2022 Agenda
Wednesday August 17 (all times EDT)
10:00-10:15am: Opening Remarks
10:15-11:00am: Keynote Session - Dr. Aysha Akhtar: Why We Must Replace Animal Experimentation (Room 1)
11:00-11:15am: Short Break
11:15-11:45am: Sessions
1:00-1:30pm: Sessions
2:15-2:45pm: Sessions
3:30-4:15pm: Keynote Session - Genesis Butler: Student Animal and Environmental Activism (Room 1)
4:15-4:30pm: Day Wrap-up
10:00-10:15am: Opening Remarks
10:15-11:00am: Keynote Session - Dr. Aysha Akhtar: Why We Must Replace Animal Experimentation (Room 1)
11:00-11:15am: Short Break
11:15-11:45am: Sessions
- Room 1: Teaching Kindness to Farm Animals to Any Age Level (Pre-K to Post-secondary)
- Room 2: Animals as stakeholders in education: Towards an educational reform for interspecies sustainability (Post-secondary)
- Room 1: The benefits of a vegan-inclusive education (Pre-K to Gr.12)
- Room 2: Challenging Anthropocentrism and Speciesism in “Greening” Social Work Education (Post-secondary)
1:00-1:30pm: Sessions
- Room 1: Making meatless food choices fun and empowering through gamification (K to Gr.8)
- Room 2: Incorporating the 3 Rs of Animal Use in High School Science Classes (Gr.9 to 12)
- Room 1: Sanctuary Field Trips: Creating Mutually Beneficial and Trauma Informed Experiences (K to Gr.6)
- Room 2: The role of alternative protein in a compassionate, sustainable and resilient future (Gr.7 to Post-secondary)
2:15-2:45pm: Sessions
- Room 1: Cracking The Ethics: Egg Hatching Projects (Pre-K to Gr.6)
- Room 2: Using World Languages to teach Humane Education (Gr.7 to 12)
- Room 1: School field trips to zoos and aquaria: Why are these morally problematic? (Pre-K to Post-secondary)
- Room 2: Making Change for Animals: The Role of Veterinary Education (Post-secondary)
3:30-4:15pm: Keynote Session - Genesis Butler: Student Animal and Environmental Activism (Room 1)
4:15-4:30pm: Day Wrap-up
Thursday August 18 (all times EDT)
10:00-10:15am: Opening Remarks
10:15-11:00am: Keynote Session - Carl Safina: Cognition, Culture and Conservation (Room 1)
11:00-11:15am: Short Break
11:15-11:45am: Sessions
1:00-1:30pm: Sessions
2:15-2:45pm: Sessions
3:30-4:15pm: Virtual Field Trip - Toucan Rescue Ranch in Costa Rica (Room 1)
4:15-4:30pm: Conference Wrap-up
10:00-10:15am: Opening Remarks
10:15-11:00am: Keynote Session - Carl Safina: Cognition, Culture and Conservation (Room 1)
11:00-11:15am: Short Break
11:15-11:45am: Sessions
- Room 1: Explicitly Teaching Environmental Empathy in Your Classroom (K to Post-secondary)
- Room 2: Animals in Frames: Examining the Nature-based Edutainment Industry (K to Post-secondary)
- Room 1: Free Kiska Social Justice Project (Pre-K to Post-secondary)
- Room 2: Critical Human-Animal Studies in the Curriculum: Expectations, Challenges, and Possibilities (Gr.9 to Post-secondary)
1:00-1:30pm: Sessions
- Room 1: Cultivating Compassion for All Beings in K-3 Classes, Virtually! (K to Gr.3)
- Room 2: Multispecies justice in veterinary/postsecondary education (Post-secondary)
- Room 1: Social Justice in Early Childhood (Pre-K to Gr.6)
- Room 2: Building the Veg Climate Network (K to Post-secondary)
2:15-2:45pm: Sessions
- Room 1: Opt-in to the Innovative Dissection Lab (K to Gr.12)
- Room 2: How can education and pedagogy help to create responsible planetary citizens concerned with social justice issues beyond the human realm? (Post-secondary)
- Room 1: Humane Education in Calgary Classrooms: 100 Years of Connecting Lives (K to Gr.12)
- Room 2: Plant-Powered Athletes Are Changing The Game (Gr.9 to 12)
3:30-4:15pm: Virtual Field Trip - Toucan Rescue Ranch in Costa Rica (Room 1)
4:15-4:30pm: Conference Wrap-up
Session Descriptions
Teaching Kindness to Farm Animals to Any Age Level (Pre-K to Post-secondary)
Mickey Kudia, Humane Education Advocates Reaching Teachers (HEART)
Wed Aug.17 - 11:15-11:45am ET (Room 1)
It is estimated that there are approximately 1.6 billion farm animals living on factory farms in the United States. This has huge repercussions for our planet and our future. However, teaching about this issue, especially to younger children, can be challenging. In this presentation, we’ll discuss how to provide students in grades Pre-K through high school with information that is age-appropriate, research-based, and respectful of the varied perspectives regarding this topic. The presentation will begin by providing a methodology for deciding how to teach about factory farming based on contextual factors. For example, the pedagogy used to teach a school’s animal rights club is different from teaching a standard school-day class in a rural setting. Participants will also learn how to use perspective-taking, ethical dilemmas, and service learning to teach kindness for farm animals through simple, ready-made activities that can be carried out in any setting.
