Eco Mentors Training Facilitator Manual

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EcoMentors Training Facilitator Manual

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Table of Contents

A Message from the EcoMentors Program Manager..................................................................3 The EcoMentors Training Facilitator Manual..............................................................................4 Training Process.........................................................................................................................5 EcoMentors Training Facilitation FAQ........................................................................................6 Organizing Your Training...........................................................................................................9

Sample Training Outline ......................................................................................................10 TRAINING PART 1: INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................12

1.1 Slide Show & PSA............................................................................................................12 1.2 Breaking the Ice Activity ................................................................................................13 1.3 Setting the Stage: Group Guidelines & Working Assumptions.......................................15

TRAINING PART 2: ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION & ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES ..................16 2.1 What is Environmental Education? .................................................................................16 2.2 The River - “Upstream/Downstream” Environmental Action .........................................18 2.3 Education to Action.........................................................................................................20 2.4 Facilitation vs. Presentation............................................................................................22 2.5 Environmental Worldviews ............................................................................................24

TRAINING PART 3: FACILITATION SKILLS................................................................................26 3.1 ‘Do-Be-Do-Be… Don’t’....................................................................................................26 3.2 Powerful Communication Activity ..................................................................................28 3.3 The Art of Questioning....................................................................................................29 3.4 Non-Verbal Communication: Facilitator Dos and Don’ts................................................31

TRAINING PART 4: YOUR WORKSHOP EXPERIENCE..............................................................33 4.1 Workshop Planning: Before, During, and After ..............................................................33 4.2 Lesson Plan Practice .......................................................................................................34 4.3 Death Defying Feats of EcoMentoring! ...........................................................................35

TRAINING PART 5: ENSURING YOU’RE PREPARED – TOOLS AND TIPS...................................36 5.1 Community Connections: Where to EcoMentor .............................................................36 5.2 Roles and Responsibilities..............................................................................................38 5.3 Program Resources and Forms.......................................................................................40

TRAINING PART 6: WRAP UP....................................................................................................43 6.1 Go-Around......................................................................................................................43 6.2 Training Session Feedback ............................................................................................44

APPENDICES............................................................................................................................45 Appendix A: Training Outline Template ..............................................................................45 Appendix B: EcoMentors Program Presentation Notes........................................................46 Appendix C: Education to Action Worksheet.......................................................................50 Appendix D: Facilitator vs. Presenter Competencies ..........................................................51 Appendix E: Environmental Worldviews.............................................................................52 Appendix F: Facilitator Do or Don’t Action Cards................................................................53 Appendix G: Before, During, & After ...................................................................................55 Appendix H: Death Defying Feats of EcoMentoring – Scenario Cut-outs.............................58 Appendix I: Death Defying Feats of EcoMentoring – Facilitator “Cheat Sheet”...................61 Appendix J: EcoMentors Checklist.......................................................................................65 Appendix K: EcoMentors Workshop Tracking Form............................................................67 Appendix L: EcoMentors Self-Reflection Form.....................................................................69 Appendix M: EcoMentors Program Evaluation ....................................................................70 Appendix N: EcoMentors Training Workshop Feedback ....................................................71


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A Message from the EcoMentors Program Manager Dear EcoMentors Training Facilitator/Partner, Thank you for your interest in Earth Day Canada’s EcoMentors program! This program plays a valuable role in engaging youth in environmental education, enabling them to have a strong and active voice for positive and sustainable environmental change in their communities. By training young people to facilitate peer-led popular education workshops, activities, and lessons on a wide range of important environmental topics and issues, the EcoMentors program works to achieve its aspiration of continually and cyclically building environmental awareness and action among Canadians.

Your partnership in providing EcoMentors training for the youth in your community is an important part of Earth Day Canada’s ambition to extend the capacity of the program nationally, providing opportunities for Canadian youth to take action through EcoMentoring in areas beyond the program’s geographical reach. By offering the training described in this manual, you will be providing a rich and rewarding opportunity for youth to get involved in environmental education and action, as well as to develop and use a wide range of practical skills and experiences that will benefit them in many areas of their lives and futures.

The EcoMentors training session offers interested youth an engaging learning experience which encourages them to explore how education by and for young people can be a way for them to take action on the environmental issues that concern them. By participating in this training, EcoMentors build facilitation and group leadership skills which they can use to promote increased awareness of issues among their peers and younger generations. In this way, youth move from being learners to leaders with unique insights and connections to the people and issues that they work with – making them extremely effective environmental educators!

As you read through this manual, and you begin to plan and prepare for your EcoMentors training, please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or comments. As EcoMentors Program Manager, I am available to provide you with whatever support and information I can to help you make your training a success. You can contact me anytime at (416) 599-1991 Ext. 103, or email me at [email protected].

Greenest wishes!

Josh Stevenson

EcoMentors Program Manager


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fa·cil·i·tate Pronunciation: \fə-ˈsi-lə-ˌtāt\ Function: transitive verb 1. to make easier 2. help bring about <facilitate growth>

The EcoMentors Training Facilitator Manual The following training manual will guide you through the various components of an EcoMentors training. The manual was created with experienced facilitators in mind, but that doesn’t mean you’re expected to have all the answers. The training session was designed with the intent that you, the facilitator, will be ‘facilitating’ participant learning through the coordination of various activities as opposed to directly teaching content. In this way, it’s the youth that you will be working with who will have the answers. Your job as facilitator is to understand that the group you’re working with brings valuable knowledge and insights and that by encouraging the group to share this information through discussion, reflection, and group activities, each individual (yourself included) is able to add to and gain from the entire group’s common “pot” of knowledge.

Take some time to read through the manual, paying close attention to the materials that are required and envisioning how these activities will play out. The activities are designed to be flexible to your situation. The backgrounder preceding each activity provides you with the intent of the activity. You may find that you have another activity that fulfils the same intent, or maybe you’ll discover that an activity would better meet the needs of your group with just a little “tweaking” – go ahead and make substitutions and changes – the most important objective of this training is that it meets the unique needs of your group in preparing them to be confident and active EcoMentors.

Through highly interactive group activities, brainstorming and discussion, participants are introduced to the program and their role as EcoMentors. They also begin to explore different environmental worldviews in order to prepare them for some of the perspectives they may encounter in their workshops. The core focus of the EcoMentors training is providing youth with the facilitation skills they need to deliver effective environmental education; however, the training also provides an opportunity for them to discuss the environmental issues most prevalent in their lives, and to begin to consider and strategize how they can use their involvement with the EcoMentors program in order to bring about increased awareness and positive action around these issues. In order to further support the group in achieving their ambition of becoming active EcoMentors, the training session is wrapped up with individual goal-setting and reflection activities that help participants move to the “next step” in becoming environmental leaders.

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EcoMentors Training Facilitation FAQ Q: What is EcoMentors?

A: EcoMentors is an environmental education program that trains and provides support for youth volunteers to deliver engaging and fun environmental education workshops to groups of young people across the country. EcoMentors provides opportunities for youth volunteers to pair up with groups of their peers or younger children to provide an enriching and rewarding experience for both groups.

EcoMentors have an opportunity to explore their career interests, gain experience in facilitation, leadership and environmental work, as well as developing general workplace skills.

Benefits of EcoMentoring: Environmental education training Facilitation skills and experience EcoMentors Certificate and reference letter upon completion of

four workshops Volunteer and community involvement hours Up-to-date information about environmental issues and events Increased awareness among Canadian youth, children and their

communities around a broad range of relevant environmental issues

Q Who can be an EcoMentor?

A The purpose of the EcoMentors program is to provide a valuable opportunity for Canadian youth to play a vital role in environmental education. While the program was initially targeted at high school students who wanted to work exclusively with elementary school students, it has since grown to engage youth between the ages of 13-25 from all walks of life across Canada. These youth are encouraged to work with groups of other young people in their communities wherever they might congregate.

Q: What is Earth Day Canada?

A: Earth Day Canada (EDC), a national environmental charity founded in 1990, provides Canadians with the practical knowledge and tools they need to lessen their impact on the environment. In 2004 it was recognized as the top environmental education organization in North America, for its innovative year-round programs and educational


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resources, by the Washington-based North American Association for Environmental Education, the world's largest association of environmental educators. In 2008, it was chosen as Canada’s “Outstanding Non-profit Organization” by the Canadian Network for Environmental Education and Communication. EDC regularly partners with thousands of organizations in all parts of Canada. www.earthday.ca

Earth Day Canada operates year-round programs that engage people of all ages:

• Ecokids is a free, environmental education program that offers curriculum-linked materials and activities for Canadian elementary schools to engage in environmental action.

• EcoMentors is an environmental education program that trains and supports high school students in the delivery of hands-on and fun environmental unit plans to elementary school classes.

• EcoAction Teams provides Canadians with sound conservation choices in the home and in their daily lives. Through active participation and online results tracking, individuals can significantly reduce their natural resource and electricity use, greenhouse gas emissions and household waste.

• Toyota Earth Day Scholarship Program cultivates environmental leadership by providing $5,000 scholarships to graduating Canadian high school students who have distinguished themselves through environmental community service, extracurricular and volunteer activities, and academic excellence.

• Hometown Heroes Award Program recognizes and celebrates environmental leaders of any age who have fostered meaningful, long-term community awareness and action.

Earth Day Canada also co-hosts the largest Greater Toronto Area Earth Day Festival and helps community groups across Canada organize their own events in support of Earth Day. For more information visit www.earthday.ca

Q Aside from facilitating the training, what other responsibilities do I have?

A As an EcoMentors Facilitator or Training Partner, you’re primary function is to provide an opportunity for the youth in your community to become trained as EcoMentors so that they can begin to plan and facilitate their own environmental education workshops. You will also (at least in the beginning) be the main point of contact between the youth


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you’re working with and the program, and you would be responsible for tracking and collecting feedback from those sessions and reporting back to the program. You may choose to continue being the key contact after the training, acting as a leader/support/mentor for your group, or you may choose to pass this type of contact on to the EcoMentors program – in either case, you should work this out with the EcoMentors Program Manager before you begin your training.

Q: Where can my group EcoMentor?

A: Your group can EcoMentor in any area where there is a gathering of youth.

Examples include but are not limited to: School classes Afterschool programs/clubs Community centre recreational programs Scouts/Girl Guide Groups Faith Based Groups

Q: What can participants expect to learn in an EcoMentors Training Session?

A: EcoMentors Training Sessions focus on developing presentation and facilitation skills. We try to leave the actual environmental content open to presenters to utilize their own prior knowledge and particular interests in workshops. To guide them along, we offer EcoMentors Workshop Lesson Plans that are accessible online at ecomentors.ca

Q: What do I need to run a training session?

A: The following items will be helpful to have for your training session: A room with blank wall

space big enough for everyone to move around

Chairs and Tables Chart Paper/chalkboard

/whiteboard

Markers (enough for each participant in the workshop)

Tape Computer* Projector and Screen*

(* = if available)


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Organizing Your Training You can use the following sample training outline as a framework for organizing your own training. This outline contains six general agenda items under which we have organized 20 more specific activities/discussions along with the page number of this manual that you will find comprehensive information and instructions on how you can facilitate each component.

This outline and each of the training components have been developed, tested and refined by the EcoMentors program since it began operation in 2001. Over the years we have discovered that the training can be completed in roughly 3-4 hours minimum (this time has been achieved by facilitators who have become extremely familiar with the content). The times listed in this manual assume that the training is four hours (without breaks). However, you should be aware that these times are meant to serve as suggestions only and you may find that some activities require more time… in which case (if you have the luxury of additional time and an interested group)… Go for it!

Some other things to consider when organizing you training include:

• Number of participants – We have found 12-15 participants to be the ideal size of group to work with

• Does the “flow” of the session work for your group? If you’re adding or changing activities, determine where the most appropriate spots in the agenda would be.

• Make sure to schedule break times and/or mealtimes

• When preparing ANY aspect or activity in your workshop, make sure to consider how you can accommodate the needs of your participants. Are there any people with mobility issues? Does your activity require people to differentiate between colours (this may be difficult for someone who is colour blind)? If food is being offered as a reward or prize for completing an activity (or just lunch!), is it peanut-free? Halal? Kosher? Is there a vegetarian or vegan option?


