Sustainability education group launches regional chapter at Trent

An international sustainable education network officially launched a regional chapter this week.

The Peterborough-KawarthaHaliburton Regional Centre of Expertise (RCE) for Sustainability Education hosted a launch at Trent University’s Gathering Space on Friday.

RCE aims to bring together likeminded citizens and organizations to promote sustainability.

Jane Gray, the sustainability policy and education advisor for the RCE, said there are often a lot of people doing wonderful work on sustainability education but they don’t always talk to one another.

“The importance of the network is for bringing all of those pieces of the puzzle together,” Gray said.

Locally, RCE encompasses the city and county of Peterborough, the City of Kawartha Lakes, Haliburton County and the First Nations communities of Curve Lake, Hiawatha, Alderville and the Mississaugas of Scugog Island.

RCE held a few events this week to launch its newly established branch and to recognize the region as being a leader in sustainability.

On Tuesday, community partners and dignitaries in the City of Kawartha Lakes heard from educators and community organizations working on projects from nature camps to sea turtle conservation.

The following day, the Haliburton School of Art and Design shared their work on sustainable building and designs and U-Links talked about its shoreline research across Canada.

On Friday, a number of local students showcased their work on sustainability during a public launch of RCE at Trent.

Going forward, RCE will be hosting various workshops highlighting its objectives, which include embedding indigenous knowledge in curriculums starting as early as pre-school, sustainability frameworks for all ages and promoting access to green jobs in the region.

With so much expertise in the region, Gray said she has a vision of what the area could become.

“(To) make this sort of a Silicon Valley of sustainability,” she said.

NOTE: To find out more about Peterborough-KawarthaHaliburton Regional Centre of Expertise for Sustainability Education, visit www.rcekawarthas.com.

JESSICA NYZNIK/EXAMINER Yifei Zhou, left, and Shaylene Kathiravelu, Grade 9 students at Kenner Collegiate, set up their sustainable project display at Trent University during the launch of Peterborough-Kawartha-Haliburton Regional Centre for Expertise on Friday.