Mickey Kudia, Humane Education Advocates Reaching Teachers (HEART)
Wed Aug.17 - 11:15-11:45am ET (Room 1)
It is estimated that there are approximately 1.6 billion farm animals living on factory farms in the United States. This has huge repercussions for our planet and our future. However, teaching about this issue, especially to younger children, can be challenging. In this presentation, we’ll discuss how to provide students in grades Pre-K through high school with information that is age-appropriate, research-based, and respectful of the varied perspectives regarding this topic. The presentation will begin by providing a methodology for deciding how to teach about factory farming based on contextual factors. For example, the pedagogy used to teach a school’s animal rights club is different from teaching a standard school-day class in a rural setting. Participants will also learn how to use perspective-taking, ethical dilemmas, and service learning to teach kindness for farm animals through simple, ready-made activities that can be carried out in any setting.
Animals as stakeholders in education: Towards an educational reform for interspecies sustainability (Post-secondary)
Dr. Maria Helena Saari, University of Oulu - Finland
Wed Aug.17 - 11:15-11:45am ET (Room 2)
This presentation is based on recently completed doctoral research that explored through a multidimensional approach the occlusions and openings for attending to the ways in which different forms of (educational) violence are (re)produced in education. The presentation examines three interconnected dimensions (pedagogy, policy and practice) and uses cows and the dairy industry as a case example, given the stronghold the dairy industry continues to have in the (Finnish) education system. By exploring connections between the animal-industrial complex and education, this study explores how we might move towards an educational reform for interspecies sustainability, grounded in the understanding that a just multispecies coexistence and sustainable futures require disrupting violence against other animals and attending to the creation of spaces of peace (within and beyond education).
Dr. Maria Helena Saari, University of Oulu - Finland
Wed Aug.17 - 11:15-11:45am ET (Room 2)
This presentation is based on recently completed doctoral research that explored through a multidimensional approach the occlusions and openings for attending to the ways in which different forms of (educational) violence are (re)produced in education. The presentation examines three interconnected dimensions (pedagogy, policy and practice) and uses cows and the dairy industry as a case example, given the stronghold the dairy industry continues to have in the (Finnish) education system. By exploring connections between the animal-industrial complex and education, this study explores how we might move towards an educational reform for interspecies sustainability, grounded in the understanding that a just multispecies coexistence and sustainable futures require disrupting violence against other animals and attending to the creation of spaces of peace (within and beyond education).
The benefits of a vegan-inclusive education (Pre-K to Gr.12)
Laura Chepner, The Vegan Society - UK
Wed Aug.17 - 11:45am-12:15pm ET (Room 1)
This session aims to show how easily a vegan-inclusive education can be implemented into any classroom setting. Simple tweaks and mindful alterations to an educator's every day practice can have many great benefits and can improve the entire ethos of a school. We consider the curriculum, food and everything in between providing a full overview of school life from a vegan viewpoint.
Laura Chepner, The Vegan Society - UK
Wed Aug.17 - 11:45am-12:15pm ET (Room 1)
This session aims to show how easily a vegan-inclusive education can be implemented into any classroom setting. Simple tweaks and mindful alterations to an educator's every day practice can have many great benefits and can improve the entire ethos of a school. We consider the curriculum, food and everything in between providing a full overview of school life from a vegan viewpoint.
Challenging Anthropocentrism and Speciesism in “Greening” Social Work Education (Post-secondary)
Jasmine Ferreira, York University
Wed Aug.17 - 11:45am-12:15pm ET (Room 2)
Recent changes to Canadian Social Work Education Accreditation Standards have added a focus on Environmental Sustainability and Ecological Practices to address growing concerns about climate change. Animals are not explicitly named in the standards; however, achieving a collective vision of social, economic, and environmental justice for all beings cannot be realized without considering non-human animals and actively challenging anthropocentric ontologies. This presentation will discuss how integrating Critical Animal Studies and anti-speciesism into curriculum can help educators in social work and related disciplines critically analyze hierarchal relationships and dismantle oppressive social systems that intersect with human and non-human animals as we strive for ecological well-being. In doing so, we can collectively work towards healthy and just eco-systems for all living beings.