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Sample Training Outline

Time Agenda item Discussion/Activity Instructions

1.1 Slide Show & PSA (15 min)

Page 12

1.2 Breaking the Ice Activity (10 min)

Page 13

30 min

1. Introduction

1.3 Setting the Stage: Group Guidelines & Working Assumptions (10 min)

Page 15

2.1 What is Environmental Education? (15 min)

Page 16

2.2 The River - “Upstream/Downstream” Environmental Action (15 min)

Page 18

2.3 Education to Action (20 min)

Page 20

2.4 Facilitation vs. Presentation (10 min)

Page 22

70 min

2. Environmental Education & Environmental Issues

2.5 Environmental Worldviews (10 min)

Page 24

3.1 Do-Be-Do-Be… Don’t (10 min)

Page 26

3.2 Powerful Communication Activity (5 min)

Page 28

3.3 The Art of Questioning (10 min)

Page 29

45 min

3. Facilitation Skills

3.4 Non-Verbal Communication: Facilitator Dos and Don’ts (20 min)

Page 31

50 min

4. Your Workshop Experience

4.1 Workshop Planning: Before, During, and After (15 min)

Page 33


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Time Agenda item Discussion/Activity Instructions

4.2 Lesson Plan Practice (20 min)

Page 34

4.3 Death Defying Feats of EcoMentoring! (15 min)

Page 35

5.1 Community Connections: Where to EcoMentor (15 min)

Page 36

5.2 Roles and Responsibilities (10 min)

Page 38

30 min

5. Ensuring You’re Prepared – Tools And Tips

5.3 Program Resources and Forms (10 min)

Page 40

6.1 Go-Around (10 min)

Page 43 15 min

6. Wrap Up

6.2 Training Session Feedback (5 min)

Page 44

The following Training Sections Part 1- Part 5, contain the content for your training sessions. Before facilitating your training session, read through the training activities and carefully consider the needs of your group – Which activities will they benefit from? Which might be a review? Do any activities need to be adapted for your group?

Once you’ve become familiar with the content of the training workshop, you can use the Training Outline Template at the end of this manual (Appendix A) to help you organize your training. Keep in mind that one of the practical things about dividing-up the training into individual components like this, is that you may choose to schedule the training across a longer period of time – in fact you could even expand each agenda item into its own hour-long session and do training every night for a week, or do two two-hour session on a weekend – whatever works best for your group.

Let’s Begin!


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TRAINING PART 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Slide Show & PSA Suggested Time: 15 minutes Preparation/Materials: • EcoMentors Program Presentation Notes

(See Appendix B) • EcoMentors Training CD/ PSA & Slide Show

• Laptop and speakers

• Projection screen • Digital projector

Background: Introduce participants to the EcoMentors experience by viewing the PowerPoint slide show and public service announcement available on the enclosed CD (or via FTP download – contact the EcoMentors Program Manager if you haven’t received these files). The slide show will provide participants with program nuts and bolts while the 3.5 minute video clip shows EcoMentors active in a grade one school classroom and contains their reflection on the EcoMentoring experience as well as the host teacher’s reflection on having EcoMentors host workshops in her class.

Instructions: Walk through PowerPoint slide show Play PSA

Debrief:

In the PSA video, some elementary school teachers were talking about their experience having the EcoMentors in their classes – Why do you think that someone like a teacher or a youth group leader might want to have an EcoMentor come in and do a workshop? What would the benefit be for them?

What sorts of things did you see the EcoMentors doing with the students in the class? Why do you think the EcoMentors chose to do things in this way?

Was there anything in the video that gave you an idea about what you might like to do in your workshops? What sorts of things might you like to do?


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TIP: Energizers Ice breakers do not need to be limited to the beginning of the training session. In case attention and energy begins to drop, use ‘mini’ icebreakers (or “energizers”) throughout a session to boost energy and stimulate creativity

1.2 Breaking the Ice Activity Suggested Time: 10 minutes

Preparation/Materials: • Depends upon activity used

Background: An ice-breaker is a vital component of your training session. The interactive nature of ice-breakers makes the ‘getting to know you’ process fun and easy. Even if your participants already know each other, taking ten minutes to run an ice breaker will help to ease participants into the session, set a positive and lively tone for the rest of the day and ensure participants feel comfortable participating in front of their peers throughout the session. Use one of the icebreakers suggested below or choose your own. A simple internet search will reveal tonnes of ideas.

Be sure to consider a few things when choosing an icebreaker:

• The size of your group – Does the activity require a certain number of people? Would the activity take a really long time to do in a large group (like if everyone has to say something)?

• Accommodations for people with disabilities – You may need to change your activity to be inclusive of people with various disabilities

• How well do people know each other? – It might seem silly to do a “name game” with people who already know each other.

Instructions: Ask participants to introduce themselves by saying their name and telling the group (briefly) about their experiences working with youth and/or

experiences with environmental projects. Challenges? Successes? [this sets the pace for a cooperative learning environment. Everyone has knowledge/experiences/skills to contribute and learn. If people say they have *no* experiences, see what you can draw out of them – do they have siblings they’ve babysat or have they ever participated in a clean-up at school, etc.]


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Other examples of active introductions: • Tap into the resources around you! Ask someone if they have a creative

introduction/ice breaker to show everyone else • Have participants work in groups doing creative introductions

• Lead the group in a classic creative introduction. Everyone stands in a circle. Each person must say their name and make an action to go along with it, or an animal that begins with the same first letter as their name. The next person must repeat all the other peoples’ names and actions…

Debrief: Why debrief an ice-breaker you ask? Well, by talking with the participants about the ice-breaker you’ve just done and why you did it, you’ll be prompting them to think about how and why an ice-breaker might be important when they’re facilitating their own workshops.

• What is the purpose of these games? (Set the tone & pace of the presentation – fun, informal; get to know the participants, etc.)

• How is the creative introduction different from the first introduction?

• How will it be different working with your host group? (Most of the participants may know each other, but you might not.)


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Working Assumptions • Everyone has wisdom

• We need everyone’s wisdom for the widest result

• There are no wrong answers • The whole is greater than the sum of its parts

• Everyone will hear others and be heard

Working Assumptions provided by Youth as Facilitative Leaders (YFL), an initiative of ICA Canada

1.3 Setting the Stage: Group Guidelines & Working Assumptions Suggested Time: 10 minutes

Preparation/Materials: • Chart paper/blackboard/whiteboard • Markers/chalk

• Tape or reusable adhesive (safe for walls)

Background: Setting working assumptions, ground rules, or group guidelines at the beginning of your training session will help to ensure that all participants are on the same page throughout the session and will also help to make them feel more open to participate in discussions and activities.

Instructions: There are a number of ways to go about setting out the working assumptions of your EcoMentors training session. Regardless of the method you choose, ensure that they are posted and visible throughout the session, and refer to them as needed.

You can:

• Post assumptions (suggested below) on chart paper and review with participants.

• Host a brainstorm and have participants come up with their own working assumptions and post.

• Ask if anyone has anything to add to these working assumptions…


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TRAINING PART 2: ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION & ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

2.1 What is Environmental Education? Suggested Time: 15 minutes Preparation/Materials: • Scrap paper or post-it notes

• Tape or reusable adhesive (safe for walls) Background: EcoMentors is a “peer-led environmental education” program for youth… But what is purpose of this environmental education, and what role do young people have in it? Young people can often feel disempowered or disengaged from their own educational activities and often see education as something that they’re “given” by someone with more expertise, authority, or power. It can often be difficult for a youth to see themselves as partners or leaders in their own education and that of others. By training youth to facilitate and lead popular education based environmental activities, workshops, and lessons, the EcoMentors program provides an extremely valuable opportunity for youth to become active participants and leaders in environmental education. Peers influence many aspects of how and what we learn, and youth development theories tell us that young people are more likely to accept information from peers rather than adults. Youth are also at a time in their lives when they are highly engaged and interested in many different social/political/environmental issues, and it’s this unique energy for learning and sharing combined with heightened influence that give youth such an important role to play in the environmental education. The following activity asks EcoMentors trainees to begin thinking about what environmental education is, and what their role as youth is in it. Instructions:

• On scrap paper or post-it notes, ask participants to individually write a short paragraph or sentence that completes the following statement:

o “Environmental education is…”

• Explain to them that they will be sharing their answer with the rest of the group.

• Ask the following questions to help them think through their answer: o Why is environmental education important?


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o How can environmental education contribute to having a positive impact on local and/or global environmental issues?

o What role can young people play in environmental education? o Where does environmental education happen? o What sorts of activities are considered environmental education?

• Once everyone has had a chance to write something down, have everyone in the group stick their piece of paper up on a wall somewhere around the room.

• When all of the answers are up, have the participants walk around the room and look at other participant’s statements.

Debrief:

• Were there any common themes amongst the statements?

• Was there a particular statement that you were surprised about?

• Did any of these statements make you think about something that you hadn’t thought of before?

• How do you think EcoMentoring relates to these statements?

• How do you feel that you, as a young Canadian, fit in with environmental education? What strengths or unique qualities do you bring?


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2.2 The River - “Upstream/Downstream” Environmental Action Suggested Time: 15 minutes


Background: This activity uses a well known parable about people drowning in a river that’s often said to have been told by famous community organizer Saul Alinsky. While it might be a bit grim to think about drowning people floating down a river, the story in the following activity points out an important principle for environmental educators. The "River Story" is a common way to describe how, in order to create positive sustainable change, communities need to work together to address both the individual incidences of a problem, but also to address the systemic or “root” causes of that problem. Instructions:

• Tell participants that you are about to tell them a story and ask them to close their eyes and picture the story in their heads as if they were in it themselves.

• Read or recite the following story…

The “River Story” You and a friend are standing next to a river, and you see someone drowning as they float downstream. You and your friend jump into the river and pull them ashore. As soon as you've done that, you see another person in trouble, again floating downstream, and you both rescue this person as well. Every time you've saved one person, you see another, and another. After you've dragged yet another drowning person out of the river, you realize that your (much stronger) friend would be able to rescue the drowning people alone, so (being the smart cookie you are) you decide you must go upstream to find out what is causing these people to end up in the river. You want to address this problem at its source. You get upstream, and see a bridge. Upon careful inspection, you find that there is well-concealed, yet sizeable hole in this bridge that is causing people to fall in. What do you do? You do what makes the most sense – you work to repair the bridge!


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• Ask the participants to open their eyes.

• Explain that as an EcoMentor their goal is to raise awareness and promote positive action around a range of environmental issues, but that just like in the river story, while it’s important to work “downstream” to deal with the aftermath of an environmental problem (e.g. cleaning-up after an oil spill), we also need to take action “upstream” to deal with the sources of a problem (e.g. government policies and industry standards around transporting oil) to prevent problems from occurring in the first place, or to stop something bad from continuing to happen.

• On a chalkboard or flipchart paper, draw the shape of a river vertically (top to bottom).

• Along the side of the river create the following 3 headings (from top to bottom): Upstream Action, Environmental Issue, Downstream Action

• Provide the group with an example of each (see below).

• Start with the middle column – Environmental Issue. Ask the group to come up with a short list (3-4 issues).

• Based on the list of issues, get the group to think of one or two “downstream” or “upstream” environmental actions for each issue.

Here’s an example…

Upstream Action • Lobbying of government officials and oil industry for

improved oil transport policies and standards • Awareness-raising/education around alternative

energies and fuels to decrease dependence on oil!

Environmental Issue Oil spill in an area inhabited by wildlife.

Downstream Action

• Clean-up of affected area • Rescue and rehabilitation of animals

Debrief:

• As an EcoMentor, how do you think you could contribute to both upstream and downstream environmental actions?

• How might you incorporate the idea of upstream/downstream action to your EcoMentoring activities?


