Humber is becoming a greener campus and everyone is participating! Humber Sustainability Highlights feature people and departments around the College integrating sustainable practices. This month’s focus is the Early Childhood Education program’s initiative to connect children with nature.

It is universally known that when children are given the chance to play outdoors, they will take it. With that in mind, the Forest and Nature Program pilot was developed for children to foster their curiosity and build a relationship with nature.

“The goal of the program is to give children repeated access to the same outdoor spaces to build a relationship with and learn about the natural world around us,” says Kaitlin Beard, an educator from the Humber Child Development Centre.

Normally, the children went out once a week to the Arboretum. But the program changed their weekly routine to three times a week allowing them to explore more of the meadows, wetlands or the forest at the Arboretum.

“Their skills – developmentally – were incredible. They went from looking at big wide open spaces to honing in to details,” says Beard.

Not only were the children taught to become conscientious of their actions in nature, they became more focused and in-tuned with their minds and bodies.

 “By the end they were saying: ‘we can’t rip leaves off trees because they can’t grow, but if they’re on the ground then we can use them…’ The program teaches children to be stewards for the future,” says Beard.

The pilot program ran for the month of June with a small group of four-year-old children. Beard and Louise Zimanyi, a professor for ECE, attended Forest and Nature School Canada to become certified Forest and Nature practitioners. After their training, they implemented the Forest and Nature Program pilot at Humber’s daycare.

“The children are natural curious explorers. They even say with excitement: ‘we’re going on adventures at the Arboretum today!’ ” says Beard.

Try out these tips so you too could go on adventures and connect with nature!

• Take a walk at a park. There are many benefits to walking, but walking in nature doubles the health benefits!
• Go for a bike ride using park trails. Just taking in the scenery – even in passing – calms your mind and reduces stress!
• Start your own garden. If you don’t have outdoor space, grow potted plants along your windowsill or balcony.
• Visit a greenhouse or garden. Gain some inspiration for your own garden or simply enjoy the loveliness!  

For more information about the ECE’s Forest and Nature Program pilot, click here!

Happy New Year!  It’s time to replace your holiday e-signature greeting, so we are asking the entire Humber community to help commemorate our 50^th Anniversary by using this Outlook e-signature graphic.

[[{"fid":"513","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false}},"attributes":{"height":"127","width":"297","class":"image-style-none media-element file-default","data-delta":"1"}}]]

[right-click on the graphic to copy and paste]

To add the Humber 50^th Anniversary graphic to your e-signature in Outlook:

• Click New E-mail
• Click Signature tab and select ‘Signatures’
• Delete the Holiday greeting e-signature (if applicable)
• Copy and paste the 50^th Anniversary e-signature graphic below your name and contact information that is currently in your e-signature
• Click OK

Humber’s brand site also has the 50^th Anniversary e-signature graphic posted for future reference.

If you have any questions, please contact the Marketing and Communications Office at marie.kyrinis@humber.ca.

Best wishes for 2017!

The Editorial Board of the Journal of Innovation in Polytechnic Education (JIPE) in collaboration with Humber Press invites Humber faculty to submit papers for publication.

The Journal of Innovation in Polytechnic Education is an online, open-access journal devoted to publishing peer-reviewed papers that investigate and expand teaching and learning within the polytechnic educational context. JIPE especially encourages contributions exploring the impact of innovative teaching and learning practices that push the boundaries of traditional approaches to learning or educational delivery. The journal publishes original empirical papers, brief reports, review papers, and occasionally book reviews.

For more information or to submit a manuscript for consideration, visit jipe.ca

JIPE accepts submissions year-round. However, to be considered for publication in the first issue (due Fall 2017), manuscripts must be submitted by February 27, 2017.

Please direct any questions to Dr. Heidi Marsh (heidi.marsh@humber.ca), Editor-in-chief.

Register for the AASHE Resource Center TODAY to gain access to member-only resources and to participate in AASHE’s discussion forums. The online Resource Center is a comprehensive source of information on sustainability in higher education. It provides administrators, faculty, operations staff, students, and other campus stakeholders with the tools, information and guidance they need to lead the sustainability transformation. Member dues are the chief source of funding for developing and maintaining these resources.

To create an account:

1. Go to create member account
2. Complete the user profile using your Humber email address

After you receive your password by email, go to the login page, enter your email address (username) and new password, and you will have access to all locked resources.

Email webmaster@aashe.org if you have any difficulty with this process