Jasmine Ferreira, York University
Wed Aug.17 - 11:45am-12:15pm ET (Room 2)
Recent changes to Canadian Social Work Education Accreditation Standards have added a focus on Environmental Sustainability and Ecological Practices to address growing concerns about climate change. Animals are not explicitly named in the standards; however, achieving a collective vision of social, economic, and environmental justice for all beings cannot be realized without considering non-human animals and actively challenging anthropocentric ontologies. This presentation will discuss how integrating Critical Animal Studies and anti-speciesism into curriculum can help educators in social work and related disciplines critically analyze hierarchal relationships and dismantle oppressive social systems that intersect with human and non-human animals as we strive for ecological well-being. In doing so, we can collectively work towards healthy and just eco-systems for all living beings.
Making meatless food choices fun and empowering through gamification (K to Gr.8)
Jane Ji, Springbay Studio
Wed Aug.17 - 1:00-1:30pm ET (Room 1)
Springbay Studio runs the League for Green Leaders (LFGL), a gamified 14-days online climate action competition. Children complete daily activities that teach them about important environmental subjects and empower them to reduce their carbon emissions by choosing a more sustainable lifestyle, including their food choices. In one of such activities, “True or False”, students are introduced to the ideas of animal sentience and animal rights, and are encouraged to reflect on the diet that is the default in our society. Our session will outline this activity, and discuss how gamification is an excellent pathway to encourage conversations and reflection about more challenging topics like animal sentience and animal rights. We will talk about our research based on interviewing students before and after our most recent LFGL competition, and share how students were motivated to include reducing their meat consumption in their climate action plans after this activity in the competition.
Jane Ji, Springbay Studio
Wed Aug.17 - 1:00-1:30pm ET (Room 1)
Springbay Studio runs the League for Green Leaders (LFGL), a gamified 14-days online climate action competition. Children complete daily activities that teach them about important environmental subjects and empower them to reduce their carbon emissions by choosing a more sustainable lifestyle, including their food choices. In one of such activities, “True or False”, students are introduced to the ideas of animal sentience and animal rights, and are encouraged to reflect on the diet that is the default in our society. Our session will outline this activity, and discuss how gamification is an excellent pathway to encourage conversations and reflection about more challenging topics like animal sentience and animal rights. We will talk about our research based on interviewing students before and after our most recent LFGL competition, and share how students were motivated to include reducing their meat consumption in their climate action plans after this activity in the competition.
Incorporating the 3 Rs of Animal Use in High School Science Classes (Gr.9 to 12)
Dr. Pam Osenkowski, National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS)
Wed Aug.17 - 1:00-1:30pm ET (Room 2)
A cross-disciplinary team of teachers, subject matter experts, and curriculum developers have designed resources and materials to facilitate teaching students about the use of animals in scientific research in the United States, as well as Russell and Burch’s 3 Rs principles of replacement, reduction, and refinement of animal use. The materials, which are aligned with Next Generation Science Standards, are geared toward high school science students. The modules can be taught separately or in combination, giving educators flexibility to choose specific content areas to share and explore with their students. During the session, we will present two learning plans: one that introduces students to the 3 Rs principles and how animals are used in scientific research, and another that covers the 3 Rs principles in more depth. We will share information, including teaching plans, learning materials, and performance assessment tasks associated with the curriculum, with session attendees.
Dr. Pam Osenkowski, National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS)
Wed Aug.17 - 1:00-1:30pm ET (Room 2)
A cross-disciplinary team of teachers, subject matter experts, and curriculum developers have designed resources and materials to facilitate teaching students about the use of animals in scientific research in the United States, as well as Russell and Burch’s 3 Rs principles of replacement, reduction, and refinement of animal use. The materials, which are aligned with Next Generation Science Standards, are geared toward high school science students. The modules can be taught separately or in combination, giving educators flexibility to choose specific content areas to share and explore with their students. During the session, we will present two learning plans: one that introduces students to the 3 Rs principles and how animals are used in scientific research, and another that covers the 3 Rs principles in more depth. We will share information, including teaching plans, learning materials, and performance assessment tasks associated with the curriculum, with session attendees.
Sanctuary Field Trips: Creating Mutually Beneficial and Trauma Informed Experiences (K to Gr.6)
Brenna Anderst, Pasado’s Safe Haven
Wed Aug.17 - 1:30-2:00pm ET (Room 1)
As the public becomes increasingly aware of the issues surrounding traditional forms of animal-related experiences like circuses, theme parks, and zoos, more educators are looking for field trip alternatives that align with their values. But how can we truly create experiences that are respectful of the animals and their needs? In this presentation, we will explore the ethics involved when living animals are part of educational programs, what it means to create trauma informed interactions with animals, and how empathy can guide the future of animal field trips and experiences.
