Friday, October 3
Today we went on a helicopter tour. All morning we looked forward to the helicopter tour and afterwards we talked about the helicopter tour. The End. Not really, but it certainly was a highlight! After a hearty breakfast, Simon Ham from Banff did an excellent presentation on the wildlife corridor studies and the work in progress there.

Next we got an industry viewpoint when Shad Watts from Devon Canada explained what they are doing and who they are working with to implement an ILM (integrated landscape management) plan . Again, he was very informed, and encouraged us to contact him for any further needs or information.

Steve Donelon of Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation gave an overview of the parks in our province with a focus on Kananaskis Country. He briefed us on how this landscape is divided by all the stakeholders, new and old.

Peter Snow of the Stoney Tribe explained to us the relationship they have with the other agencies of their beautiful area, and especially how their culture fits into modern requirements of society while preserving their culture. It was really insightful to be able to interact closely with Peter in this session with a lively Q and A that followed.

The helicopter excursion was so unique and awesome. It is hard to describe. We literally got a physical overview and close-up of the mountains, streams, lakes of this area as well as a bird’s eye view of the human footprint.

After, Kathryn, from Inside Education, led us through some lively curriculum-based activities. We were given a generous allowance to go to dinner where we wanted. Canmore seems to have a great abundance of fine eating establishments. Friday was day enjoyed by all!

We will wrap things up tomorrow with a debrief session and more ways to bring what we’ve learned and experienced into the classroom.

Bill Van Der Weide,
Senior High Science Teacher
Coalhurst, Alberta

Foothills Education Tour October 2-4, 2008

Thursday, October 2

Teachers began their day with a hot breakfast. Gail and Kathryn explained to us what Inside Education is all about; what we could expect to learn in our time together, the services offered to teachers, and who our sponsors were.

We were introduced to Mary Reid from the University of Calgary; Mary led us through some very interesting slides. We learned about foothills trees and shrubs. It was explained that fires and insects were the major disturbances. She concluded with a fascinating explaination of the Mountain Pine Beetle and what we could expect in the future.

We packed our goods, grabbed a bagged lunch, and headed to the Jumpingpound Demonstration Forest. Mary took us on a short hike where we learned about tree features that are designed to contend with temperature and moisture requirements of the tree. We enjoyed a lovely, quiet lunch in the forest, and then met Rick Blackwood with Alberta Sustainable Resource Development. On our visits to several forestry sites, we learned about the importance of sustainable forest management and what could potential come of the forest without sound practices.

After spending the day in the forest we traveled to Canmore and enjoyed a truly awesome meal and ambiance of the Grizzly Paw restaurant!

Once again it was a great learning experience with great company, and the treatment was royal.

Bill Van Der Weide, Coalhurst

Boreal Institute

Focused on the Boreal Forest and current issues related to the area and its people. I gained multiple perspectives on the issues from plant and wildlife experts, government agency representatives, industry officials and, most importantly, Aboriginals. What sets Inside Education apart from the others is that they take you out to the area of study and immerse you in the issues related to it. We visited and analyzed the forest, past and future logging sites, an in-situ oil sands operation, and a view from a helicopter. In my opinion, these experiences provided by Inside Education and their sponsors are very beneficial and interesting professional development experiences for teachers.

Corry Raugust, Big Valley School

Day Four

After our bus trip from Lethbridge to Strathmore, Kerry Guy and Kim Currie from EnCana Corporation gave us a tour of a Coal Bed Methane facility. In the afternoon we boarded the bus again and traveled to Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park to learn about the Blackfoot culture and the flora and fauna of this region. We will also be staying at Blackfoot Crossing in a Tipi! What a unique opportunity.

Did you know...

• Coal Bed Methane is the largest source of natural gas.

• EnCana owns 20 per cent of the mine and mineral resources in Canada while free holders (private individuals) own 5 per cent and the government owns the rest.

• Encana is the third largest corporation in Canada

• Ground water protection is the number one issue in oil & gas drilling

• The Siksika Reserve (also known as the Blackfoot tribe) is the second largest reserve in Canada, measuring approximately 70 miles long and 35 miles wide.

• The Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park opened on July 18, 2007, which faces the original site of the Treaty 7 signing of 1877.

• The Blackfoot Historical Museum is divided into four main areas each represented by a tipi. Artifacts were collected from several museums all over the world and from people of the Siksika nation.’

Day Three

Day three began with a couple of informative talks in one of the ballrooms of the Lethbridge Lodge. David Hunt from Alberta Environment gave a talk on water management in Southern Alberta. This was followed by a presentation by Ron McMullin from Alberta Irrigation. After a quick lunch, we were off to the St. Mary’s Dam. At the Dam we were introduced to Harley and Louis Frank of the Blood Tribe. Harley described the agricultural project in which approximately 20 members of the tribe are being trained in farming methods.

Did you know...

• Canadians use an average of 335 litres of water a day. Compare this to people in Haiti who use an average of three liters of water a day.

• It takes 11 litres of water to produce a head of lettuce and 51 litres to produce a cob of corn.

• If the water canals in Southern Alberta were put end to end they would reach from Vancouver to Toronto and back again.

• Irrigation technology has improved at the rate of a year since 1965.

• Irrigation crops in Southern Alberta include Alfalfa, beans, potatoes, peas, corn, sugar beets and cereal grains.

• The Blood Tribe has 335,000 acres of lands and produces a variety of crops. They irrigate 18,000 acres of land.

• The Blood Tribe uses 18 poles in their tipi’s. Each tipi usually displays drawing of the star people (bird), earth people (animal, people)

July 8th – Day 2

Another day of adventure. Once more we boarded the bus and off we went to Waterton National Park. Kim Pearson from the Nature Conservancy of Canada led us on a nature hike. The hills were filled with sticky purple geraniums, pink prairie roses, yellow yarrow and rough fescue, the provincial grass of Alberta. The view of the mountain ridge and surrounding valley was spectacular. After a short picnic lunch we heard from local ranchers, Anne,Jennifer and Elizabeth. Another short bus trip and we were at the Bison lookout where Barb Johnson, a wildlife biologist with Waterton National Park, introduced us to some of the wildlife research in the area. Another short bus ride and we arrived at the Mountain Meadows Trial Rides where an horseback tour us. This was quite the experience for many of us city slickers. We rode through open meadows and viewed a high country lake and finished with a steak barbeque. The horses seemed to find their way home quickly. A little saddle sore, we enjoyed the pool, the hot tub and our beds when we got back to Lethbridge.

Sharman

July 7th – The Adventure Begin

The Inside Education Grasslands Institute begins bright and early Monday morning. A motor coach (not the yellow school bus that most of us were expecting) picked up teachers in Edmonton, Red Deer and Calgary. We arrived in Lethbridge, checked into the Lethbridge Lodge and were soon off to a kick-off barbeque and nature walk. What an amazing experience to stroll among the coulees in the Old Man River Valley. We learned through initiative games and demonstrations about the native animals and vegetation that lived among those Coulees. Many of us finished off the evening with a short hike to the top of the Coulees and back to our hotel room.

Sharman