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2.3 Education to Action Suggested Time: 20 minutes


• Education to Action Worksheet (Appendix C) – 1 per group

Background: The previous activity introduced the EcoMentors to the idea of “upstream/downstream” environmental action. In this activity participants will build on this idea by more specifically considering how they can use EcoMentoring activities, games, and discussions (etc.) to contribute to positive environmental change by raising awareness and encouraging action (upstream and downstream) among groups of young Canadians… An important part of the larger environmental movement! Instructions:

• Divide participants into pairs or small groups

• Distribute a copy of the Education to Action Worksheet (Appendix C) to each group

• Each group will need to assign a “recorder” to take notes for the group and a “reporter” who will report back to the larger group (the “reporter” role could also be divided among the group members)

• Explain to the groups that this activity is meant to build on what they just learned in “The River” activity (upstream/downstream action) and is meant to get them thinking about how they can use EcoMentors environmental education activities to promote positive environmental action among the young people they work with.

• Ask the groups to jointly fill-out the worksheet by brainstorming/ discussing the following connected elements:

o an ‘Environmental Issue’ – e.g. acid rain, waste disposal, energy conservation, etc.

o an ‘Environmental Action’ – An upstream/downstream action that would have positive effects on the issue

o an ‘EcoMentors Activity’ – An educational game/activity that would both inform people about the issue and promote the positive action

• Provide an example on the board or chart paper (see next page).


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Here’s an example…

Environmental Issue EcoMentors Activity

Anti-Idling – a strategy for reducing emissions from cars that aren’t moving – drivers should turn their engines off when parked.

Have participants work in groups to create posters using anti-idling facts.

Environmental Action

To raise awareness about anti-idling and decrease emissions, the group can put posters up in a parking lot or wherever cars might idle nearby.

Debrief:

• Ask each group to report back about their discussion and what they wrote down on their worksheet.

• What were some issues that the group discussed? • We’re you able to think of more than one environmental action for each

issue? Which actions are “upstream”? Which are “downstream”? • How did you come up with your ideas for EcoMentoring activities? Who

was the “audience” that you had in mind when you were coming-up with the activity? Is the activity fun and interactive?


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2.4 Facilitation vs. Presentation Suggested Time: 10 minutes


Background: At the core of the EcoMentors program is a dedication to “peer-led popular education” (education delivered for and by people with a common characteristic – in this case, young Canadians – with an emphasis on raising awareness amongst these peers and the larger public of how individual experiences are related to larger societal, environmental, and/or economic issues). Key to this philosophy is an understanding that learning is not just the “handing down” of information or knowledge from an “expert” or “teacher”, but also the sharing of information and personal experiences between peers. To this end, EcoMentors are trained to act as “facilitators” of knowledge sharing rather than “presenters” of things they know.

This brainstorming activity and group discussion asks EcoMentors to think critically about the differences between “presenting” and “facilitating” and the beneficial or problematic aspects of both in working with the groups that they want to work with. The purpose of this activity is to show the youth participants – who can often feel powerless or disengaged around their abilities to “educate” – that they don’t necessarily need to know all there is to know about a topic they care about in order to raise awareness of these issues amongst their peers. By acting as “conduits” (or “facilitators”) of information-sharing, youth can play an extremely important and effective role in environmental education.

Instructions:

Explain that EcoMentors is a program dedicated to “peer-led popular education” and describe what this means (as above).

On a chalkboard or chart paper, draw two columns with the headings: “Presentation” and “Facilitation”.

Ask the group to brainstorm the different roles, responsibilities, qualities, and functions for a presenter, and a facilitator – record their suggestions in the appropriate columns (See Appendix D, Facilitator vs. Presenter Competencies, for an extensive list).

Emphasize that the role of an EcoMentor is to be more of a facilitator than a presenter.


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Facilitators use interactive activities and discussions to get participants to share knowledge and learn as a group – presenters report what they know to a passive “audience”.

Debrief:

What did we just do? (A Brainstorm!) Did you learn anything new? (Hopefully yes…) Who was the teacher? (Everyone – and not just the facilitator) There you go! Peer Education in Action!


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2.5 Environmental Worldviews Suggested Time: 10 minutes

Preparation/Materials: • Print and cut-out Environmental Worldview cards (see Appendix E)

Background: Everybody thinks differently and no two people will share the exact same perspective on any situation or topic. Our individual “lived” experiences on this planet are so nuanced that it’s nearly (if not, totally) impossible to neatly categorize every person’s worldviews (the framework of beliefs and ideas which influence an individual’s interpretation of, and interactions with, the world around them). The ways that we think about the environmental are also drastically different from one person to the next, and environmental issues often touch on people's fundamental beliefs. As such, discussions of these issues can sometimes become emotional and even explosive, and its important for EcoMentors to be aware that environmental education is not “one-size-fits-all” and that there are many different perspectives and they may encounter a wide-range of environmental worldviews in their workshops.

This activity allows participants to consider a selection of several environmental perspectives/philosophies so that they’re able to get a sense of the many different viewpoints that they may encounter when leading their environment focused workshops and activities.

Instructions: Introduce the concepts of different worldviews (one’s concept of

reality or way of viewing the world around them). Print the Environmental Worldviews Cards (Appendix E) and

distribute one card (worldview or definition) to each participant or small group of participants. o Note: The list that is provided is by no means complete, so create

your own and/or have the group contribute some of their own views (and then share them with EcoMentors Program Manager so we can improve our training!).

Have participants stand in two rows facing each other – a row of people with worldview cards, and a row with definition cards.

Ask all the participants with worldview cards to read their card to the entire group. Discuss. What do people think this means?

Once all of the worldviews have been discussed, tell the participants with the definition cards to go and stand by the worldview


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person/group that they think best fits their definition (even if there’s already another definition person/group there).

Using a full copy of the Environmental Worldviews Cards sheet (Appendix E) as an answer key, determine if the correct matches have been made.

Debrief: Has there been any uncertainty or confusion around the any of the

definitions? Some worldviews can be quite similar, but there are some important differences.

Once you have gone through all of the cards, ask the group which ones are RIGHT and which ones are WRONG.

Discuss how none of them are right or wrong and are just different ways of looking at the world. These views exist all over the world and they will encounter them with each other as much as they would in a group of youth in a small town. Many people possess different views at the same time!

You can also discuss how we have transitioned from one worldview to another throughout history, but in this current age of globalization we have access to all of these – and can benefit from this diversity.

You can also discuss what sorts of experiences, influences, or contexts people have that inform or help create people’s ‘worldviews’ of topics such as the environment (and tie the concept of worldviews to other issues).


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TRAINING PART 3: FACILITATION SKILLS

3.1 ‘Do-Be-Do-Be… Don’t’ Suggested Time: 10 minutes Preparation/Materials: • Chart paper – 1 per group

• Markers

Background: Most of us have had teachers and instructors who have made a positive impression on us, and unfortunately most of us have experienced the complete opposite. ‘Do-Be-Do-Be… Don’t’ gets participants thinking about some of the behaviours that they do and don’t want to exhibit as an EcoMentor by having them relate to their experience with both ideal, and not so ideal, instructors and the qualities that they had (or didn’t). This activity is as much about the information as it is about the process. It also introduces participants to a variety of brainstorming processes which they may like to use in their host group workshops.

Instructions: • You may want to start this discussion with your own anecdote. As a

large group ask participants to take a moment to think to themselves about best and worst teachers (could be a group leader, councillor, classroom instructor). Specifically ask them to think to themselves about one quality that made the best teacher the best, and one quality that made the worst teacher the worst.

• Ask participants to turn to the person next to them and take 30 seconds each to describe their best and worst – specifically the quality that they thought of.

• What do you think it takes to be a great EcoMentor? Now, split the group into teams of 3-4 people (preferably split up previous pairs). Each group will receive one sheet of chart paper that has been split into 4 columns with the following headings: DO / BE / KNOW / DON’T. (Hence the name, Do-Be-Do-Be… Don’t).

• Ask each group to think about all the qualities of the best and worst teachers, leaders and mentors that they have had in their life and then brainstorm their ideas in the appropriate categories. Give the groups five minutes to complete the sheet.


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‘Do-Be-Do’ Sample responses from participants DO KNOW BE DON’T

e.g., smile, engage participants, speak clearly, excite the group about the topic, arrive on time, take action, inspire new ideas, ask open-ended questions, listen, teach by example, think outside the box

e.g. Directions to the workshop location, needs of participants, what you will be doing during your activity, some interesting facts about your topic

e.g., Friendly, clear, affirmative, open, encouraging, positive, empowering, warm, a problem solver, energetic, prepared, confident, involved, hands on, curious, well spoken, prepared, self reflective

e.g. Eat during the workshop, yell, lecture, talk with your back to the audience, mumble, dwell on the negative, give up

Debrief:

When everyone’s finished, get each group to QUICKLY present their sheets. After everyone has presented, look for common themes and words in each column. Do they all agree? Does anyone have any other stories or anecdotes about GREAT Teachers/Facilitators or really bad ones? Take a few minutes to chat about these…

These are all the qualities that make a great EcoMentor. You can use these qualities as a guide in your journey to becoming a great EcoMentor, teacher and leader.

Debrief the brainstorming process and techniques in order to draw out participant’s experiences. How may these techniques come in handy in a workshop setting?


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3.2 Powerful Communication Activity Suggested Time: 5 minutes

Preparation/Materials: • Create a crafty sentence i.e. ‘The brown bear only eats bananas at sunrise in July’.

Background: Most participants will have played the game ‘broken telephone’ before. Use this activity as a quick and lively ice breaker by creating a silly message that gets everyone thinking. There is no doubt that this activity will assist in pointing out the importance of clear communication when conveying a message, and considerations that should be made when delivering a message.

Instructions: Start sitting/standing in a circle and explain rules of the game to

participants: o Facilitator sends message to the person on the right by

whispering it his/her ear once. o That person then whispers their interpretation of the message

once and only once to the next person and so on until it comes to the person to the left of the facilitator

o This person says the message aloud. o Compare the final message to the original

Debrief: Discuss how this message may have been communicated more clearly,

focusing on 2-way communication, words of confirmation that the message has been received, questions to clarify meaning.

Discuss factors in a workshop setting which may prevent a message from being received such as cultural bias or previous understandings, background noise, how the message is conveyed, other distractions (bright lights, poor air quality).


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3.3 The Art of Questioning Suggested Time: 10 minutes

Preparation/Materials: • Closed-Ended Questions (listed below)

Background: Asking questions is such a crucial part of ‘Peer Education’. But not all questions are equally effective! The way you ask a question helps set the atmosphere of a workshop and the way in which the group will learn. The following activity encourages participants to think critically about how they can use “open-ended” and “closed-ended” questions when facilitating an EcoMentors workshop.

Open-ended questions encourage a full, meaningful answer using the participant's own knowledge and/or feelings. It is the opposite of a closed-ended question, which encourages a short or single-word answer. By practicing turning closed-ended questions into open ones, the EcoMentors will begin to be able to draw out what a group knows and foster the sharing of that information through questioning, rather than just telling people how they should think and feel.

Instructions

• Read each of the closed-ended questions (below) to the participants and ask them to answer (Yes or No)

• Ask how each of the questions might be asked differently to elicit a more detailed response

Here’s an example

Closed Do you think the environment is an important issue?

Yes No

Open Why is the environment an important issue?*

* Notice how changing the closed-ended question into an open-ended question would require the person answering to give a more detailed response.


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Closed-Ended Questions

• Is animal extinction bad for the human species?

• Can planting trees help a city’s air pollution problem?

• Is it the responsibility of all the countries together or individual countries to create environmental laws?

• Does your family take environmental action?

• Do environmental problems have the same impact on people everywhere in the world?

Open-ended questions might begin with…

What… Where… Why… How…

If… Describe… Tell me more about… Explain…

Debrief:

• Aside from getting people to share more information, what other benefits might come from asking open-ended questions? (E.g. establish rapport, increase understanding, make people feel “heard”, etc.)

• Are there times when closed-ended questions might be valuable as well? (E.g. to get specific feedback, to summarize topics, to move into open-ended questions, etc.)

• What are some other important things to consider when asking questions? (E.g. clarity of question, not using questions that “lead” people to answer in ways they might not otherwise, being prepared to listen to the response, etc.)


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3.4 Non-Verbal Communication: Facilitator Dos and Don’ts Suggested Time: 20 minutes Preparation/Materials: • Print and cut out Facilitator Do or Don’t

Action Cards (Appendix F), and place in an envelope.

