A dynamic team of core instructors and facilitators lead the program and bring in a range of guest speakers who are leaders in their field of expertise.
Nadine Raynolds
Nadine is the
Program Director of the Redfish School of Change at GreenLearning Canada.
Nadine is an organizer, facilitator, educator and community
activist based in the West Kootenays of British Columbia. She has
designed and delivered education programs for a variety of youth and
community-based organizations. The Redfish School
of Change is a dream come true for Nadine: her Masters research in
Environmental Education and Communication focused on the
design of education from a youth perspective, which led to the
development of
this unique field school. Nadine has hope in the revolution of
consciousness that
she believes young people are leading.
Brenda Beckwith
Brenda is the Senior Laboratory Instructor
for the School of Environmental Studies at the University of Victoria. Since completing her PhD on the ethnoecological reconstruction and
restoration of the edible root food, camas (Camassia spp.), in Garry oak
ecosystems in 2004, she has worked as a Sessional Instructor in Environmental
Studies, as an ethnobotanist for Parks Canada, and as Land Stewardship Manager for
the Salt Spring Island Conservancy. Brenda consults with
conservation organizations that are actively managing and restoring Garry oak
ecosystems as well as with private homeowners who are interested in ecological
gardening and environmental sustainability. During her time off, Brenda works on her small
organic farm in North Saanich just north of Victoria.
James Rowe
James is a Senior Instructor in the
School of Environmental Studies at the University of Victoria. He recently completed his PhD in Politics at the University
of California, Santa Cruz. James does research in the fields of
international political economy, social movement histories and futures,
and contemporary philosophy. His publications include the book — co-authored with Ronnie Lipschutz — Regulation for the Rest of Us:
Globalization, Governmentality, and Global Politics (Routledge,
2005). James is passionate about positive social change and has been
involved in environmental and social justice advocacy efforts at
local and global scales (from small grassroots organizations to the
United Nations and back again).
Eric Higgs
Eric is a Professor and Director
of the University of Victoria School of Environmental Studies.
Eric focuses on ecological restoration in all its many forms, including
historical ecology,
restoration policy, cultural practices and philosophy. Through
the Mountain Legacy Project, his research takes him to the mountains of
western Canada where a consortium of researchers and managers use
systematic historical survey photography to track changes in the
landscape.
Restoration of national parks and protected areas is a major focus of
this
work. A parallel and long-standing interest is in technology and
culture. His
books include Nature By Design (MIT Press, 2003) and Technology and the Good
Life? (with Andrew Light and David Strong, University of Alberta
Press, 2000).
Ruth Whyte
Ruth Whyte is the
Director of the Pearson Seminar on Youth Leadership, a three-week residential
program for 100 youth aged 15–18 on the theme of social justice and
sustainability. Ruth has a background in international development, youth
leadership training, international volunteer placements, and sustainable
development. She has worked extensively internationally and has managed
volunteer placements in remote locations in Ecuador,
Bolivia, Ethiopia, Uganda,
Argentina and Cuba. As Director of the Pearson Seminar on Youth Leadership, Ruth is involved with
planning, teaching, logistics, staff management, crisis management,
community collaboration and, on the best days, getting to be creative and silly
with 100 teenagers. Indeed, passion, joy
and celebration are among the best ways to inspire social change.