Brenna Anderst, Pasado’s Safe Haven
Wed Aug.17 - 1:30-2:00pm ET (Room 1)
As the public becomes increasingly aware of the issues surrounding traditional forms of animal-related experiences like circuses, theme parks, and zoos, more educators are looking for field trip alternatives that align with their values. But how can we truly create experiences that are respectful of the animals and their needs? In this presentation, we will explore the ethics involved when living animals are part of educational programs, what it means to create trauma informed interactions with animals, and how empathy can guide the future of animal field trips and experiences.
The role of alternative protein in a compassionate, sustainable and resilient future (Gr.7 to Post-secondary)
Allison Penner, Reimagine Agriculture
Wed Aug.17 - 1:30-2:00pm ET (Room 2)
Dread and despair are often intertwined with our views of the food system - seeing environmental, ethical and health impacts still delivering food shortages worldwide. But, as global demand for meat continues to rise, as it has since the 1960s, it's clear that we need an alternative plan for effective change. We already have the technology to revolutionize our food system today. Alternative proteins are essential in creating a sustainable food system that bridges the gap between our values and behaviours. We must adopt the technologies that will allow people of all values to support the global movement to end animal agriculture.
Allison Penner, Reimagine Agriculture
Wed Aug.17 - 1:30-2:00pm ET (Room 2)
Dread and despair are often intertwined with our views of the food system - seeing environmental, ethical and health impacts still delivering food shortages worldwide. But, as global demand for meat continues to rise, as it has since the 1960s, it's clear that we need an alternative plan for effective change. We already have the technology to revolutionize our food system today. Alternative proteins are essential in creating a sustainable food system that bridges the gap between our values and behaviours. We must adopt the technologies that will allow people of all values to support the global movement to end animal agriculture.
Cracking The Ethics: Egg Hatching Projects (Pre-K to Gr.6)
Sarien Slabbert, People Ensuring Animal Care Exists (PEACE)
Wed Aug.17 - 2:15-2:45pm ET (Room 1)
Come join us for a presentation on why classroom or home egg hatching projects are not as humane as we might think, as well as a look at all the educational alternatives available!
Sarien Slabbert, People Ensuring Animal Care Exists (PEACE)
Wed Aug.17 - 2:15-2:45pm ET (Room 1)
Come join us for a presentation on why classroom or home egg hatching projects are not as humane as we might think, as well as a look at all the educational alternatives available!
Using World Languages to teach Humane Education (Gr.7 to 12)
Maru Vigo, Animalia Latina
Wed Aug.17 - 2:15-2:45pm ET (Room 2)
World Languages can also be used to teach Humane Education classes and fight speciesism. Most of the time people are ignorant about the true value of animals and have the tendency to use cruel or false stereotypes. It is very important for educators to intertwine the amazing lives of animals with topics related to the different disciplines we teach in our daily routines.
Maru Vigo, Animalia Latina
Wed Aug.17 - 2:15-2:45pm ET (Room 2)
World Languages can also be used to teach Humane Education classes and fight speciesism. Most of the time people are ignorant about the true value of animals and have the tendency to use cruel or false stereotypes. It is very important for educators to intertwine the amazing lives of animals with topics related to the different disciplines we teach in our daily routines.
School field trips to zoos and aquaria: Why are these morally problematic? (Pre-K to Post-secondary)
Dr. Gabriela Tymowski-Gionet, University of New Brunswick
Wed Aug.17 - 2:45-3:15pm ET (Room 1)
Field trips to zoos and aquaria are often considered to be effective educational learning opportunities where children may see live animals and learn about them. These animals tend to be a universal draw for children. Teachers enjoy the multidisciplinary opportunities for combining lessons in biology, geography, mathematics, art, culture, and other areas. What may often be overlooked are the ethical dimensions of such visits. This presentation will discuss why such trips are morally problematic, and will present alternative suggestions for school children.
Dr. Gabriela Tymowski-Gionet, University of New Brunswick
Wed Aug.17 - 2:45-3:15pm ET (Room 1)
Field trips to zoos and aquaria are often considered to be effective educational learning opportunities where children may see live animals and learn about them. These animals tend to be a universal draw for children. Teachers enjoy the multidisciplinary opportunities for combining lessons in biology, geography, mathematics, art, culture, and other areas. What may often be overlooked are the ethical dimensions of such visits. This presentation will discuss why such trips are morally problematic, and will present alternative suggestions for school children.
