Outreach and Education

Designed for children, youth and adults on climate change, renewable energy technologies, ecology, and sustainable living and land use, several educational projects have thus far been initiated by the Craik Sustainable Living Project (CSLP).

Solar Fair - June 21-22 2009 marked the third annual Craik Solar Fair. Click here to view archived information about the Solar Fair.

Resource Library - A collection of books, videos, magazines and other materials on topics related to sustainable development and climate change is being housed at the Craik Branch Palliser Regional Library as a separate collection. Items have been purchased with grant funds from the Davidson Interchurch Association (DICA) and the One-Tonne Community Challenge. Also, donations have come from individuals. Click here to view the CSLP Resource Library List.

Sustainable Rural Alternatives Seminar Series. This series features a number of speakers delivering information on new or currently underdeveloped agricultural and rural alternatives. This seminar series is designed to stimulate awareness and regional economic growth and diversification by introducing new ideas and knowledge that will result in community and environmental capacity building and hence improvements in regional identity, local resource management, and regional marketability. This series aims to serve as a catalyst for addressing the region's opportunities and challenges, while responding to and capitalizing on society's new criteria for food and fibre production and the environment. Products that are currently purchased from outside the community could be produced locally in more sustainable ways and marketed either directly within the community or within the prairie region, generating new jobs and stimulating the regional economy. There is also a potential to develop regionally "branded" products, businesses and development initiatives in the area. This seminar series will serves as a testing ground for more in depth workshops/conferences that are planned in association with the CSLP Eco-centre. Funding and support for the first of this series was provided by CARDS - Canadian Adaptation and Rural Development Saskatchewan, CTRC - Carleton Trail Regional College, and the Craik and Davidson Co-ops.

Public Seminar Series. Funded through the Community One-Tonne Challenge Program, these seminars were designed to feature activities which empowered individuals to reduce their personal greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent. Examples of topics included backyard composting and grain burning stoves.

Climate Change Awareness and Action - Pilot Project in the Davidson School Division. The purpose of this project is to advance further awareness and knowledge of climate change and its impacts for children and youth in the Midlakes Region of south-central Saskatchewan, Canada and to stimulate their interest in renewable energy technologies and other activities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There is growing recognition that climate change has the potential to seriously alter the environment, negatively impact human health, and damage local economies. Northern and agricultural communities, in particular, will be directly and severely affected by predicted changes in environmental and climatic conditions. The R.M. of Craik and surrounding MidLakes Region are predominantly dependent on agriculture. Long-term environmental and economic challenges to crop production and marketing, and the more recent crisis in the livestock industry due to BSE, have negatively impacted the farming community in the Region. Climate change will create further instability for these farmers and their communities. Rural communities, such as this one in Saskatchewan, need to understand what climate change means, how it may effect them, and what they can do to adapt and respond to it.

This educational project will:

1. Identify and gather educational materials on climate change relevant to and stimulating for elementary and middle year students living within the rural agricultural communities.

2. Test delivery of these materials, with hands-on activities demonstrating the basics of renewable energy technologies (e.g., solar, wind).

3. Collect and analyze feedback from participants of this pilot project in order to make appropriate revisions to the programming and delivery. As of the summer of 2006 the pilot has been initiated in Craik School.



This pilot project will be the first of its kind in Saskatchewan, and therefore will provide valuable information to educators around the Province and has the potential to become a model for interactive programming used by other school divisions. Funding for this project has been received from the Royal Bank of Canada, SaskTel and SaskEnergy.