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14 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday August 22, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com Tutoring teachers on how to monitor climate change By Hiba Kesebi SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER For three days, teachers, private landowners and those interested in putting a stop to the environmental damage caused on the world today, gathered from across the GTA to take part in the Association for Canadian Educational Resources (ACER) summer program, Our Schoolyard, Measuring our Resource. The program, which was held in Appleby College from Aug. 18-20, was aimed at introducing and training teachers to map schoolyards and measure tree-biodiversity, while covering curriculum in science, geography, math and computer studies. The goal, according to ACER founding president, Alice Casselman, is to have teachers transport their knowledge to the children, who will in turn gain interest and expertise in the area of tree planting, biodiversity, and monitoring. "The information and resources on forest and biodi- versity will combat climate change," explained Casselman, who founded the organization 20 years ago, as a 50th birthday present for herself. A presentation put together by Don MacIver, Director Adaptation and Impacts Research Division, for ACER's second class stressed the importance of the tree monitoring and research projects put together by ACER. "We have major gaps in our climate monitoring network, and we have major gaps in our biodiversity monitoring network," he said. "There is only one biodiversity monitoring network in Canada, and it is this one. There are no others." ACER's findings are used in provincial, national and international data bases. Although it is not based in Oakville, the Our Schoolyard, Measuring our Resources received funding from the Trillium foundation to hold the classes in the Peel-Halton region. MacIver spoke about the OPENING OCTOBER 2008 Welcome Home This Luxury Retirement Residence is located in the Town of Oakville's new uptown core. Residents will enjoy retirement living in one of our premium suites with all of the conveniences of local shopping, restaurants, theatre, parks, golf courses and a host of activities just a short car ride away. At Chartwell Classic Oakville, you can select the lifestyle that best suits your needs. Choose from a host of services and activities, and let our skilled staff take care of the rest. Trish White and Jo-Anne Lavigne, are the Marketing Managers for Chartwell Classic Oakville. Collectively they have been in service to seniors and their families for over 25 years. Their passion for exceeding expectations in retirement living is obvious from the smiles on their faces. They look forward to meeting you, drop by the presentation centre today! importance of biodiversity and its relationship to climate. In the Panama Statement booklet from Climate Change and Biodiversity Symposium in the Americas, biodiversity is defined as the "variability among all living organisms, including diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems. [It] supports human societies ecologically, economically, culturally and spiritually." According to MacIver, some people may feel that the loss of some biodiversity in the country is not substantial enough to cause problems. Truth is, explained MacIver, this is not the case. With only 10 different species of trees, Canada is most at risk from the negative impacts of biodiversity loss, "because we have a very fragile environment, and we cannot afford to lose one species." "When we're talking about biodiversity we're looking at different types of monitoring objectives and different types of monitoring data, and as well at the same time looking at threats to biodiversity," he added. Climate change, something that Canada is already undergoing, is one of those factors. With the change in climate and atmosphere we are already seeing the affects of biodiversity loss. For example, the change in precipitation is causing increased flooding which leads to increased erosion of soil biodiversity, land degradation, and threats from water-borne disease. Furthermore, the situation has already led to an increased risk of diseases and viruses, like the West Nile Virus, which Don MacIver attacks the nervous system and can weaken the immune system and muscles. MacIver, not only provided the class with the current problem facing our world today, he also provided them with adaptation strategies that could prove to be beneficial for the future. These include, reintroducing species, creating earlywarning climate alert and response programs for biodiversity, applying modification strategies in agricultural land base, the rehabilitation of damaged ecosystems and adaptation strategies in which local people are engaged in the planning and implementing of mitigation and protection strategies. MacIver, along with Casselman, also hope that programs like Our School Yard, Measuring our Resources, will introduce youth and adults, a like, to the issue and get them more actively involved, in research, monitoring, or adaptation strategies. For more information about ACER, visit www.aceracre.org. WIN A FREE TRIP* Call 905-257-0095 180 Oak Park Blvd., Oakville, ON www.chartwellreit.ca Our spacious studios, one and two bedroom suites, along with a wide range of amenity spaces were carefully designed and are tailored to meet the individual wants and needs of today's seniors. To view our one bedroom suite, visit the presentation centre today. 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