Making Change for Animals: The Role of Veterinary Education (Post-secondary)
Dr. Nadine Dolby, Purdue University
Wed Aug.17 - 2:45-3:15pm ET (Room 2)
In this session, I discuss my recent research on veterinary students, and how the structures, curriculum, and pedagogy of veterinary college shapes their experiences and relationships with animals. My critical, qualitative study followed a cohort of veterinary students through their four year journey from matriculation to graduation, exploring their complicated and often painful stories. Veterinarians are our society's primary teachers about animals, and their perspectives and experiences have significant implications for human-animal relationships, from the slaughter of animals for food, to intimate decisions about companion animals. In conclusion, I suggest new paths forward for veterinary education, and highlight the work of organizations that are making changes in the profession.
Dr. Nadine Dolby, Purdue University
Wed Aug.17 - 2:45-3:15pm ET (Room 2)
In this session, I discuss my recent research on veterinary students, and how the structures, curriculum, and pedagogy of veterinary college shapes their experiences and relationships with animals. My critical, qualitative study followed a cohort of veterinary students through their four year journey from matriculation to graduation, exploring their complicated and often painful stories. Veterinarians are our society's primary teachers about animals, and their perspectives and experiences have significant implications for human-animal relationships, from the slaughter of animals for food, to intimate decisions about companion animals. In conclusion, I suggest new paths forward for veterinary education, and highlight the work of organizations that are making changes in the profession.
Explicitly Teaching Environmental Empathy in Your Classroom (K to Post-secondary)
Amanda Garner, Blount County Schools
Thurs Aug.18 - 11:15-11:45am ET (Room 1)
The session will focus on creating a culture of empathy for nature in the science classroom. The session will consist of:
1. Brief overview of my background and how it led to explicitly teaching empathy in my classroom.
2. How to teach empathy explicitly with a focus on animals. Specific activities and examples.
3. Outdoor field work that supports the culture of empathy. Specific field work activities you can do with students to support and foster empathy.
Amanda Garner, Blount County Schools
Thurs Aug.18 - 11:15-11:45am ET (Room 1)
The session will focus on creating a culture of empathy for nature in the science classroom. The session will consist of:
1. Brief overview of my background and how it led to explicitly teaching empathy in my classroom.
2. How to teach empathy explicitly with a focus on animals. Specific activities and examples.
3. Outdoor field work that supports the culture of empathy. Specific field work activities you can do with students to support and foster empathy.
Multispecies justice in veterinary/postsecondary education (Post-secondary)
Dr. Lauren Van Patter, Ontario Veterinary College - University of Guelph (OVC)
Thurs Aug.18 - 1:00-1:30pm ET (Room 2)
Veterinary teaching understandably focuses on animal health, medicine, and welfare, and there doesn’t tend to be a lot of engagement with the diversity, complexity, or nuance of human-animal relationships, the cultural, ethical, and political dimensions of these, or how animal health is connected with human and environmental health, wellbeing, and justice. One Health and One Welfare approaches are beginning to enter the dialogue and bring together some of these considerations, but they tend to focus more narrowly on health implications and management of zoonotic diseased, as opposed to considering wellbeing more broadly, or the connections between animal, human, and environmental justice. This session will explore potentials for these connections in veterinary training, and the value of multispecies justice in education more broadly.
Dr. Lauren Van Patter, Ontario Veterinary College - University of Guelph (OVC)
Thurs Aug.18 - 1:00-1:30pm ET (Room 2)
Veterinary teaching understandably focuses on animal health, medicine, and welfare, and there doesn’t tend to be a lot of engagement with the diversity, complexity, or nuance of human-animal relationships, the cultural, ethical, and political dimensions of these, or how animal health is connected with human and environmental health, wellbeing, and justice. One Health and One Welfare approaches are beginning to enter the dialogue and bring together some of these considerations, but they tend to focus more narrowly on health implications and management of zoonotic diseased, as opposed to considering wellbeing more broadly, or the connections between animal, human, and environmental justice. This session will explore potentials for these connections in veterinary training, and the value of multispecies justice in education more broadly.
Free Kiska Social Justice Project (Pre-K to Post-secondary)
Lilly Catrisiotis and Judith Goldberg, Forest Run Public School
Thurs Aug.18 - 11:45am-12:15pm ET (Room 1)
We will summarize all of the work that Forest Run Public School has completed in the York Region District School Board to raise the level of awareness about Kiska, an Orca in captivity at MarineLand. We will explain the genesis of this project, the rationale for letters sent to ministers and an analysis of responses that have been received. As well we will showcase the art, poems, puppet shows and socio-dramatic centers including an ocean sanctuary as well as an airport that flies to Nova Scotia where the sanctuary will be built - all related to curriculum expectation in all divisional grades. Finally, we hope to share our Twitter feed and a petition that the school will begin this week! We want to raise awareness for the whole world.
