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By James Thordarson, Coordinator, Forest Education One of the best parts of my job is spending time with dedicated educators. So, I was excited to lead the first official Project Learning Tree (PLT) educator training in Canada on October 24, 2022. We worked with I.R. Churchill Elementary School with Lac des Mille Lacs Education Centre to coordinate and host the training session for about 20 educators. The elementary school serves 160 students from K‑8 within the Thunder Bay area. Nature-based…

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September 26–30, 2022 is Truth and Reconciliation Week, and September 30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. It is also Orange Shirt Day, an initiative started by residential school survivor Phyllis Webstad, Northern Secwepemc (Shuswap) from the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation, to raise awareness of residential schools and spread the message that every child matters. The theme for Truth and Reconciliation Week 2022 is “Remembering the Children.” In Canada, for more than 160 years, Indigenous children were taken…

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By Ezra Mecham My name is Sinuklhm or Ezra Mecham, of the Nuxalk Nation. My lineage descends from the village of Nusq’lst, and I was born and raised in the Bella Coola valley, heart of the Nuxalk Nation. My home, Bella Coola, is located deep within the inlets of the remote Central Coast Regional District of British Columbia. Bella Coola is a relatively small town of about 2,000 people, the majority of whom are Indigenous. There is one road in…

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By Jonathan Gichuru Increasing forest cover across the world is among the most cost-effective and efficient ways to mitigate the effects of climate change, which is a threat to a sustainable future. As a young professional, I’m motivated to be involved in bringing new perspectives and thoughts to the table that inspire natural resource conservation and contribute to mitigating climate change and achieving other sustainable development goals (SDGs). But deciding which niche to specialize in can be nerve wracking—especially with…

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By Megan Quinn In June 2022, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and its award-winning educational program, Project Learning Tree (PLT), came together in Madison, Wisconsin for a joint conference. The annual conference’s theme was Collaborating for Communities and Forests, so it’s fitting that the conference also played host to its first SFI Conference Green Mentor cohort. Nineteen young adults were selected from across North America to participate in this four-month mentorship opportunity. Mentees were matched with professionals in the forest…

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