Background: Being aware of non-verbal communication (e.g. body language, vocal intonation, facial expressions, etc.) is essential to being a good facilitator. Non-verbal communications convey a great deal of information, however, we aren’t always aware of the messages that we’re sending to other people. This activity uses role-play to encourage EcoMentors to be mindful of non-verbal messages and to think about how these elements can be used effectively in facilitation to enhance communication and participation in their workshops. Also, by acting out the various facilitation “dos” and “don’ts”, EcoMentors will explore common pitfalls to avoid, as well as some more useful non-verbal cues.

Instructions: This activity can be done quite effectively within a small to medium

group (5 to 15 people) if each person is only allotted 30 seconds to one minute to perform – if you are working with a larger group you may want to think about dividing participants into teams.

Each person must take one Facilitator Do or Don’t Action Card (Appendix F) out of the envelope, and keep this secret from other participants.

Each participant must think of an environmental issue that they can talk about for 30 seconds to one minute (or, if they can’t think of an environmental issue, they could talk about anything – what they had for breakfast, who their favourite musician is, etc.). Emphasize that what they say is not as important as the non-verbal communication they will convey.

Ask participants to stand in a circle and one-by-one go around the circle and have each person present their topic, while at the same time acting out the example of non-verbal communication they picked out of the envelope

For each of the role-plays the rest of the group must guess what non-verbal communication is, and if it is a facilitator “do” or “don’t”

Debrief:


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After each role-play ask participants what the non-verbal facilitation do or don’t is, and expand on why or why not this particular action is good or bad for facilitation – emphasize non-verbal actions that facilitators can use strategically to effectively work with groups (e.g. using encouraging gestures like nodding your head to let people know that you’re listening and persuade them to keep talking, etc.)

Explain that no facilitator is perfect but that by becoming aware of how we communicate with others, we can learn to adapt our behaviours and habits so that we communicate more effectively – we learn from our mistakes!

Ask participants if there was anything challenging about their role-play? What if they had to speak for a longer period of time?

Do participants have stories about a facilitator/teacher/speaker that was either effective or ineffective with non-verbal communication?

What are some factors that we should consider when using or interpreting non-verbal communications? (E.g. cultural differences in communication, physical or emotional circumstance, exaggeration, misinterpretation, etc.)


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TRAINING PART 4: YOUR WORKSHOP EXPERIENCE

4.1 Workshop Planning: Before, During, and After Suggested Time: 15 minutes Preparation/Materials: • Chart paper/blackboard/whiteboard

• Markers/chalk

• Before, During, & After handout (Appendix G) – 1 per participant

Background:

EcoMentoring is more than just doing workshops. Workshops take preparation and there’s a lot for EcoMentors to learn in the process! In fact, many of the useful skills and experiences that EcoMentors will benefit from are practiced in the planning stages, before a workshop ever happens. There’s also a great deal of learning and personal growth that EcoMentors can take advantage of after they’ve successfully (or even not so successfully) completed a workshop.

This training activity asks EcoMentors to give some thought to the important things that need to be considered before, during and after doing an EcoMentors workshop. They will explore important elements that need to be considered when planning for a workshop, things to be mindful of while the workshop is happening, and how to get the most out of their workshop experience by reflecting on how things turned out.

Instructions:

Create a table with three headings: Before, During, After

Get group to brainstorm what important things should be done before, during, and after a workshop – provide feedback

After the activity is done, provide each participant with a copy of the Before, During, & After handout (Appendix G)

Debrief:

Does anyone have any positive/negative stories about an experience with planning, facilitating, or following-up for a workshop?

Was anyone surprised to find out that before and after a workshop can be just as important as actually facilitating it? Which stage do people think is most important? Why?


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4.2 Lesson Plan Practice Suggested Time: 20 minutes Preparation/Materials: • Curriculum linked lessons can be found on

the EcoMentors website EcoMentors.ca , either pre-select a few lesson plans for your group to look over, or have participants choose their own.

Background: The following activities give participants a chance to become familiar with the lesson plan resources provided to them by the EcoMentors program.

Instructions: Print a pre-selected or self-selected lesson plan so participants can

become familiar with the different sections (introduction, body, etc.)

If time permits, allow participants to test a few activities from the lesson plans.

Debrief: Did the lesson make sense?

Was there any overlap between sections?

Were you able to come up with any new and innovative activity ideas?


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4.3 Death Defying Feats of EcoMentoring! Suggested Time: 15 minutes Preparation/Materials: • Print and cut up scenarios found in

Appendix H, place in a bag/box/envelope

• Print one copy of the Facilitator “Cheat Sheet” (Appendix I)

Background: The following activity deals with scenarios that EcoMentors could face in their workshops with host groups. Before beginning to work with groups, it’s important to think about how to respond to different workshop situations. Of course, an EcoMentor can’t possibly be prepared for EVERYTHING… but by putting themselves in the shoes of a facilitator before they work with a group, they can start to feel more comfortable about taking on this role and can come up with some effective responses to common situations.

Each participant will handle every scenario differently, but it is important that they carry the traits of a good EcoMentor throughout their responses (refer to the “Do-Be-Do-Be… Don’t” activity). Specifically, watch that EcoMentors continue to encourage and respect host group participants learning environments and worldviews, remain positive, and reward good behaviour instead of harping on bad behaviour.

Remember, it’s not the responsibility of an EcoMentor to have all the answers in every situation. It is important that they’re knowledgeable and well prepared in talking about the issues that they’re addressing, however, the focus should be much more on getting groups of people to share what they already know and help them to draw new connections to other concepts.

Instructions: Have each participant randomly select a scenario card (Appendix H:

Death Defying Feats of EcoMentoring – Scenario Cut-outs) Have each person read their scenario out loud and suggest (or act out) a

way that they could respond to the situation Ask the rest of the group to suggest other ways to respond effectively

Debrief:

Facilitate a large group discussion: ‘What are the main issues/problems? What are good solutions? What’s something we shouldn’t do? Provide feedback on the answers given.


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TRAINING PART 5: ENSURING YOU’RE PREPARED – TOOLS AND TIPS

5.1 Community Connections: Where to EcoMentor Suggested Time: 15 minutes Preparation/Materials: • Chart paper/blackboard/whiteboard

• Markers/chalk

• Optional: Create a “resource” or “contact” list for EcoMentors with local (and relevant) groups and organizations that could be potential workshop hosts

Background: One of the most common questions asked by newly trained EcoMentors is “Where can we EcoMentor?” The following activity will get EcoMentors to begin thinking about the various groups of young people they can do EcoMentors workshops with, and to collectively discuss strategies to make contacts within these groups. By exploring the different types of communities and places that EcoMentors are connected to, they will gain a broader sense of how they can make connections within the communities around them. Instructions: Ask the group to think about some places that people get together in

groups – What’s another word for a group of people?... It starts with ‘C’ and rhymes with “immunity”… That right! Community!

Explain that there are many types of communities (in fact there can be communities within communities), but for the purposes of this training activity we will use the following three broad categories of community (give the definition but not the examples):

1. Communities of Place – People bound together because they share a common geographic area where they reside, work, visit or spend a time (e.g. neighbourhood, town, gathering place, public space, etc.)

2. Communities of Culture or Identity – People form communities around belonging to a specific cultural group or personal identity (e.g. ethnicity, race, gender identity, sexuality, socio-economic class, ability, religion, age, etc.)

3. Communities of Interest – People who are brought together or share a common interest, activity or passion (e.g. workplace,


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political organization, educational institution, fan club, sports team, environmental club, etc.)

On a flipchart or chalkboard create a Venn Diagram with 3 circles, label each circle with the above community types as headings, and in the centre write “You” (see example below).

Ask each person in the group to name one or more communities that they belong to (and are comfortable sharing with the group) that fits within each of the community types (write these inside the appropriate circles).

Brainstorm the different places that young people might gather in each type of community (write these outside the circles).

Explain that these are all places and communities where EcoMentors could potentially do workshops in.

If you (the training facilitator) have any specific suggestions for organizations or groups that the EcoMentors might be able to partner with, this would be a good time to share them (perhaps create a handout with contact information).

Example:

Debrief: Does anyone already have an idea of where they might like to

EcoMentor? Where? How will you approach the group about doing a workshop? Who might be a good contact in the group that you want to work with?


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5.2 Roles and Responsibilities

Suggested Time: 10 minutes Preparation/Materials: • EcoMentors Checklist (Appendix J) – 1 copy

per participant

• EcoMentors Program Handbook (separate document) – 1 copy per participant

Background: The EcoMentors program depends on a number of supports in order to run smoothly. First and foremost is the EcoMentor, host teacher, supervisor and of course Earth Day Canada and EcoMentors Program Staff.

Instructions: Take a minute to discuss responsibilities of those involved in the

EcoMentors program. Distribute a copy of the EcoMentors Checklist (Appendix J) – this

provides a step-by-step overview of what an EcoMentor does. Refer participants to the EcoMentors Code of Conduct found on the

second last page of the EcoMentors Program Handbook (and have participants read and sign prior to the end of the session).

EcoMentor: That’s you! In order to receive EcoMentors certification, you are expected to complete the tasks listed in Section 2 (EcoMentors Certification) of this document. In general, EcoMentors are expected to conduct themselves professionally, show up on time, follow through on agreements made and be a good role model for the host groups that they work with. You are expected to show enthusiasm for your work and for the participants. For a full list of expectations please refer to the EcoMentors Professional Code of Conduct (found on the second last page of the EcoMentors Program Handbook). Host Group Contact: The Host Group Contact is your key contact within the group that you are planning to do your EcoMentoring with. These people might included teachers, youth group leaders, program managers, youth representatives, environmental club leaders, etc… whoever becomes your main “point of contact” and is able to tell you about the group’s needs and can make formal plans to have you work with them. The Host Group Contact is also expected to provide you with support during your workshop, including group management (in case there are any problems in the group this person would be able to step-in), and they would also be responsible for providing


of 71

feedback regarding your performance upon completion of your workshop – this includes filling-out some really simple forms and providing a signature and contact info in order to confirm/verify your visit and to provide you with valuable guidance about your performance (what worked, what didn’t, etc.). EcoMentors Supervisor: Your EcoMentors Supervisor will provide you with necessary training and advice and support in choosing a Host Group to work with. Depending on your situation your EcoMentors Supervisor could be one of several different people – basically, your Supervisor will be the person who gave you your training to become an EcoMentor. If you have received in-person training delivered by an EcoMentors staff person, or you have completed the Self-Training option, then your Supervisor would be the EcoMentors Program Manager. However, if you were given training through another organization (an EcoMentors Partner), then your supervisor would probably be somebody in that organization. If you’re unclear about who to report to, contact the EcoMentors Program Manager at 416-599-1991 extension 103 (toll free: 1-888-283-2784), or [email protected]. Earth Day Canada & EcoMentors Staff: Earth Day Canada (EDC) and EcoMentors program staff can provide you with lots of useful resources and support. Connecting with the EcoMentors and EDC staff will help to make your EcoMentoring experience more enjoyable and ensure that you receive the support you need to complete the program. Also, upon completion of the EcoMentors Program, EDC provides you with an official certificate of completion and a “green goodie bag”. Should you have any questions or comments about your involvement as an EcoMentor or just want to share a story about what you’re EcoMentoring activities, please don’t hesitate to contact the EcoMentors Program Manager at 416-599-1991 extension 103 (toll free: 1-888-283-2784), or [email protected].


of 71

5.3 Program Resources and Forms Suggested Time: 5 minutes

Preparation/Materials: • 1 printed copy per participant of: o EcoMentors Program Handbook o EcoMentors Workshops Tracking

Form (Appendix K) o EcoMentors Self-Reflection Form

(Appendix L) o EcoMentors Program Evaluation Form

(Appendix M) Background: The program has a number of useful program forms and resources that EcoMentors should be aware of. Before closing the training session it’s important to quickly go over these resources in order to ensure that everyone is aware of the basic paperwork requirements of the program and the valuable resources available to them that will help make their EcoMentoring experience rich and rewarding.


of 71

Tracking, Reflection and Evaluation Forms

Form Instructions

1. Workshop Tracking Form (Appendix K) This is a one page form which EcoMentors can use to keep track of the workshops that they’ve completed. It also serves as a way for program staff to verify where and when the workshops took place, what activities were used, and any feedback from the Host Group Contact.