Lilly Catrisiotis and Judith Goldberg, Forest Run Public School
Thurs Aug.18 - 11:45am-12:15pm ET (Room 1)
We will summarize all of the work that Forest Run Public School has completed in the York Region District School Board to raise the level of awareness about Kiska, an Orca in captivity at MarineLand. We will explain the genesis of this project, the rationale for letters sent to ministers and an analysis of responses that have been received. As well we will showcase the art, poems, puppet shows and socio-dramatic centers including an ocean sanctuary as well as an airport that flies to Nova Scotia where the sanctuary will be built - all related to curriculum expectation in all divisional grades. Finally, we hope to share our Twitter feed and a petition that the school will begin this week! We want to raise awareness for the whole world.
Critical Human-Animal Studies in the Curriculum: Expectations, Challenges, and Possibilities (Gr.9 to Post-secondary)
Melvin Chan and Dr. Leesa Fawcett, York University
Thurs Aug.18 - 11:45am-12:15pm ET (Room 2)
Educators are increasingly called upon to teach about animal issues to foster positive human-animal relations in hopes of decreasing animal cruelty and mitigating climate change. As educators, we are interested in decolonizing the questions and processes involved in teaching critical human-animal studies to strengthen animal agency in webs of relationships and reciprocity. Therefore, in this presentation, we draw from environmental justice and affective learning approaches to explore what it has meant and what it could mean to teach about human-animal relations in informal settings (summer camps) and in the classroom. We focus on how our and our students’ identities have shaped and co-shape this teaching, and we also pay close attention to how anti-racist and anti-colonial perspectives on human-animal relations can transform the ways in which we teach with animals. We envision expanding the horizon of possibilities for pedagogy in critical human-animal studies.
Melvin Chan and Dr. Leesa Fawcett, York University
Thurs Aug.18 - 11:45am-12:15pm ET (Room 2)
Educators are increasingly called upon to teach about animal issues to foster positive human-animal relations in hopes of decreasing animal cruelty and mitigating climate change. As educators, we are interested in decolonizing the questions and processes involved in teaching critical human-animal studies to strengthen animal agency in webs of relationships and reciprocity. Therefore, in this presentation, we draw from environmental justice and affective learning approaches to explore what it has meant and what it could mean to teach about human-animal relations in informal settings (summer camps) and in the classroom. We focus on how our and our students’ identities have shaped and co-shape this teaching, and we also pay close attention to how anti-racist and anti-colonial perspectives on human-animal relations can transform the ways in which we teach with animals. We envision expanding the horizon of possibilities for pedagogy in critical human-animal studies.
Cultivating Compassion for All Beings in K-3 Classes, Virtually! (K to Gr.3)
Jess Pelow, Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre
Thurs Aug.18 - 1:00-1:30pm ET (Room 1)
Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre is a wildlife hospital in Napanee, Ontario that admits over 6,000 wild animals each year. Our education program aims to cultivate empathy and compassion for wildlife, without exploiting animals - including humans. Over the past three school years, we have researched, reimagined, and revised our presentations to give students a virtual experience that engages both their mind and their heart for the benefit of all beings. Our main presentation for K-3 classes has gone through numerous iterations and we are now at a place where the consistent feedback from teachers is, "This is the best virtual presentation I have ever seen." In seeing how the presentation resonates with classes, we wish to share the key components of our main virtual presentation to showcase one way of teaching empathy and compassion virtually and without ambassador animals.
Jess Pelow, Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre
Thurs Aug.18 - 1:00-1:30pm ET (Room 1)
Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre is a wildlife hospital in Napanee, Ontario that admits over 6,000 wild animals each year. Our education program aims to cultivate empathy and compassion for wildlife, without exploiting animals - including humans. Over the past three school years, we have researched, reimagined, and revised our presentations to give students a virtual experience that engages both their mind and their heart for the benefit of all beings. Our main presentation for K-3 classes has gone through numerous iterations and we are now at a place where the consistent feedback from teachers is, "This is the best virtual presentation I have ever seen." In seeing how the presentation resonates with classes, we wish to share the key components of our main virtual presentation to showcase one way of teaching empathy and compassion virtually and without ambassador animals.
Animals in Frames: Examining the Nature-based Edutainment Industry (K to Post-secondary)
Annie Schultz, Loyola University Chicago
Thurs Aug.18 - 11:15-11:45am ET (Room 2)
Nature-based edutainment venues such as zoos and aquariums position nonhuman animals as objects of contemplation. I’m interested in how such spaces work as ontological orderings – frames – for the human viewers. The zoo, as a case in point, is not so different from an art exhibit. John Berger, in his book About Looking, describes each enclosure in a zoo as a frame around the animal inside it and the visitors moving from one enclosure to another not unlike visitors in an art gallery. “Instagranimal” exists as a term in animal ethics scholarship to describe the incorporation of the nonhuman into human aesthetic curation. In this presentation, I will discuss the implications of viewing nonhuman animals as art, taking into consideration the harmful and helpful implications of aesthetic viewing. I’m interested in the ways nonhuman beings are situated in our visual perception and the implications for an education for compassion and ethics toward the nonhuman.
