Wild Voices for Kids in Kootenay communities

The Columbia Basin Environmental Education Network (CBEEN) continues to offer its Wild Voices for Kids program, despite some changes to funding.

Earlier this year, the Columbia Basin Trust made the decision to focus its funding to on-the-ground action to restore ecosystems and support climate resiliency in the Basin.

This means funding environmental education for organizations such as Wildsight and CBEEN ends in 2023.

READ: Wildsight urges Basin residents to lobby for environmental education

However, CBEEN will carry on with Wild Voices for Kids, says Mia King Program Manager.

“The Wild Voices for Kids program is funded through many different regional grant sources, including CBT. With CBT’s decision to change its program funding for environmental education, this has resulted in our ability to offer less fully and heavily subsidized Wild Voices for Kids presentations this school year compared with past years,” King said. “These fully and heavily subsidized Wild Voices presentations allow for more quality, place-based environmental education programs to be accessible by all students in the Basin.”

So what will be offered this spring? All kinds of interesting programs, mainly delivered outdoors, where students learn about and explore the local environment through hands-on activities that explore things like the local watershed, the local flora and fauna and wildlife behaviour.

A few examples of our Spring programs include:

1. A Day with Aquatic Macroinvertebrates

2. A Short History of the Columbia River

3. Agriculture in the Classroom

4. Animal Survival Instincts

5. Backcountry Food Preparation

6. Endangered Mountain Caribou in the Kootenays

7. Food Forests & Ecosystem Diversity

8. Grizzlies in the Kootenays

9. Identifying Trees in your Neighbourhood

10. Introduction to Michif Language

11. Let’s Get Growing! Garden Planning for Classrooms