• Send form to EcoMentors program office every time you have: a) Completed four (or more)

consecutive workshops (to get certification and/or rewards package)

b) Completed less than four consecutive workshops but will not be facilitating anymore (not eligible for certification)

• Must be sent by mail or fax, or scanned as an image and emailed (your Host Group Contact’s signature must be on it)

• Make a photocopy and keep the original for yourself

2. Self-Reflection Form (Appendix L) EcoMentors can use this form to reflect back on their workshop experiences. What worked? What didn’t? What have they learned? What skills could they brush-up on? This form also help EcoMentors program staff make decisions around new training activities or improvements to program communications.

• Complete and send this form only once after your first four workshops (required to be eligible for certification)

• Send by mail, fax or email (contact EcoMentors Program Manager for electronic version or download forms from www.ecomentors.ca

• Make a photocopy (or save the file) and keep the original for yourself

3. Program Evaluation Form (Appendix M) This short questionnaire gives EcoMentors an opportunity to provide constructive feedback regarding their overall experience with the EcoMentors program.

• Complete and send this form only once after your first four workshops (required to be eligible for certification)

• Send by mail, fax or email (contact EcoMentors Program Manager for electronic version or download forms from www.ecomentors.ca

• Make a photocopy (or save the file) and keep the original for yourself


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Program Resources

Resource What it’s for…

EcoMentors Program Handbook

• A guide to everything an EcoMentor needs to know about how the program works

o Roles and responsibilities o Certification process o Workshop facilitation tips o Environmental education resources

EcoMentors Training Facilitator Manual (this document)

• Step-by-step instructions for facilitating an EcoMentors training session

• Can be used by training delivery partners, EcoMentors Clubs, teachers, student/youth groups, etc.

EcoMentors Self-Training Workbook

• A training option that can be used by individual EcoMentors or small groups that can’t attend a “live” training session

• EcoMentors who complete the Self-Training are encouraged to consider attending a later training session if/when possible

EcoMentors Club Guide (in development)

• For youth (or youth service providers) who are interested in setting-up an EcoMentors Club within their school, community, or organization

• Provides information, advice, and issues to consider that will help with setting-up and maintaining and EcoMentors Club

EcoMentors Lesson Plans

• Ready-to-use lesson plans • Developed for use mainly with younger students

(aged 5 to 12) but can be adapted as activities that could be used for youth as well

To obtain copies of the above program resources, EcoMentors can contact the EcoMentors Program Manager at 416-599-1991 extension 103 (toll free: 1-888-283-2784), or [email protected].


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TRAINING PART 6: WRAP UP

6.1 Go-Around Suggested Time: 5 minutes Preparation/Materials: • N/A

Background:

This activity will allow participants to reflect on their learning experience through the training session, and to set goals for themselves for their EcoMentoring activities.

Instructions:

Have the group come together in a circle; One by one, each person can contribute…

Something new they learned in the session Their favourite part of the training Goals that they would like to set for their EcoMentoring (it is good to

focus this on skill development – e.g. communication, public speaking, etc). This question can be addressed as a separate activity where participants write down their goals and then are able to reflect on them later.


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6.2 Training Session Feedback Suggested Time: 10 minutes

Preparation/Materials: • EcoMentors Training Workshop Feedback (Appendix N) – one per participant

• Pens/pencils

Background:

Your feedback is important to us, to allow us to provide users with the best training materials.

Instructions:

Have each participant individually fill-out the EcoMentors Training Workshop Feedback form found in Appendix N.

Send the completed forms back to the EcoMentors Office: EcoMentors c/o Earth Day Canada 111 Peter Street, Suite 503 Toronto, ON M5V 2H1

Contact the EcoMentors Program Manager ([email protected] or 416-599-1991 ext. 103 – toll free: 1-888-283-2784) to tell them how the training session went!


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APPENDICES

Appendix A: Training Outline Template Print multiple copies of this template and fill it in to help you organize your workshop. See the “Sample Training Outline” at the beginning of this document for an example. (Note: We’ve added a ‘Materials’ column to help you remember the things you’ll need).

Time Agenda item Discussion/Activity Materials

Eco

Men

tors

Tra

inin

g F

acil

itat

or M

anu

al

Pag

e 4

6 o

f 71

Ap

pen

dix

B:

Eco

Men

tors

Pro

gra

m P

rese

nta

tio

n N

otes

Slid

e #

1

Wel

com

e to

th

e E

coM

ento

rs p

rog

ram

! We

pro

vid

e tr

aini

ng, s

up

por

t an

d r

ew

ard

s fo

r y

out

h vo

lunt

eers

to d

eliv

er

envi

ronm

enta

l ed

uca

tion

act

ivit

ies

to g

rou

ps

of o

ther

yo

un

g

peo

ple

and

ch

ild

ren.

If y

our

go

al in

be

com

ing

an

Eco

Men

tor

is t

o w

ork

in s

olid

arit

y w

ith

ot

her

yo

un

g C

anad

ian

s, in

ord

er t

o in

crea

se a

war

enes

s an

d p

osit

ive

act

ion

arou

nd

envi

ronm

enta

l iss

ues

… T

hen

par

tici

pat

ing

in t

his

trai

ning

is y

our

firs

t ste

p!

Slid

e #

2

Ear

th D

ay (

Ap

ril 2

2) is

cel

ebra

ted

as

the

bir

th o

f th

e en

viro

nmen

tal m

ove

men

t. E

arth

Day

C

anad

a (E

DC

) is

a n

atio

nal

en

viro

nm

ent

al c

om

mu

nic

atio

ns

org

aniz

atio

n m

and

ate

d t

o im

pro

ve t

he

stat

e o

f th

e e

nvir

on

me

nt b

y e

mp

ow

erin

g C

anad

ian

s to

ach

ieve

loca

l so

luti

ons.

Sin

ce 1

991,

ED

C h

as b

een

coor

din

atin

g E

arth

Day

/Ear

th M

onth

eve

nts,

an

d

crea

ting

suc

cess

ful c

omm

un

ity

pro

gra

ms

and

aw

ard

-win

ning

art

isti

c an

d m

ed

ia p

roje

cts.

E

DC

’s m

ajor

en

viro

nmen

tal e

duc

atio

n p

rog

ram

s ar

e:

• E

coK

ids

(ww

w.e

cok

ids.

ca)

offe

rs fr

ee e

nvir

onm

enta

l ed

ucat

ion

less

ons

pla

ns,

m

ate

rial

s an

d a

ctiv

itie

s fo

r el

emen

tary

sch

ool s

tud

ents

an

d te

ache

rs.

• E

coA

ctio

n T

eam

s (w

ww

.eco

acti

on

team

s.ca

) p

rovi

des

use

r-fr

ien

dly

too

ls a

nd

re

sour

ces

to h

elp

Can

adia

n m

uni

cip

alit

ies

and

hou

seho

lds

add

ress

cli

mat

e ch

ang

e.

• E

coM

ento

rs (

ww

w.e

com

en

tors

.ca)

wh

ich

is, o

f cou

rse

, th

e to

pic

of t

his

pre

sent

atio

n.

ED

C’s

maj

or e

nvi

ronm

enta

l rec

ogni

tion

pro

gra

ms

are

: •

Toy

ota

Ear

th D

ay S

chol

arsh

ip (

ww

w.e

arth

day

.ca/

sch

ola

rsh

ip)

en

cour

age

s an

d r

ew

ard

s g

rad

uat

ing

Can

adia

n h

igh

sch

ool

stu

den

ts w

ho

have

dis

ting

uis

hed

them

selv

es t

hro

ug

h en

viro

nmen

tal c

omm

un

ity

ser

vice

, ext

racu

rric

ula

r an

d v

olu

ntee

r ac

tivi

tie

s, a

nd

aca

de

mic

exc

ell

enc

e.

• H

omet

own

Her

oes

Aw

ard

(w

ww

.ear

thd

ay.c

a/h

om

eto

wn

) re

cog

niz

es

and

ce

leb

rate

s e

nvi

ron

me

ntal

lead

ers

acro

ss C

anad

a w

ho

hav

e fo

ster

ed

me

anin

gfu

l, lo

ng

-ter

m c

om

mu

nit

y aw

are

ne

ss a

nd

act

ion

.

Eco

Men

tors

Tra

inin

g F

acil

itat

or M

anu

al

Pag

e 4

7 o

f 71

Slid

e #

3

Eco

Men

tors

is a

n en

viro

nmen

tal e

du

cati

on p

rog

ram

that

trai

ns a

nd

pro

vid

es s

up

por

t to

yo

uth

volu

ntee

rs to

del

ive

r en

gag

ing

an

d fu

n en

viro

nmen

tal e

du

cati

on w

ork

shop

s g

rou

ps

of y

oun

g p

eop

le a

cro

ss th

e co

untr

y. E

coM

ento

rs p

rovi

des

op

por

tun

itie

s fo

r y

outh

vo

lunt

eers

to

pai

r u

p w

ith

gro

up

s of

thei

r p

eers

or

you

ng

er c

hild

ren

to p

rovi

de

an

enri

chin

g a

nd

re

war

din

g e

xper

ienc

e fo

r b

oth

gro

up

s.

Slid

e #

4

The

Eco

Men

tors

trai

ning

ses

sion

off

ers

inte

rest

ed y

outh

an

en

gag

ing

lear

ning

e

xpe

rie

nce

wh

ich

en

cour

age

s th

em

to e

xplo

re h

ow

ed

uca

tio

n b

y an

d fo

r y

oun

g p

eo

ple

ca

n b

e a

way

for

the

m to

tak

e ac

tio

n o

n th

e e

nvir

on

me

nta

l iss

ue

s th

at c

on

cern

th

em

. B

y p

arti

cip

atin

g in

this

trai

ning

, Eco

Men

tors

bu

ild

faci

lita

tion

and

gro

up

lead

ersh

ip s

kill

s w

hic

h th

ey c

an u

se t

o p

rom

ote

incr

ease

d a

war

enes

s of

issu

es a

mon

g th

eir

pee

rs a

nd

y

ou

ng

er g

en

erat

ion

s. I

n th

is w

ay, y

outh

mov

e fr

om

be

ing

lear

ner

s to

lead

ers

wit

h u

niq

ue

insi

ght

s an

d c

onne

ctio

ns to

th

e p

eop

le a

nd

issu

es th

at th

ey w

ork

wit

h –

mak

ing

them

e

xtre

me

ly e

ffec

tive

env

iro

nm

enta

l ed

uca

tors

!

Eco

Men

tors

Tra

inin

g F

acil

itat

or M

anu

al

Pag

e 4

8 o

f 71

Slid

e #

5

The

Eco

Men

tors

pro

gra

m p

rovi

des

a n

um

ber

of u

sefu

l re

sour

ces

and

su

pp

lem

enta

l m

ate

rial

s to

hel

p p

rog

ram

par

tici

pan

ts m

ake

the

mo

st o

f the

ir E

coM

ento

ring

exp

erie

nce.

T

he

se r

eso

urce

s in

clu

de

: •

Eco

Men

tors

Tra

inin

g F

acil

itat

or M

anu

al –

for

thos

e w

ho w

ish

to d

eliv

er

Eco

Men

tors

tr

aini

ng s

essi

on

• E

coM

ent

ors

Pro

gra

m H

and

boo

k –

de

scri

be

s e

very

thin

g t

her

e is

to k

now

ab

out t

he

pro

gra

m a

nd h

ow

it w

ork

s •

Eco

Me

nto

rs S

elf

-Tra

inin

g W

ork

bo

ok –

a r

eso

urc

es w

ith

a v

arie

ty o

f sel

f-le

d tr

aini

ng

acti

viti

es

for

Eco

Me

nto

rs w

ho

can

’t g

et t

o a

trai

nin

g s

ess

ion

•

Eco

Me

nto

rs C

lub

Man

ual

– a

ste

p-b

y-s

tep

gu

ide

to s

etti

ng

-up

an

d r

un

nin

g a

n

Eco

Me

nto

rs c

lub

•

Less

on P

lan

s –

fun

and

eng

agin

g le

sson

pla

ns

that

you

can

use

or

dra

w id

eas

from

for

yo

ur w

ork

shop

s •

Prom

otio

nal m

ater

ials

– b

roch

ure

s, le

tter

s, p

ost

ers

and

mor

e th

at w

ill h

elp

yo

u to

info

rm p

eop

le a

bou

t th

e p

rog

ram

and

wha

t y

ou

’re

ro

le a

s an

Eco

Me

nto

rs is

Slid

e #

6

Yo

u c

an E

coM

ent

or w

her

eve

r yo

u w

ant!

