Annual environmental symposium brings together 6,500 students to inspire change

April 26, 2022,

As many as 6,500 students in schools across the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board and the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board took part in the annual Environmental Symposium running April 21 and 22.

The virtual event brought local students and educators together with environmental experts and organizations for fulsome discussions, interactive learning sessions and highlights of innovative student-led Deep Learning projects under the theme “Inspiring Hope” and coinciding with Earth Day.

A wide variety of partner agencies such as Peterborough GreenUp, the TRent Aboriginal Cultural Knowledge and Science group, local conservation authorities, Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre and many more provided students with an engaging two days of learning.

One of the outcomes of the two-day event was to support local project Pathways to Stewardship and Kinship that promotes and supports healthy childhood development, community connection and environmental stewardship through building an early and ongoing relationship with nature. Each of the sessions offered during the symposium was aligned to the landmarks used to encourage outdoor play, learning, exploration and awareness.

Further information about the Pathways Project can be found here: https://pathwayproject.ca/landmarks/

“We are honoured to have been able to facilitate this powerful two days of learning and overwhelmed by our local communities’ responses and involvement in making this all possible,” said PVNC learning consultant and event organizer Sarah Taylor.

“Sessions engaged K-12 students and their teachers to reflect on their experiences about the land and to encourage positive environmental action and kinship. We are grateful for the opportunity to gather to inspire hope.”