Annie Schultz, Loyola University Chicago
Thurs Aug.18 - 11:15-11:45am ET (Room 2)
Nature-based edutainment venues such as zoos and aquariums position nonhuman animals as objects of contemplation. I’m interested in how such spaces work as ontological orderings – frames – for the human viewers. The zoo, as a case in point, is not so different from an art exhibit. John Berger, in his book About Looking, describes each enclosure in a zoo as a frame around the animal inside it and the visitors moving from one enclosure to another not unlike visitors in an art gallery. “Instagranimal” exists as a term in animal ethics scholarship to describe the incorporation of the nonhuman into human aesthetic curation. In this presentation, I will discuss the implications of viewing nonhuman animals as art, taking into consideration the harmful and helpful implications of aesthetic viewing. I’m interested in the ways nonhuman beings are situated in our visual perception and the implications for an education for compassion and ethics toward the nonhuman.
Social Justice in Early Childhood (Pre-K to Gr.6)
Valerie Trew, University of Guelph
Thurs Aug.18 - 1:30-2:00pm ET (Room 1)
Join Valerie Trew, Director of the University of Guelph Child Care and Learning Centre, to explore the social justice implications of early childhood education. Discover how veganism connects with many of the stated priorities of the field of early learning and how learning materials, books, early learning environments, and provocations in early childhood settings can set children on a course for a more just and livable future for human and non-human animals.
Valerie Trew, University of Guelph
Thurs Aug.18 - 1:30-2:00pm ET (Room 1)
Join Valerie Trew, Director of the University of Guelph Child Care and Learning Centre, to explore the social justice implications of early childhood education. Discover how veganism connects with many of the stated priorities of the field of early learning and how learning materials, books, early learning environments, and provocations in early childhood settings can set children on a course for a more just and livable future for human and non-human animals.
Building the Veg Climate Network (K to Post-secondary)
Mark Simmons and Nital Jethalal, Veg Climate Network
Thurs Aug.18 - 1:30-2:00pm ET (Room 2)
The Veg Climate Network (VCN) is a global initiative working to address agricultural-driven climate change through the increased adoption of plant-based food. Animal agriculture is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, as well as deforestation, loss of biodiversity, land degradation, desertification, water consumption and pollution. Animal-based food contributes twice the amount of greenhouse gas emissions as plant-based food, and more than 88 billion land animals are bred, raised and slaughtered for food every year. VCN members are working with partners locally, nationally, and globally to increase the consumption of plant-based foods in public spaces, with an initial focus on public schools. We’ll provide an overview of the work we’ve done to date, our planned next steps and also highlight ways that conference attendees can help us to expand the scope and impact of the VCN across the public school system.
Mark Simmons and Nital Jethalal, Veg Climate Network
Thurs Aug.18 - 1:30-2:00pm ET (Room 2)
The Veg Climate Network (VCN) is a global initiative working to address agricultural-driven climate change through the increased adoption of plant-based food. Animal agriculture is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, as well as deforestation, loss of biodiversity, land degradation, desertification, water consumption and pollution. Animal-based food contributes twice the amount of greenhouse gas emissions as plant-based food, and more than 88 billion land animals are bred, raised and slaughtered for food every year. VCN members are working with partners locally, nationally, and globally to increase the consumption of plant-based foods in public spaces, with an initial focus on public schools. We’ll provide an overview of the work we’ve done to date, our planned next steps and also highlight ways that conference attendees can help us to expand the scope and impact of the VCN across the public school system.
Opt-in to the Innovative Dissection Lab (K to Gr.12)
Nicole Green, Animalearn
Thurs Aug.18 - 2:15-2:45pm ET (Room 1)
The animal dissection lab is a decades old activity that can be replaced with innovative technology and tactile modeling systems that have been produced to mimic the anatomical features of animals at all education levels from elementary to post-secondary education. Recent data shows that in 95% of studies, students learn just as well, and in most cases better, when they use non-animal methods compared to dissection. Humane science education programs like Animalearn help science educators to find the appropriate non-animal methods for their classrooms. Sadly, dissection claims the lives of millions of animals annually. Making the choice to take animals out of the dissection pan not only saves animals but also teaches children that animals have value and are not just disposable lab tools.