We

en

cou

rag

e y

ou to

be

cre

ativ

e ab

out

fin

din

g

pla

ces

to d

o y

our

visi

ts a

nd

gro

up

s of

peo

ple

to w

ork

wit

h. S

choo

l cla

ssro

oms

are

gre

at,

bu

t it c

an b

e d

iffi

cult

find

ing

tim

e d

uri

ng y

our

sch

ool d

ay to

Eco

Men

tor.

Oth

er o

pti

ons

yo

u m

ight

wan

t to

cons

ider

are

loca

l sco

ut o

r g

uid

e g

rou

ps

(e.g

. Gir

l Gu

ides

, Boy

Sco

uts,

B

eav

ers,

Bro

wni

es, e

tc.)

, aft

ers

choo

l pro

gra

ms,

day

cam

ps,

re

crea

tion

pro

gra

ms,

you

th

gro

up

s… W

HE

RE

VE

R! B

e cr

eati

ve! U

se y

our

cont

acts

or,

just

cal

l so

meo

ne u

p a

nd

tell

th

em w

hat y

ou

’re

doi

ng…

the

pos

sib

ilit

ies

are

end

less

.

Eco

Men

tors

Tra

inin

g F

acil

itat

or M

anu

al

Pag

e 4

9 o

f 71

Slid

e #

7

Eco

Men

tors

hav

e an

op

por

tun

ity

to e

xplo

re th

eir

care

er in

tere

sts,

gai

n ex

per

ienc

e in

fa

cili

tati

on, l

ead

ersh

ip a

nd e

nvi

ronm

enta

l wor

k, a

s w

ell

as

dev

elo

pin

g g

ener

al

wor

kp

lace

sk

ills

. B

enef

its

of E

coM

ento

ring

: •

Env

iron

men

tal e

du

cati

on tr

aini

ng

• Fa

cili

tati

on s

kill

s an

d e

xper

ienc

e •

Eco

Men

tors

Cer

tifi

cate

and

re

fere

nce

lett

er u

pon

com

ple

tion

of 4

wor

ksh

ops

•

Vo

lunt

eer

and

com

mun

ity

invo

lvem

ent

hour

s •

Up

to

dat

e in

form

atio

n ab

out e

nvir

onm

enta

l iss

ues

and

eve

nts

• In

cre

ase

d a

war

en

ess

am

on

g C

anad

ian

yo

uth

, ch

ild

ren

an

d th

eir

co

mm

un

itie

s ar

oun

d

a b

road

ran

ge

of r

ele

vant

env

iron

men

tal i

ssu

es

Slid

e #

8

Eco

Men

tors

th

at c

omp

lete

4 h

ost g

rou

p v

isit

s g

ain:

•

15 c

om

mu

nit

y h

ours

•

Eco

Men

tors

Cer

tifi

cate

of C

om

ple

tion

•

A w

ork

/sch

ool r

efe

ren

ce

• R

esu

me

job

ski

lls

(Wor

king

wit

h y

outh

, Org

aniz

ed

and

Pu

nctu

al, E

nvir

onm

enta

l E

du

cati

on

, In

terp

erso

nal

Co

mm

un

icat

ion

) •

Eco

Me

nto

rs R

ew

ard

Pac

kag

e (M

ou

ntai

n E

qu

ipm

ent

Co

-op

Day

Pac

k, E

arth

Day

C

anad

a T

-sh

irt,

car

abin

eer

an

d r

eu

sab

le w

ater

bo

ttle

)


of 71

Appendix C: Education to Action Worksheet

Environmental Issue EcoMentors Activity

Environmental Action

Eco

Men

tors

Tra

inin

g F

acil

itat

or M

anu

al

Pag

e 5

1 o

f 71

Ap

pen

dix

D:

Fac

ilit

ator

vs.

Pre

sen

ter

Com

pet

enci

es

Fa

cili

tato

r P

rese

nte

r •

Mo

re in

tera

ctiv

e

• U

ses

gam

es,

act

ivit

ies,

an

d d

iscu

ssio

ns

• M

akes

sur

e e

very

one

kn

ows

wha

t’s

go

ing

on

•

List

en

s an

d r

esp

ond

s p

osi

tive

ly to

par

tici

pan

ts

• A

sks

op

en

-en

de

d q

uest

ion

s th

at s

tim

ulat

e th

inki

ng

•

En

cour

age

s co

mm

unic

atio

n

• M

ain

tain

s fo

cus

of g

roup

•

Ke

ep

s g

roup

on

trac

k to

ach

ieve

go

als

in ti

me

all

ott

ed

•

Wo

rks

wit

h g

roup

to d

efi

ne

/im

ple

men

t gro

und

rul

es

• C

reat

es

and

mai

nta

ins

a “s

afe

” an

d c

om

fort

able

e

nvi

ron

me

nt f

or

shar

ing

an

d le

arn

ing

•

Co

nfi

rms

und

erst

and

ing

wit

h p

arti

cip

ants

•

Ch

eck

s th

at e

very

on

e ag

ree

s to

all

de

cisi

ons

• K

ee

ps

trac

k o

f tim

e –

ad

just

s ac

cord

ing

ly

• Su

ms

up w

hat

has

be

en d

iscu

sse

d

• W

ork

s fr

om

an

anti

-op

pre

ssio

n p

ers

pe

ctiv

e:

o

Mo

nit

ors

dif

fere

nti

al p

owe

r d

ynam

ics

o

En

cour

age

s b

alan

ced

/in

clus

ive

par

tici

pat

ion

o

Mak

es s

ure

no o

ne

is d

om

inat

ing

the

dis

cuss

ion

o

Mak

es s

ure

that

a d

iver

se r

ang

e p

eop

le a

re

able

to s

pea

k an

d fe

el c

om

fort

able

wit

hout

b

ein

g s

ing

led

out

o

Co

nsi

de

rs th

e n

ee

ds

of a

ll p

arti

cip

ants

wh

en

pla

nni

ng

the

wo

rksh

op

/act

ivit

ies

• Sp

en

ds

mor

e ti

me

talk

ing

than

ask

ing

que

stio

ns

and

li

sten

ing

to p

arti

cip

ant i

np

ut

• T

alk

s ab

out

wh

at th

ey

kno

w

• T

alk

s ab

out

fact

s fr

om

oth

er s

our

ces

(e.g

. boo

ks,

re

sear

ch, s

tati

stic

s, e

tc.)

rat

her

than

focu

sing

on

the

kn

owle

dg

e an

d e

xpe

rien

ces

of th

e p

eop

le in

the

gro

up

• M

ay r

ead

dir

ect

ly fr

om

a s

pe

ech

or

scri

pt

• M

ay s

upp

ort

a p

arti

cula

r o

pin

ion

voic

ed

in th

e g

roup

•

Re

adil

y o

ffe

rs th

eir

ow

n o

pin

ion

s •

Do

esn

’t p

rovi

de

an o

pp

ort

unit

y fo

r p

eo

ple

to ta

lk to

e

ach

oth

er

• D

oe

sn’t

use

inte

ract

ive

gam

es

or

acti

viti

es

• M

ust b

e a

n “

exp

ert

” an

d h

ave

all

the

an

swe

rs

• U

ses

mat

eri

als

and

vis

uals

that

are

pre

-pre

par

ed

ra

the

r th

an g

en

era

ted

by

the

par

tici

pan

ts

• Se

es

gro

up a

s “a

udie

nce

” ra

the

r th

an “

par

tici

pan

ts”

• U

sual

ly s

tan

ds

at th

e fr

on

t of t

he

gro

up w

ith

eve

ryo

ne

faci

ng

the

m in

ste

ad o

f fac

ing

eac

h o

the

r •

Oft

en

tak

es a

firm

sta

nce

on

an

issu

e ra

the

r th

an

wo

rkin

g w

ith

pe

op

le to

mak

e in

div

idua

l or

gro

up

de

cisi

ons


of 71

Appendix E: Environmental Worldviews

Wor

ldvi

ew

ecoFeminism

Def

init

ion

The view that degradation of nature contributes to the degradation of women (e.g. toxins in breast milk)

Wor

ldvi

ew

Humans vs. Nature

Def

init

ion

Nature needs to be harnessed and controlled so it can’t harm us through events like floods, earthquakes, landslides, etc.

Wor

ldvi

ew

Nature Serving Humanity

Def

init

ion

Nature exists to provide civilisations with what they need to thrive and progress.(e.g. Timber, Fishing, Agriculture, etc.)

Wor

ldvi

ew

Nature as Sacred

Def

init

ion

Gods, spirits and the ghosts of ancestors reside in nature, and so we should respect and/or fear the natural environment.

Wor

ldvi

ew

Preservationist

Def

init

ion

Humans should be removed from nature completely to allow it to thrive undisturbed by human development.

Wor

ldvi

ew

Humans as part of Nature

Def

init

ion

All living things are on the same level and should be treated equally, from plants and insects to cows and humans.


of 71

Appendix F: Facilitator Do or Don’t Action Cards

Wear sunglasses

indoors Act bored

Ask questions to audience

Speak in a monotone voice

Use voice appropriately

Show enthusiasm for

your topic

Play with hair or shirt buttons

Good eye contact

Speak too softly

No eye contact

Smile Swear

Act out what you’re talking

about

Turn your back to the audience

Use hand motions to

explain a point

Wave your hands around uncontrollably

Speak too loudly

Rock back and forth on

your feet


of 71

Chew gum Speak at a

good steady pace

Speak really fast

Cross arms in front of chest

Move around the room

Continually click a pen

Get audience to volunteer

Sip water if you’re throat is

dry

Read off of a sheet

Make eye contact with participants.

Give non-verbal cues

(e.g. Nodding)

Look attentive – pay attention (look like you are)

Read facing the blackboard

Keep hands in pockets

Repeat the same hand

gestures over and over

Eco

Men

tors

Tra

inin

g F

acil

itat

or M

anu

al

Pag

e 5

5 o

f 71

Ap

pen

dix

G:

Bef

ore

, D

uri

ng

, &

Aft

er

1. P

lan

nin

g:

Bef

ore

faci

lita

tion

…

Wh

o a

re y

ou?

• W

hat

are

you

r in

tere

sts,

exp

erie

nces

, ski

lls,

ab

ilit

ies,

etc

. •

Wh

at d

o y

ou

hav

e to

say

?

Wh

o a

re y

ou w

ork

ing

wit

h?

• W

hat

’s in

it fo

r th

em?

• E

xpec

tati

ons,

nee

ds,

bar

rier

s, e

tc.

Wha

t’s

the

top

ic o

f the

wor

ksh

op?

• A

re y

ou

add

ress

ing

the

need

s/in

tere

sts

of t

he p

eop

le

yo

u’r

e w

ork

ing

wit

h?

• Fo

cus

on e

nvi

ronm

enta

l sol

utio

ns a

nd

pos

itiv

e ac

tion

s,

rath

er th

an t

he

pro

ble

ms

on

ly

Th

e “

bas

ics”

•

Ho

w m

uch

tim

e d

o y

ou

ne

ed

/hav

e?

• H

ow

man

y p

eop

le a

re y

ou

exp

ecti

ng?

• H

ow

mu

ch s

pac

e d

o y

ou

ne

ed

? •

Is t

he

spac

e sa

fe a

nd

acc

essi

ble

? (C

onsi

der

ac

com

mod

atio

ns fo

r p

eop

le w

ith

dis

abil

itie

s)

• W

hen

wil

l th

e w

ork

shop

be

held

? (C

onsi

der

cu

ltu

ral/

reli

gio

us

holi

day

s, e

ven

ts, a

nd r

eq

uir

emen

ts)

Wh

at a

re y

our

go

als/

ob

ject

ive

s?

