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12 - The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday January 13, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com Teachers take summer school to Italy By Melanie Cummings SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Summer school may not sound appealing to high school students itching for a break, but when the classroom setting is in the mountains, hills, forests, lakes and streets of Italy, it becomes an academic adventure. Teachers Catherine Blevins, 29 and Michael Dinka, 28 are looking for about 12 to 14, or more, Canadian students between the ages of 15 and 19, to take part in their pilot program called Ecology in Italy. As well as camping, hiking, fishing, map reading, analyzing and identifying the surrounding panorama, flora and fauna of Italy over four weeks in July, they'll earn a Grade 12 credit in the process. The local pair are running this inaugural course at the 10-year-old private boarding school called Canadian College Italy: The Renaissance School, which is where they have been putting their Bachelor of Education degrees to work for the past 2-1/2 years. The ecology program's sponsoring school is located in Lanciano, a medieval town on the Adriatic coast about three hours east of Rome. While Ecology in Italy is expected to attract eco-minded and eco-active students, Blevins and Dinka are also looking for those who are simply interested in learning more about the natural world around them. "We hope to instill a profound respect for both the simplicity and the complexity of the natural world by creating a social experience, along with some exercise and understanding of how they relate to system in which they live PHOTO COURTESY CATHERINE BLEVINS / MIKE DINKA TO THE RESCUE: Teachers and former Oakville Trafalgar High School students, Catherine Blevins and Mike Dinka are preparing to run a summer school -- in Italy. A little over a dozen students will be able to take part in their pilot project called Ecology in Italy. and hopefully a tickling desire to want to learn more," said Blevins. It's a course that elaborates on the buzzwords of climate change, Kyoto, biodiesel, and tar sands; that examines local agricultural and fishing practices, and urban planning strategies. While on a three-day excursion to a dammed lake students will examine aquatic ecosystems and hydroelectric projects. The month-long experience also includes a 10-day back-country trek through Parco Nazionale D'Abruzzo and a two-day visit to Rome to explore the remains of the once strong and far-reaching Roman Empire, the fall of which was partially precipitated by overzealous resource use, said Blevins. Italy was chosen as the classroom of choice because it has ecological variety in urban and rural settings within close proximity, and blends well the best examples of modern and traditional lifestyles, said Blevins. "Teachable moments are all over the place in this course and in this region of Italy, and supplements textbook learning well," said Blevins. While there are shopping malls and the beginnings of urban sprawl, ancient towns set atop the hills provide real-life examples of the past 1,000 years of city planning -- where buildings are clustered together leaving little space for cars and where solar panels power rural street lamps and wind turbines line mountain tops. Blevins and Dinka are former students of Oakville Trafalgar High School. After earning degrees at the universities of Guelph and Lakehead they formed their company called Students Outside. Over the next decade they expect to bring more experiential, ecologybased programming to Ontario schools, through semester-long integrated programs that will combine geography, physical education, environmental science and outdoor leadership courses. "Our idea is to provide an opportunity for students to learn about how the lake in which they paddle is connected to the larger watershed, how the erosion patterns that they see during a hike are formed and what could be done to slow that formation, said Blevins. This program is simply a stepping stone, and perhaps the first, for young people on their life-long quest to becoming ecologically literate, she added. Students interested in applying for the Ecology in Italy summer program can register online at the Canadian College Italy website: www.ccilanciano.com. The cost of the four-week course is $5,195. the phone book h as of f ic i a l ly e v olv e d . directories have changed. so should your directory advertising. Business Memberships Starting From $36/month For more information on how can help grow your business, call 310-GOLD or email: sales@goldbook.ca brought to you by: John Polidoro Plumbway, Plumbing and Drain Cleaning Gold Club Member Directory Commercials Talking Directory Character Free Website & Update Service Rewards Points & Newspaper Offers Print Directory 00:00:20