By Bryan Eneas

Fireside discussion highlights land-based education

Apr 26, 2018 | 12:00 PM

The pops and crackles of a fire were background noise to an informal discussion between educators about the merits of land-based teaching.

On April 24, Par Place hosted an Around the Campfire discussion led by Renee Carrière, a teacher from Cumberland House with over 35 years of experience on the lands. The discussion highlighted the work she completed through a McDowell Foundation research grant, while looking at land-based teachings as education.

Carrière suggested land-based teaching and education are a way to engage Indigenous students, who according to a report tabled by the provincial child and youth advocate, graduate at half the rate of their non-Indigenous peers.

“We have, 50 per cent of the population that is not engaged, so we need to try different practises, strategies, different environments,” Carrière said. “We have a classroom, but that’s one environment, why can’t we have a different environment?”

Lands-based education and teachings rely on outdoor experiences to educate students about topics they would normally discuss inside a classroom. On a small scale, Carrière said even taking 20 minutes a day to pick up garbage at the school playground is a form of lands-based education.

SIGA

SIGA and Northern Lights Casino main sponsors of the 31st PAGC Fine Arts Festival

8h ago

Workplace incident

City of Prince Albert pleads guilty to workplace safety violation, handed fines

10h ago

Lighting it up

P.A.'s Zablocki leads Regina to victory on Day 4 at Esso Cup

Apr 24, 2024

While Carrière discussed a number of small scale options teachers can implement in the classroom, she also talked about a larger-scale land based education research project she was a part of.

Through funding from the McDowell Foundation, Carrière and her students from the Charlebois Community School in Cumberland House conducted a research project called “The Muskrat Project.”

The project had a number of objectives which included promoting the use of lands-based education within the science curriculum. The Muskrat Project also aimed to increase high school level credit attainment for Indigenous students while encouraging their enrolment in science-related careers.

Carrière said lands-based education also acted as a way to build relationships and restore connections between students.

During her discussion period, Carrière said she noticed a visible difference in the students who participated in lands-based education. She wasn’t alone in noticing the changes; she said grandparents and parents took the time to approach her and tell her how their children had changed, something she attributed to ethics learned on the lands.

Ellen Whiteman, the manager of the McDowell Foundation, said their work aims to produce quality research from local teachers as opposed to others in Canada or other countries.

“[Their research] wasn’t necessarily applicable here in Saskatchewan, so it was really important to us to go to the teachers who are with the students… they know what’s needed, and to do the work right in the province,” Whiteman said.

She said she was really pleased to see teachers and educators made the trip to Prince Albert from as far away as Saskatoon to attend the informal discussion.

“We will be doing some online work around this and some print based work so it will be shared more broadly than this room, but I was really pleased to look around the room and see so many people here,” Whiteman said.

Bryan.Eneas@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @BryanEneas