March E-Newsletter

This month in PEISN...

1. Public Forest Council Educational Field Trip

2. Waste Watch Challenges in Schools and Businesses

3. 2010 ACASE Conference Invitation to Presenters

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1. Public Forest Council educational field trip

The Public Forest Council are hosting a workshop/ field trip on Saturday March 6, 2010 for people interested in learning more about Island forests.

The morning session will focus on:

- climate change and its potential implications for Island forests

- trends in the emerging bioenergy/ biofuels sector, ando the topics

The afternoon session will feature a nearby Provincial Forest* property where visitors can learn about:

- winter wildlife

- horse logging

- silvicultural techniques used to manage PEI ‘s public forests.

*If weather conditions permit, the day will also feature a sleigh ride through the property to allow visitors to enjoy the winter beauty of a well managed public forest.

The PFC hopes to demonstrate the value of public lands and showcase the important work being done to manage these lands for forest products, wildlife, education, recreation and long term research. There is no charge to attend and a free lunch will be provided to people who preregister by calling 902 368 4803

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2. Waste Watch Challenges in Schools and Businesses

Island Waste Management Corporation will be focusing efforts to improve

sorting levels at businesses, and especially schools across PEI.

Contamination levels in many cases do not meet acceptable minimums and

surcharges will be enforced. A surcharge is a fee (or fine) over and above

the normal disposal fee which has been put in place to discourage customers

from neglecting to follow mandatory sorting guidelines.

Our children are our future, and it is the intention of Island Waste

Management Corporation to work with schools and assist them with any sorting

challenges they may be experiencing. Sorting tools are available to

classrooms and common areas, and custom sorting guides can be created to

assist where unique situations are experienced.

The two most significant ERRORS observed at schools are:

1. Pizza Boxes. These are recyclable and should be collected through

recyclable collection. Students/teachers/janitorial/kitchen staff should

simply remove left-over pizza--even if the box is dirty, it can still be

recycled. DO NOT PUT PIZZA BOXES IN COMPOST.

2. Milk cartons. Every effort should be made to rinse the cartons out and

place them for recyclable collection. IWMC recognizes not all schools have

the facilities for this. If the cartons cannot be rinsed, they must be

placed in COMPOST. Never in the WASTE stream.

IWMC welcomes any suggestions from teachers on the development of resource

material that may assist their classrooms in adopting Waste Watch as a part

of each learning day. Please contact us at info@iwmc.pe.ca

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3. 2010 ACASE Conference Invitation to Presenters

The Atlantic Canadian Association of Science Educators (ACASE) is hosting the annual ACASE conference here in Charlottetown under the theme Education for Sustainable Development.

The conference is entitled: "A Climate of Action: Science, Technology, and Sustainability." It will be taking place on July 7th, 8th, and 9th at UPEI’s school of business.

Attached is the official open invitation for presenters (English and French). For more details on the conference, please contact Isaac Quinn (information below) and visit the ACASE website periodically as the event approaches.

http://www.unb.ca/fredericton/science/physics/acase/

iaquinn@edu.pe.ca