Nicole Green, Animalearn
Thurs Aug.18 - 2:15-2:45pm ET (Room 1)
The animal dissection lab is a decades old activity that can be replaced with innovative technology and tactile modeling systems that have been produced to mimic the anatomical features of animals at all education levels from elementary to post-secondary education. Recent data shows that in 95% of studies, students learn just as well, and in most cases better, when they use non-animal methods compared to dissection. Humane science education programs like Animalearn help science educators to find the appropriate non-animal methods for their classrooms. Sadly, dissection claims the lives of millions of animals annually. Making the choice to take animals out of the dissection pan not only saves animals but also teaches children that animals have value and are not just disposable lab tools.
How can education and pedagogy help to create responsible planetary citizens concerned with social justice issues beyond the human realm? (Post-secondary)
Saeid Vafa, York University
Thurs Aug.18 - 2:15-2:45pm ET (Room 2)
Not all human rights activists consider animal rights as important social justice issues. The Critical Animal Studies perspective considers an intersectional approach to social justice including speciesism is necessary. Then we need to learn how education can encourage people to change their habits and lifestyles to protect the environment and respect the rights of nonhuman animals. This presentation is based on a study which explores how we can create a bridge between animal rights activism and human rights activism. In this qualitative study, to address intersectionality of social justice, I interviewed 15 animal rights activists and human rights activists from Iran living in Canada asking them their experiences in and reflections on the education system, and children's books and literature which they read as children. Key findings and implications for education and educators will be discussed.
Saeid Vafa, York University
Thurs Aug.18 - 2:15-2:45pm ET (Room 2)
Not all human rights activists consider animal rights as important social justice issues. The Critical Animal Studies perspective considers an intersectional approach to social justice including speciesism is necessary. Then we need to learn how education can encourage people to change their habits and lifestyles to protect the environment and respect the rights of nonhuman animals. This presentation is based on a study which explores how we can create a bridge between animal rights activism and human rights activism. In this qualitative study, to address intersectionality of social justice, I interviewed 15 animal rights activists and human rights activists from Iran living in Canada asking them their experiences in and reflections on the education system, and children's books and literature which they read as children. Key findings and implications for education and educators will be discussed.
Humane Education in Calgary Classrooms: 100 Years of Connecting Lives (K to Gr.12)
Hanna Chartrain and Gene Johner, Calgary Humane Society
Thurs Aug.18 - 2:45-3:15pm ET (Room 1)
Calgary Humane Society (CHS) was funded in 1922 and this year we are celebrating our centennial year., Since the beginning, Humane Education has been a part of our mission – to help as many animals as we can. This presentation will explore how Humane Education started at CHS with historical archives outlined in our coffee table book, 100 Years of Connecting Lives. Woven into this session is the two-pillar structure of the Humane Education program at CHS and how it is helping to inspire the next generation of compassionate animal advocates, while addressing some important lessons learned about running successful and engaging programming that reach over 10,000 youth annually in the Calgary area. With a focus forward on the next 100 years, and the changing landscape for Humane Education, learn the initiatives our team is working on for the future.
Hanna Chartrain and Gene Johner, Calgary Humane Society
Thurs Aug.18 - 2:45-3:15pm ET (Room 1)
Calgary Humane Society (CHS) was funded in 1922 and this year we are celebrating our centennial year., Since the beginning, Humane Education has been a part of our mission – to help as many animals as we can. This presentation will explore how Humane Education started at CHS with historical archives outlined in our coffee table book, 100 Years of Connecting Lives. Woven into this session is the two-pillar structure of the Humane Education program at CHS and how it is helping to inspire the next generation of compassionate animal advocates, while addressing some important lessons learned about running successful and engaging programming that reach over 10,000 youth annually in the Calgary area. With a focus forward on the next 100 years, and the changing landscape for Humane Education, learn the initiatives our team is working on for the future.
Plant-Powered Athletes Are Changing The Game (Gr.9 to 12)
Jason Fonger, Jason Fonger Education Services
Thurs Aug.18 - 2:45-3:15pm ET (Room 2)
Many people still believe they must eat animal products to be fit and strong, but this is changing. As top athletes around the world are seen thriving on plant-based diets, old ways of thinking about food are being replaced by new evidence-backed recommendations. Canadian endurance athlete and multiple-time triathlon champion Jason Fonger speaks regularly to audiences of high school students about plant-based eating. In this session, you will learn about some of the ways plant-based eating can be beneficial for athletes. You will also see a few examples of activities designed to engage students in this topic.
Jason Fonger, Jason Fonger Education Services
Thurs Aug.18 - 2:45-3:15pm ET (Room 2)
Many people still believe they must eat animal products to be fit and strong, but this is changing. As top athletes around the world are seen thriving on plant-based diets, old ways of thinking about food are being replaced by new evidence-backed recommendations. Canadian endurance athlete and multiple-time triathlon champion Jason Fonger speaks regularly to audiences of high school students about plant-based eating. In this session, you will learn about some of the ways plant-based eating can be beneficial for athletes. You will also see a few examples of activities designed to engage students in this topic.