• W

hat’

s th

e g

ener

al g

oal o

f th

e w

ork

shop

? •

Wh

at s

kill

s, id

eas,

fact

s, a

nd fe

elin

gs

(etc

) w

ill p

eop

le g

et

fro

m th

e w

ork

sho

p?

• H

ow

wil

l yo

u kn

ow y

ou’v

e ac

hiev

ed y

our

goa

ls?

For

each

ob

ject

ive,

th

ink

of a

n ac

tivi

ty th

at w

ill h

elp

you

ach

ieve

it

Do

you

hav

e a

bac

k-u

p p

lan?

•

Are

yo

u p

rep

are

d t

o m

ake

chan

ge

s to

the

wor

ksh

op

if

som

eth

ing

goe

s w

rong

?

Wh

at w

ill t

he

agen

da

for

the

wor

ksh

op b

e?

• In

tro

duc

tio

n: W

ho

are

you

? W

hat

top

ic(s

) ar

e y

ou

cove

ring

? W

hat’

s th

e ag

end

a fo

r th

e w

ork

shop

? •

Iceb

reak

ers:

Som

eth

ing

fun

to g

et p

eop

le in

tera

ctin

g

• W

orks

hop

co

nten

t and

act

ivit

ies:

Wh

at e

xact

ly a

re y

ou

doi

ng w

ith

the

gro

up

? •

Bre

aks:

If t

he

wor

ksh

op is

long

con

sid

er s

che

du

ling

sho

rt

bre

aks

or lo

nger

me

alti

me

s •

Wra

p-u

p/R

efle

ctio

n: D

iscu

ss w

hat’

s b

een

cove

red

, how

its

lin

ke

d t

o b

road

er

issu

es

and

ho

w t

hey

can

tak

e ac

tion

Pre

-wor

ksh

op

pre

par

atio

ns

• W

hat

mat

eri

als

wil

l you

nee

d (

e.g

. mar

kers

, ch

alk,

pap

er,

hand

outs

, cra

ft s

up

pli

es, g

ame

pie

ces,

etc

.)?

• H

ow

wil

l the

roo

m b

e se

t-u

p (

this

is im

por

tant

bec

ause

it

can

affe

ct c

om

mu

nic

atio

n)?

• D

oes

each

faci

lita

tor

have

a s

et o

f fac

ilit

ator

not

es?

• H

ave

you

don

e a

ny p

ract

ice

/re

hear

sal?

•

Is t

her

e g

oin

g to

be

a su

pp

ort p

ers

on in

th

e ro

om

(e

.g. a

te

ach

er, y

out

h p

rog

ram

man

ager

, etc

.)?

Co

-fac

ilit

ator

s •

Ho

w m

any

faci

lita

tors

do

you

nee

d, a

nd w

ho w

ill y

ou

be

wo

rkin

g w

ith

? •

Wh

at k

now

led

ge

shou

ld th

e fa

cili

tato

rs h

ave

? •

Do

the

faci

lita

tors

kno

w e

ach

othe

r? I

f not

, set

asi

de

tim

e fo

r th

em to

mee

t bef

ore

the

wo

rksh

op.

• C

lear

ly d

efin

e in

div

idu

al r

ole

s an

d r

esp

onsi

bil

itie

s –

Is

one

per

son

is m

ore

ab

le t

o d

o so

me

thin

g?

Ho

w m

uch

tim

e w

ill e

ach

per

son

have

? W

ho’s

bri

ngin

g s

tuff

? •

Wha

t ha

pp

ens

if o

ne p

erso

n is

late

, sic

k or

has

an

emer

gen

cy?

– N

o on

e p

ers

on s

hou

ld b

e re

spon

sib

le fo

r th

e en

tire

wor

ksh

op.

Eco

Men

tors

Tra

inin

g F

acil

itat

or M

anu

al

Pag

e 5

6 o

f 71

2. D

eliv

ery

: D

urin

g f

acil

itat

ion

…

Kee

p tr

ack

of ti

me

•

Ass

ign

a ti

mek

eep

er r

ole

to

som

eone

on

you

r fa

cili

tati

on

team

•

Mak

e ad

just

men

ts to

yo

ur a

gen

da

if y

ou h

ave

mor

e or

less

ti

me

th

an a

ntic

ipat

ed

or

if p

arti

cip

ants

se

em

mo

re o

r le

ss

inte

rest

ed

in a

top

ic/a

ctiv

ity

•

Mo

st im

po

rtan

tly…

Sta

rt a

nd

en

d y

our

wor

ksh

op

on

tim

e

(don

’t w

aste

peo

ple

’s t

ime

)

You

don

’t n

eed

to b

e an

exp

ert

• Fa

cili

tati

on is

ab

out u

sing

the

know

led

ge

of t

he

peo

ple

th

at y

ou’r

e w

ork

ing

wit

h to

dra

w c

onn

ect

ion

s to

the

larg

er

issu

e •

Its

imp

orta

nt t

hat

, as

a fa

cili

tato

r, y

ou a

re k

now

led

gea

ble

ab

ou

t th

e to

pic

, ho

wev

er,

yo

u ar

e th

ere

to

faci

lita

te a

d

iscu

ssio

n a

bou

t th

e to

pic

am

on

g t

he g

rou

p y

ou

’re

w

ork

ing

wit

h –

not

just

tell

them

wh

at y

ou k

now

•

Thin

k of

you

r w

ork

shop

as

a le

arni

ng o

pp

ort

un

ity

for

yo

u –

Yo

u c

an le

arn

just

as

mu

ch (

if n

ot,

mor

e) fr

om

the

gro

up

as

the

y ca

n fr

om

yo

u!

Foll

ow

th

e “R

ule

of T

hre

e”

• (1

) Te

ll th

em w

hat y

ou’r

e g

oing

to d

iscu

ss –

(2)

Dis

cuss

it –

(3

) Te

ll th

em w

hat y

ou ju

st d

iscu

ssed

•

Mak

e su

re th

at e

very

bod

y u

nd

erst

and

s w

hat

th

e g

oal o

f an

d a

ctiv

ity

/or

dis

cuss

ion

is g

oing

to

be

bef

ore

you

do

it

• G

ive

clea

r in

stru

ctio

ns a

nd

pro

vid

e as

sist

ance

wh

ere

need

ed

• D

eb

rief

eac

h ac

tivi

ty/d

iscu

ssio

n b

y g

ivin

g a

bri

ef r

eca

p o

f w

hat

’s ju

st b

een

don

e an

d c

heck

-in

to m

ake

su

re

ever

yb

ody

un

der

stan

ds

Ge

t peo

ple

invo

lved

•

Take

not

ice

of w

ho’s

par

tici

pat

ing

in t

he

wo

rksh

op –

Are

so

me

peo

ple

par

tici

pat

ing

mor

e?

• T

ry t

o e

nco

urag

e a

ll p

arti

cip

ants

to c

on

trib

ute

, but

do

n’t

p

ut a

ny

one

on t

he s

pot

or

dis

cour

age

the

peo

ple

who

are

ac

tive

ly p

arti

cip

atin

g

• C

on

sid

er

do

ing

a “

go

-aro

un

d”

ask

ing

eve

ryo

ne

to

con

trib

ute

a t

hou

gh

t •

Use

dif

fere

nt q

ues

tion

ing

tec

hniq

ues

(e

.g. o

pen

-end

ed v

s.

clo

sed

-en

de

d q

ue

stio

ns)

to

enco

urag

e p

eop

le to

sha

re

the

ir t

hou

gh

ts

• B

e a

war

e o

f th

e e

nerg

y in

the

ro

om

(yo

urs

and

the

p

arti

cip

ants

’) if

peo

ple

see

m lo

w-e

nerg

y or

bor

ed

–

chan

ge

thin

gs

up

a b

it –

con

sid

er a

n en

erg

izin

g a

ctiv

ity

, or

a b

reak

•

Use

a v

arie

ty o

f mat

eria

ls/m

ed

ia a

nd

act

ivit

ies

that

ac

com

mo

dat

e va

riou

s le

arni

ng s

tyle

s (i

.e. s

eein

g, h

eari

ng,

doi

ng, e

tc.)

•

Val

idat

e p

arti

cip

ants

– N

o w

rong

ans

wer

s… ju

st

“in

tere

stin

g”

way

s of

thin

king

•

Use

ap

pro

pri

ate

hum

our

to m

ake

peo

ple

feel

g

ood

/com

fort

able

in th

e w

ork

shop

•

Acc

essi

ble

Lan

gu

age

– A

void

acr

ony

ms,

sla

ng

, jar

gon

, et

c. (

pro

vid

e d

efin

itio

ns o

f new

/im

por

tant

term

s)

Eco

Men

tors

Tra

inin

g F

acil

itat

or M

anu

al

Pag

e 5

7 o

f 71

3. C

losu

re:

Aft

er fa

cili

tati

on…

Imm

ed

iate

ly a

fter

a w

ork

sho

p

• Sa

y a

big

TH

AN

K Y

OU

to p

arti

cip

ants

an

d th

e g

rou

p

host

ing

yo

ur w

ork

shop

! •

Cle

an-u

p a

fter

yo

urse

lf a

nd r

etu

rn t

he s

pac

e to

its

orig

inal

st

ate

– m

ayb

e ev

en a

sk p

arti

cip

ants

to h

elp

De

bri

efin

g –

Don

’t s

kip

th

is p

art!

•

Set-

asid

e t

ime

afte

rwar

ds

to t

alk

abo

ut h

ow

thin

gs

wen

t •

Incl

ud

e y

our

co-f

acil

itat

ors,

ob

serv

ers

of th

e w

ork

shop

, g

rou

p c

ont

acts

(li

ke

teac

he

rs, e

tc.)

•

Wh

at w

ork

ed

we

ll?

• W

hat

co

uld

hav

e g

on

e b

ett

er?

Seek

ou

t an

d p

ay a

tten

tion

to e

valu

atio

ns/f

eed

bac

k

• W

hat

did

peo

ple

say

ab

out y

our

wor

ksh

op?

• D

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Appendix H: Death Defying Feats of EcoMentoring – Scenario Cut-outs

Age: 6 years (Grade 1 ) While you’re giving the group instructions, one participant begins waving his/her colouring sheets in the air making flying dinosaur sounds… Others are beginning to follow his/her lead. The Host Group Contact seems to be waiting for you to act. What do you do?

Age: 7 years (Grade 2) While identifying insects, one of the participants rips the wings and legs off a lady bug, there seems to be a mixed reaction in the group. How do you emphasize that this is destructive behaviour? What do you do?

Age: 7 years (Grade 2) You’re asking the participants about some of the causes of loss of habitat for wildlife, one repeatedly gives you answers that are nowhere close to being relevant to the question. You need to tell this person that he/she’s wrong without hurting his/her feelings, yet still encouraging them. What do you do?

Age: 7 years (Grade 2) While explaining how to cut up egg cartons into mini-planters, two participants begin arguing and fighting over who will use the scissors first. Other people in the group are distracted and are beginning to put their work down to watch the fighting. What do you do?

Age: 8 years (Grade 3) You’re suggesting to the group that drivers should turn off their cars if they plan to stop it for more than 10 seconds. One of the participants insists with much enthusiasm, bordering on anger that ‘Her dad told her that it saves more energy to leave the car on’, it’s your word against her dad’s. What do you do?

Age: 8 years (Grade 3) While explaining how methane gas is produced by cattle, one of the participants keeps making a loud farting noise causing the group to break out in laughter. The Host Group Contact seems to be waiting for you to make the first move towards discipline. What do you do?


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Age: 8 years (Grade 3) You are facilitating a discussion on whether living in the country is better than living in the city. One of the participants goes off on a long drawn out story about his uncle’s farm and how it has this horse that eats carrots and has flies around its butt… You obviously need to bring the discussion back on topic without insulting the participant. What do you do?

Age: 9 years (Grade 4) While working with a school class, the host teacher is using what you think are very negative tactics to discipline her students. You don’t agree with her style of teaching, yet this is her classroom and her students. What do you do?

