Whistler Blackcomb Foundation grants are providing funds to help with the purchase of essential equipment (VR Viewers) so that we can showcase our VR films and complementary resources and tools for student engagement at elementary and secondary schools in the Sea to Sky Corridor.
The PromoScience program of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC/CRSNG) supports hands-on learning experiences for young students and their teachers. These funds (PROSC/501681-2016 and PROSC/545320-2019) awarded to PI Dr. Allison Kermode at SFU (2016-2022) are being used by the team to generate state-of-the-art educational resources for students and teachers - 360-degree virtual reality (VR) films - surrounding science-based (wildlife and ecological) themes that highlight the pristine forests, oceans and coastline of the Great Bear Rainforest and Sea of BC. The VR films are being shared with school youth along with other resources to promote science- and cultural- literacy and to provide inspiration for our Innovation Challenge Contest. A special priority for our target audiences encompasses youth that are typically underrepresented in science – at-risk-youth, First Nations- youth, and young girls.
Two SFU Community Engagement grants allowed the launching of our community Innovation Challenge contest which has been ongoing since 2016. Through this challenge, students have developed multiple “passion” projects connected to cleaning up creek beds and shorelines, BC wildfires, sustainable energy, and other initiatives.
The mission of the Canadian TREE Fund (CTF) is to identify significant environmental, biological, social and economic needs related to tree genetics, management and care and provide funding for innovative basic/applied research and education. A CTF Jack Kimmel Research Grant awarded to Dr. Allison Kermode at SFU helped fund our education efforts surrounding forest conservation and provided school students with opportunities to engage in tree conservation activities and in science-based advocacy in their own communities.
