About me
Vicki (she/her) grew up on the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee, Anishinabeg, Seneca and Chippewa peoples. Time spent amongst the majestic white pines and the flowing waters of this territory sparked a passion for nature and sharing stories from the land. Currently, she lives in Canmore, Alberta, Treaty 7 Territory, where Alberta Parks employs her as the Environmental Education Coordinator for the Kananaskis Region. For over 25 years, Vicki has worked internationally, nationally, and provincially as an environmental educator fostering student curiosity and a reciprocal relationship with Mother Earth. She holds a Bachelor of Science, Outdoor Recreation, and Education degrees from Lakehead University. Vicki is passionate about land-based learning as it is a powerful way to cultivate a deep connection to nature, providing an engaging and authentic educational experience while fostering a sense of stewardship and reciprocity for the environment.
Andrea Barnes is passionate about teaching and learning outdoors. She has been the Formal Education Coordinator with Alberta Parks in Kananaskis Country for the past 20 years where she has been developing, delivering and evaluating field experiences for students and professional development workshops for teachers. She is inspired and influenced by progressive teaching pedagogy, infusing Land-based learning principles and the natural learning cycle in her programs. She aspires to have a growth mindset when it comes to improving her practice. Andrea is also a professional learning contractor and a classroom teacher. She worked in an outdoorschool in Canmore as their Nature Immersion Curriculum Specialist and is now a classroom teacher in the same school.
Cheryl Babin, M.Ed., is a Designer of Professional Learning with the Calgary Regional Consortium. With experience in public, international and independent schools, Cheryl has held many roles including classroom and lead teacher, experiential learning coordinator, instructional coach, IB workshop leader and university sessional instructor. Specific areas of interest and experience include making learning meaningful through critical thinking, conceptual understanding, student engaged assessment, and the development of international-mindedness and global perspectives.
Kim Tackaberry is a Designer of Professional Learning with the Calgary Regional Consortium. Her areas of focus include literacy and inclusive education. She is presently continuing her Master of Education Studies at Queen's University, specializing in literacy. Kim's teaching career spans over 30 years, ten as a classroom teacher at Foothills Academy Society, a school specializing in children with Learning Disabilities and ADHD. Kim has designed several e-courses for teachers, titles include Learning Disabilities and Introduction to Literacy and Numeracy Progressions.
Wanda Dechant is a Designer of Professional Learning with the Calgary Regional Consortium. Her role includes supporting teachers, E.A.s, school admin, learning coaches and parents in K-12 Math and Numeracy. Wanda began teaching math and science in 2000, her teaching experience extends from grades 7 – 12. For the past 7 years Wanda's work has included a major focus on K-6 Mathematics. Three critical aspects of learning that Wanda embeds into her work include:
Student and teacher self-confidence in math
Students and teachers making their thinking visible to themselves and to each other_x000D_
Students and teachers as mathematicians - let's do the math
