A New Resource Guide for Teachers about Inquiry-Based Environmental and Sustainability Education:


www.naturalcuriosity.ca

Natural Curiosity is an inquiry-based environmental and sustainability education resource for Ontario elementary school teachers. Published in print and online by The Laboratory School at the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study (Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto), Natural Curiosity made its official launch on Tuesday May 10th, 2011, where it was endorsed by keynote addresses from two Canadian environmental giants: world-renowned photographic artist, Edward Burtynsky, and award-winning scientist, environmentalist, and broadcaster, Dr David Suzuki. Over 300 educators from across Ontario were present for the launch, and were among the first to receive a free copy of the print resource.

As part of The Laboratory School’s educational outreach efforts, Natural Curiosity is currently available to all teachers. The initiative to create this resource was generously funded by the Norman and Marian Robertson Charitable Foundation, world-renowned photographic artist, Edward Burtynsky, and several anonymous donors.

This resource serves as a guide for teachers seeking a powerful way to make both the content and process of learning about the world more engaging and relevant for their students. This change is possible when students become personally invested in a process that is shaped by their very own questions and theories about the world - their natural curiosity - and a process that places them in direct interaction with the local natural environment. This is Environmental Inquiry at work, a four-branch framework that builds on an 85-year history of research and practice at the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study.