Changing Course, A River’s Journey of Reconnection
February, 29th 2024 - 4:00 PM Pacific / 7:00 PM Eastern (60)
With Andrea Mann, Etienne Lombard, Jonathan O'Riordan & Jade Berrill
Looking ahead to recognizing UN World Water Day (Mar. 22) with students after spring break, educators and others are invited to learn about water resources and prepare to screen an exciting documentary about the Columbia River called Changing Course, A River’s Journey of Reconnection, which will be released on World Water Day. It offers a pragmatic and hopeful picture of shared stewardship, featuring leading voices from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities in the Canadian Columbia Basin.
This inclusive and creative session is suited to teachers with students grades 4 and up and whilst focused on the Columbia River can be applied learning for any place.
For our BC registrants: With particular applications for those teaching Indigenous graduation credit classes increasing their practice emphasis on BC Professional Standard 9 focused on First Nations, Inuit and Métis history experience and ways of knowing and being, “contributing to truth, reconciliation and healing.” In context with the forward-thinking solutions the film provides, connections will also be made to emerging conversations regarding the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework, released in draft form by the BC Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship late in 2023.
The session will be hosted by our Director of Learning Jade Berrill sharing the different ways to honour water learning this World Water Day and secondary teachers Etienne Lombard and Andrea Mann, who are developing the curriculum resource that will accompany the film when it is released in March.
They are both non-Indigenous educators currently teaching Indigenous graduation credit courses in the Columbia basin, extending from their prior experiences in cross-cultural collaboration and community building with Indigenous colleagues and community members.
Through both presented information and collaborative breakout spaces, educators will be offered ideas for water learning resources and will be prepared to offer a particular unit extending from the film, which may be as short as two classes, or as long as a several week extended inquiry.
Andrea Mann
Andrea Mann is a non-Indigenous teacher, artist, filmmaker, and community organizer who has placed reconciliation intentions at the center of personal and professional learning and action since 2014, when she first learned the truth of Canada’s history. She is committed to building cross-cultural community and contributing to societal healing toward a just, sustainable, peaceful, healthy, and joyful future for her child and all future generations. She loves the mountains and waters where she lives in Nelson, BC and enjoys canoeing and snowboarding with her family. She also loves reading, writing, and making art, poetry, theatre and media on her own or in collaboration with other artists and thinkers.
Etienne Lombard
Etienne Lombard is a high-school educator with a passion for engaging young people, where they are, to build knowledge and grow in a quickly changing world. With five years teaching experience, as non-Indigenous, Etienne hopes to work with community leaders, knowledge holders, educators, and youth to make sense of education in a post-colonial and late-stage capitalist society. “No single person has the answer, we only thrive in freedom with each other, even if it means reconciling intergenerational conflict.” Etienne is an opportunistic skier, a sweaty hiker, a selective reader, avid gamer, spontaneous cook, and above all else a conversationalist, willing to sacrifice the truth for humor wherever possible.
Jonathan O’Riordan
Jonathan O’Riordan co-produced Changing Course with Frances Litman. He has had a passion for water management all his life, earning a PhD in river basin management from the University of British Columbia in 1964. He held senior positions in water management with both the federal and provincial government of British Columbia and is currently an advisor to the Polis Project on Ecological Governance at the University of Victoria specializing in watershed governance.
Jade Berrill
Jade Berrill is a Physical Geographer (BSc), Environmental Educator, Outdoor Instructor and Guide based in Revelstoke, BC. Jade has been designing & delivering environmental education programs for over fifteen years, across four continents and seven countries. She recently was awarded ‘Excellence in Environmental Education’ for her role as a Community Educator. She runs Outreach and Events for the Columbia Basin Environmental Education Network (CBEEN) & The Outdoor Learning Store alongside her own educational consultancy ‘Stoked on Science‘. In 2023 she hosted online Pro-D workshops that reached over 50,000 educators across Canada and the US.