Age: 9 years (Grade 4) You are doing a Lesson Plan on climate change, you’ve finished all of the activities and there are still 15 minutes left in the workshop. What do you do?

Age: 9 years (Grade 4) You are leading a workshop brainstorming on the hazards of climate change. One of the participants keeps asking, ‘Why should I care? I’ll be dead before anything really bad happens’ What do you do?

Age: 10 years (Grade 5) While you’re giving instructions on how to papier-mâché a giant planet Earth, many participants act ‘too cool for you’ and begin to either nap or put their heads down. What do you do?

Age: 10 years (Grade 5) You are leading a workshop on using more sustainable forms of transportation. You are explaining that fewer cars on the road can mean a healthier environment. One of the participants says her Dad works at a car factory and will lose his job if people don’t drive cars. The participant is upset and it is affecting the others. What do you do?

Age: 11 years (Grade 6) While explaining the adverse effects of climate change, one participant is arguing with you that climate change is a good phenomenon because it is warming the Earth and continues the debate with you to gain attention from others in the group. What do you do?


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Age: 11 years (Grade 6) The Host Group Contact walks out of the workshop and leaves you alone with the group. Immediately, participants pair off and stop their activity of identifying leaves. What do you do?

Age: 11 years (Grade 6) You are leading a workshop on forestry issues in Northern Ontario. One of the participants asks: Are you a tree-hugger? What do you do?

General You have finished the EcoMentors Training Workshop and have identified a group that you would like to work with, but you keep putting off contacting them because of being nervous about speaking to the group’s leader, or you can’t seem to find the time. What do you do?


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Appendix I: Death Defying Feats of EcoMentoring – Facilitator “Cheat Sheet” Scenario Considerations Age: 6 years (Grade 1 ) While you’re giving the group instructions, one participant begins waving his/her colouring sheets in the air making flying dinosaur sounds… Others are beginning to follow his/her lead. The Host Group Contact seems to be waiting for you to act. What do you do?

• Encourage those participants who are sitting nicely and listening

• If behaviour persists address

• Divert attention

• Insert an ice breaker to get the group moving if their attention seems to be wavering

Age: 7 years (Grade 2) While identifying insects, one of the participants rips the wings and legs off a lady bug, there seems to be a mixed reaction in the group. How do you emphasize that this is destructive behaviour? What do you do?

• Address behaviour

• Spark a discussion with the group about the incident – use it as a “teachable moment” – talk about the importance of biodiversity, and the “web of life”

Age: 7 years (Grade 2) You’re asking the participants about some of the causes of loss of habitat for wildlife, one repeatedly gives you answers that are nowhere close to being relevant to the question. You need to tell this person that he/she’s wrong without hurting his/her feelings, yet still encouraging them. What do you do?

• Participants need to be provided with some further background and even a real life example.

Age: 7 years (Grade 2) While explaining how to cut up egg cartons into mini-planters, two participants begin arguing and fighting over who will use the scissors first. Other people in the group are distracted and are beginning to put their work down to watch the fighting. What do you do?

• Prevent this by assigning roles to participants while they are in small groups.


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Scenario Considerations

Age: 8 years (Grade 3) You’re suggesting to the group that drivers should turn off their cars if they plan to stop it for more than 10 seconds. One of the participants insists with much enthusiasm, bordering on anger that ‘Her dad told her that it saves more energy to leave the car on’, it’s your word against her dad’s. What do you do?

• Indicate that studies have been done to prove that is more energy efficient to turn the car off after 10 seconds.

• Suggest that the group could do a research project or write a letter to an expert to find out for sure – they could even do this with their parents to get them involved in learning

Age: 8 years (Grade 3) While explaining how methane gas is produced by cattle, one of the participants keeps making a loud farting noise causing the group to break out in laughter. The Host Group Contact seems to be waiting for you to make the first move towards discipline. What do you do?

• Indicate that the making those noises is distracting while I’m giving my explanation. Either the participant can choose to sit out of the discussion now or continue to participate without making disruptive sounds.

Age: 8 years (Grade 3) You are facilitating a discussion on whether living in the country is better than living in the city. One of the participants goes off on a long drawn out story about his uncle’s farm and how it has this horse that eats carrots and has flies around its butt… You obviously need to bring the discussion back on topic without insulting the participant. What do you do?

• Ask the participant to indicate 2 things that his uncle may think make living in the country better than living in the city

Age: 9 years (Grade 4) While working with a school class, the host teacher is using what you think are very negative tactics to discipline her students. You don’t agree with her style of teaching, yet this is her classroom and her students. What do you do?

• It is important to follow the teachers lead in terms of consequences for behaviour

• Visitors can show support and encouragement towards the students


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Scenario Considerations Age: 9 years (Grade 4) You are doing a Lesson Plan on climate change, you’ve finished all of the activities and there are still 15 minutes left in the workshop. What do you do?

• Always have a quick and easy game, song, or activity that requires minimal materials and clear instruction

Age: 9 years (Grade 4) You are leading a workshop brainstorming on the hazards of climate change. One of the participants keeps asking, ‘Why should I care? I’ll be dead before anything really bad happens’ What do you do?

• Have participants imagine what the world would be like if their parents or grandparents thought this way.

Age: 10 years (Grade 5) While you’re giving instructions on how to papier-mâché a giant planet Earth, many participants act ‘too cool for you’ and begin to either nap or put their heads down. What do you do?

• Stop the group and hold a quick discussion on what listening looks like and sounds like.

• Indicate that only those participants who demonstrate good listening skills will be invited to participate in the activity.

Age: 10 years (Grade 5) You are leading a workshop on using more sustainable forms of transportation. You are explaining that fewer cars on the road can mean a healthier environment. One of the participants says her Dad works at a car factory and will lose his job if people don’t drive cars. The participant is upset and it is affecting the others. What do you do?

• Have a discussion with participants exploring the other forms of technology in cars that have a lower impact on the environment such as hybrid or electric.

Age: 11 years (Grade 6) While explaining the adverse effects of climate change, one participant is arguing with you that climate change is a good phenomenon because it is warming the Earth and continues the debate with you to gain attention from others in the group. What do you do?

• Stay open to the opinion of the participant and respect their opinion

• Explore the issue in a group discussion


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Scenario Considerations

Age: 11 years (Grade 6) The Host Group Contact walks out of the workshop and leaves you alone with the group. Immediately, participants pair off and stop their activity of identifying leaves. What do you do?

• You should not be left in the room alone with the group

• Reward those participants that are doing the right thing

• Create interest around those that are busy identifying the leaves

Age: 11 years (Grade 6) You are leading a workshop on forestry issues in Northern Ontario. One of the participants asks: Are you a tree-hugger? What do you do?

• Answer honestly and truthfully how you feel

• Avoid sarcasm or defensiveness

General You have finished the EcoMentors Training Workshop and have identified a group that you would like to work with, but you keep putting off contacting them because of being nervous about speaking to the group’s leader, or you can’t seem to find the time. What do you do?

• Prepare a plan of who you will talk to and what you will say

• Schedule a date that you will go in and speak to a representative.

• Write an email or letter or leave a phone message – opening the lines of communication is the first step.


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Appendix J: EcoMentors Checklist Use this checklist to keep you on-track through the process of becoming a certified EcoMentor. No matter where you are in the process, this list will help record all the cool things you’ve done and show you what’s next.

Register Let us know who you are and why you want to become an EcoMentor. Sign-up at www.ecomentors.ca ‘click’ sign up.

Get Trained Attend an EcoMentors training session. The training will take about 4 hours and prepare you to be a dynamo of environmental education! For upcoming training opportunities contact us at [email protected]

Connect with a Partner & Host Group EcoMentoring can be done solo or with a friend. Feel free to do

your workshop with one or two other trained EcoMentors. There are a few ways to find a class or community group to

EcoMentor with: Contact a class or group that you’re already involved with

or have been in the past. Ask a teacher, community leader, or parent if they have a

contact who’d be interested in an EcoMentor Workshop. Visit a local elementary school or community centre and

introduce yourself and what EcoMentors is all about (the EcoMentors Introduction Letter will help you out). Find a local EcoKids School. EcoKids is EcoMentors little

sister! Ask EcoMentors Program staff to recommend you to a local EcoKids school.

Plan & Prepare Preparation and planning will ensure a successful and enjoyable EcoMentoring experience.

Meet with your host teacher/group leader to discuss: The topic of your workshop; What you need to know about the group; The day and time that you’ll visit; Any materials the host can provide (scissors, paper etc).

Download and print the lesson that the host teacher decided on from the EcoMentors website or create your own using the guide found in the Handbook. Read through lesson plan and prepare materials that you’ll need.


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Action! Take a breath and think positively. They’re gonna’ love you! Facilitating is the best part of being an EcoMentor. On your first visit with a group do a fun icebreaker to get to know the group. Take it slow… have fun!

Conduct your workshop. Reflect on what worked well and what didn’t work. Direct your host teacher to fill out a Workshop Tracking Form. Ensure that you fill out a Workshop Tracking Form.

Cool off and Celebrate!!! Organizing your host group and hosting your very first workshop is one heck of a task. Take a few moments to revel in your success.

Ready for Round 2, 3, & 4? If you plan to visit the same host site for a second, third and fourth time then repeat steps 4-6. If you’d like to try the same lesson with another group then start back at step 3.

Remember your paperwork In order to become a certified EcoMentor we’ll need to collect the following completed paperwork:

EcoMentor Workshop Tracking Form EcoMentor Self Evaluation Form EcoMentor Program Evaluation Form

Make this a quick and easy process by mailing all your forms together to: EcoMentors c/o Earth Day Canada 111 Peter Street, Suite 503 Toronto, ON, M5V 2H1

Celebrate (again) & Enjoy the Rewards You can never have too many celebrations. Becoming a certified EcoMentor takes a lot of work. Why not hold a celebration of this accomplishment with other certified EcoMentors from your school?

When formal celebrations are complete, take advantage of your EcoMentors Green Goodies. You’ll be fully prepared for a hike in the woods and no fear of getting off track with your new MEC backpack, Earth Day Canada stainless steel water bottle and compass. Enjoy!

What’s Next? If you’d like to continue your EcoMentors experience, why not consider:

Hosting more EcoMentors host group visits Setting up an EcoMentors club at your school Developing a lesson/activity for other EcoMentors to use Train other youth as EcoMentors Spread the word – tell others about your experience and how to

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Appendix L: EcoMentors Self-Reflection Form What do you feel are the most important work/life skills that you gained after completing your 4 host group workshops? What new realizations do you have about your own abilities? What have you discovered that you are good at? Bad at? How do you think you could have gotten more out of the program? How do you think you will use the skills you gained in the future? In your personal life? Education? Work? How has your experience being an EcoMentor changed the way you talk to people about the environment? What would you say to someone else about the EcoMentors Program? Since beginning your work as an EcoMentor, have you had any new opportunities because of being involved in the program?


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Appendix M: EcoMentors Program Evaluation How did you first hear about the EcoMentors Program? What are some other ways that we can involve interested people? Could we add anything to the EcoMentors Training Session so that you’re more preparef for your first workshop with a host group? Is there anything we could take out? What did you think of the communication between yourself and the EcoMentors Program staff? What might we do better? Can the EcoMentors Program give you more support in helping to find a Host Group Contact? If so, how? We hope that our reward package inspires participants to continue on their path of exploring and protecting our planet. What are other items we can include? How can we improve the lesson plans so that they are more user-friendly? What are the best and worst parts of the website? General Comments – things to add, remove from our programming.


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Appendix N: EcoMentors Training Workshop Feedback

Thanks EcoMentor! As environmental educators we are constantly looking to improve the ways we learn and teach.

Please take a few thoughtful minutes to give us your valuable input.

1. What did you find most useful in the training workshop?

2. What would you like to see more of in future training workshops?

3. Is there anything we could leave out of workshops? If so, why?

4. Was the time and location of the workshop convenient for you? If not, when and where?

5. What are some other questions that you still have about the program?

6. How could you have gotten more out of this workshop?

7. Additional Comments

Eco Mentors Training Facilitator Manual

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