Exploring By The Seat of Your Pants Hosts a #NatureForAll Mini Canadian Festival
To celebrate efforts by #NatureForAll Canadian partners to engage youth, Exploring By The Seat of Your Pants put on a festival from November 23th-25th, 2021 featuring stories on three of the movement’s main goals. Enjoy learning from the nine online sessions now available below!
Three Themes:
Nov. 23 – Accessibility: how we can get people of all kinds out into nature more often.
Nov. 24 – Preservation: ensuring that there are special protected areas and species for generations.
Nov. 25 – Perspective: showcasing different ways of looking at the natural world!
November 23 – Accessibility
Exploring the Oceans From Your Living Room with Ocean School!
This exciting program highlighted Ocean School – the world’s most immersive virtual ocean exploration experience with founder Dr. Boris Worm! Dr. Worm is a marine ecologist with a special interest in understanding relationships between people and marine life at the global scale. He has worked extensively on the effects of fishing and climate change on marine ecosystems, to answer fundamental questions about human role in contemporary ecosystems.
Watch full session here: Exploring the Oceans From Your Living with Ocean School
Surviving and Exploring the Great Outdoors with Outward Bound
Outward Bound Canada Principal Rob Wallis introduced the many adventures that make up an Outward Bound program. From sea kayaking to snow shoeing, surfing to rock climbing, Outward Bound has been helping youth learn through adventure for over 80 years, and is now in 35 countries worldwide including 52 years in Canada! Rob went through the reasons why Outward Bound started in the first place, and what makes it so relevant today. You’ll have the chance to test your survival skills during this session, and learn some of the most common reasons your campfire won’t light, or why your hands might turn blue in winter! You’ll also learn that there’s far more to an Outward Bound course than technical survival skills – and you may find out there’s more in you than you think!
Watch full session here: Surviving & Exploring the Great Outdoors with Outward Bound
Nature as Medicine | Prescribing the Outdoors with Dr. Melissa Lem of PaRX
Nature prescriptions were named one of the top 8 global wellness trends in 2019. And it’s no surprise—research shows that kids and adults who spend more time in nature are happier and healthier. PaRx is breaking ground as Canada’s first national, evidence-based nature prescription program. Featuring practical resources like quick tips and patient handouts, its goal is to make prescribing time in nature simple, fun and effective.
Dr. Melissa Lem is a Vancouver family physician and Director of PaRx/Park Prescriptions for the BC Parks Foundation. Also President-elect of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, she has been researching, writing and speaking about the nature-health connection for over a decade.
Watch full session here: Nature as Medicine with Dr. Melissa Lem
Making Cities Better with Amanda O’Rourke
Amanda O’Rourke, Executive Director of 8 80 Cities, showcased the many ways her organization has worked over decades to make cities more human places, accessible to people of all backgrounds to walk, bike, take transit, and build social connections and a sense of belonging in parks and public spaces.
Watch full session here: Making Cities Better with Amanda O’Rourke
November 24
Key Biodiversity Areas: Protecting Canada’s Most Amazing Places
Across the planet there are many places that are especially important for wildlife, and finding these areas is hugely important for saving the beautiful biodiversity across our planet. In Canada, Wildlife Conservation Society Canada is one of three organizations teaming up to lead the charge on mapping out these Key Biodiversity Areas throughout the country. Peter Soroye, the Assessment and Outreach Coordinator for the Key Biodiversity Areas program at Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, explores some of the incredible areas that have been identified so far, and what makes them so special.
Watch full session here: Key Biodiversity Areas: Protecting Canada’s Most Amazing Places
Yellowstone to Yukon – Protecting North America’s Greatest Wildlife Corridor
Dr. Aerin Jacob is an ecologist and conservation scientist at an environmental not-for-profit organization called “Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y) Conservation Initiative”. Y2Y seeks to protect and connect landscapes across western North America, working from Yellowstone National Park in the United States all the way to the northern Yukon in Canada. This includes helping animals like grizzly bears, caribou, and wolverine that need a lot of space to feed, move, find mates, and raise their young. But sometimes the consequences of human activities like too much logging, building and driving on really busy roads, or recreation in the wrong places and times, and climate change can make life hard for animals – and for other people too. Aerin and Y2Y work with more than 450 groups across the Yellowstone to Yukon region to figure out solutions that help both people and nature to thrive in these amazing landscapes.
Watch full session here: Yellowstone to Yukon – Protecting North America’s Greatest Wildlife Corridor
November 25
Arctic, Antarctic and Places In Between | The SOI Foundation Story
Students on Ice expeditions take youth participants from around the world on unforgettable educational journeys to the Arctic, Antarctic, and many places in between. A team of scientists, Elders, artists, musicians, historians, knowledge keepers, visionary leaders, engage and support youth in their learning journeys. Together, they learn from one another while developing a deeper understanding of these important regions, their histories and complexities, and foster a commitment to climate action, building healthy communities, and environmental stewardship. The outcome is an experience that changes perspectives and inspires action and initiatives for a nature positive world. Tune in to hear from a member of the Expedition team as they share some of the best of what SOI has seen, done and where we are setting our sights for the future!
Watch full session here: Arctic, Antarctic and Places in Between
Introduction to Nature Sketch with The Bateman Foundation
Nature Sketch is an art and nature education program that encourages students to explore and develop their sketching skills, ecological knowledge and philosophies of artist and naturalist, Robert Bateman. One of our educators introduced some sketching skills while learning more about the importance of the human-nature connection for students!
Watch full session here: Introduction to Nature Sketch with The Bateman Foundation
Human and Nature Connections with David Galbraith
Dr. David Galbraith, Head of Science at the Royal Botanical Garden discusses the interconnectedness of the natural world, highlighting the changing perspectives on nature that are so important for meaningful conservation going forward. Dr. Galbraith brings nearly three decades of experience working to save habitats locally and globally and fostering new ways of seeing all the biodiversity around us and why it’s so important!
Watch full session here: Human and Nature Connections with David Galbraith