviours and knowledge of sustainability.

Located on unceded Musqueam Territory of the Coast Salish First Nations, UBC Botanical Garden is home to a diverse plant collection which includes indigenous species and ecosystems representing the Pacific Northwest. Using an outdoor classroom in one of Vancouver's oldest food demonstration gardens and the Greenheart TreeWalk (a canopy walkway bridge), the curriculum addresses topics including sustainable food systems, biodiversity conservation, waterwise management and waste reduction. Focusing on a fun and interactive atmosphere, the tour includes hands-on activities that allow people of all ages to access nature. 

Max Capacity: 50