Speakers
Speakers are selected by our programing sub-committee as well as by self-nomination for sharing great ideas.
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Below are examples of our 2024 speakers.
HEATHER CABRAL
CHIEF FACILITATOR & FOUNDER @ INSPIRED BY NATURE ART & EXPRESSIVE ART STUDIO
We Are All Related
Recognizing that we are all related can profoundly shift the collective consciousness of the world by fostering a sense of interconnectedness, empathy, and shared responsibility. In this interactive talk, Heather will raise awareness about this transformational time and how, as educators, we have a big role to play as caretakers of Mother Earth and ushers of consciousness.
NICOLE HAMLEY
MANAGER OF EDUCATION @ LAKE SIMCOE REGION CA
The Climate Learning Hub | Bringing Conservation Authority Science, Research and Data to Life for Students
Through the generous support of the RBC Foundation’s Tech for Nature Grant, the LSRCA Education team has launched the Climate Learning Hub, a suite of innovative and engaging climate change programs and services for school audiences. Join us for an overview of our new programs, Forests of the Future (field trip – carbon sequestration) and Go with the Flow (schoolyard – stormwater management). Try your hand at our newly revamped Climate Escape program, which uses the concept of an escape room and challenges you to solve puzzles to reveal the solution to climate change.
CAT CRIGER
INDIGENOUS ELDER / HEALER / SPIRITUAL DREAMER
OPENING CEREMONIES
Cat has had a life so far filled with experiences in following his curiosities. He is an Elder of the Cayuga Nation, Turtle Clan and has German and English ancestry.
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His father was a “disenfranchised” Indigenous man, which meant that his children were protected from the “scoop” of government authorities that took children away to residential schools. His father decided to pursue his career for the Department of Defence working on military aircraft. This imbued a young Cat with an interest in high tech machinery, which served him well later in his career. And then Cat pivots again in the 1990s after rediscovering the ancient philosophies of his Indigenous roots.
MANUEL SPILLER
PhD Student @ Western University
Intentional Trail Design for Rediscovering Trouble: Nature Connectedness & Intergenerational Play
The session will explore in three sections how intentional trail design can enhance connections between both, humans and nature, as well as caretakers and their children based on the Barefoot Path Spalt. The first part explores some of the reasons for the human-nature disconnect and how trail design can be a tool aiding reconnection. The session then looks at the value of a linear playscape through its effects on parent-child relationships. Finally, participants will be able to experience a barefoot path by walking through and interacting with a mobile set-up.
