It was observing how disconnected from nature her students had become that prompted Gimli High School teacher Cheryl Bailey to take action a few years back. “I saw them spending so much time with video games,” says Bailey who teaches biology and environmental science in the Evergreen School Division. “When we talked about the environment
Taking education outside
Conservation Champions: Educators in Evergreen School Division partner with Eastern Interlake Conservation District to develop outdoor classroom, wetland and other resources for raising student awareness about the natural world
Been told your town is a backwater? Challenge it with action, says AMM speaker
Society’s dim view of small-town life needs to be challenged, guest speaker tells municipal leaders. But it takes more than a marketing campaign
If your friends in the city think you’re a loser because you don’t live there, don’t take it personally. There’s a deep prejudice in Canadian culture about rural life and small-town Canada, said a speaker at this fall’s Association of Manitoba Municipalities convention. “People say not nice things about small towns,” said Ken Coates, director
World Food Prize experience an eye-opener for Manitoba teen
The conference gives youth an opportunity to dream big about their future in agriculture
Public speaking before an unfamiliar audience can be scary enough, never mind having a bunch of distinguished international scientists in the audience. But 16-year-old Laura Didyk was undaunted making a speech while attending the World Food Prize Global Youth Institute in Des Moines, Iowa this past October. “It was a little nerve-racking,” says the Grade
Handmade jewelry tells the story of Manitoba’s provincial soil
For the past five years members of Manitoba Soil Science Society have created the unique pendant/keychains, earrings, bracelets and rings with the distinct tricoloured soil of Newdale Clay Loam
Soil is sometimes called the earth’s skin. Why not wear a little of it next to our own and tell others about it? That was the idea that came to Manitoba agronomist and then Manitoba Soil Science Society (MSSS) president Kim Brown-Livingston around the time Manitoba declared its own provincial soil — Newdale Clay Loam
VIDEO: Down to earth jewelry made in Manitoba
Manitoba Soil Sciences Society members have been using Newdale Clay Loam to make a series of pendants/keychains, bracelets, earrings and rings since Manitoba proclaimed it the provincial soil in 2010. MSSS members Marla Riekman and John Heard explain how the idea originated, how the jewelry is made, and the intent behind the ongoing initiative. All
Municipalities want their PST money back
One level of government should not tax another, AMM delegates say
Municipalities pay millions in provincial sales tax (PST) and they want their money back. “The need for municipal dollars to be returned to the hands of municipalities is a resonating theme of this convention,” said Association of Manitoba Municipalities president Chris Goertzen at the opening of last week’s 17th annual convention here. At issue is
Manitoba’s regional populations projected to grow, labour force too
A projected larger population will include a labour force, but one comprised of more older workers, says chief statistician of Manitoba
Manitoba municipalities should prepare for a rapidly changing workforce in coming decades, the province’s chief statistician says. Wilf Falk told the Association of Manitoba Municipalities last week that although the province’s median age is the third youngest in Canada, its labour force is greying as people choose to work well into their senior years. And
Pilot Mound theatre to light the screen — soon
Pilot Mound residents are hard at work fundraising to reopen a new community-owned theatre in their Pilot Mound Recreation Complex. The former theatre closed in 2010
Pilot Mound’s first theatre was known as the “cosy” theatre. It was cosy all right, and it didn’t smell like popcorn. It was over a hatchery. That was years ago. After 1945, Pilot Mound had the Tivoli, a fine little theatre where great movies were watched and great memories made. It was so popular for
Grunthal-area dairy farm a model for water quality protection
Conservation Champions: The Heese Dairy Farm along the Joubert Creek was recognized by the Manitoba Conservation District Association in 2014 for its work in riparian restoration
After farming for five generations and more than 80 years along the Joubert Creek, the Heese family knows a thing or two about the health and quality of the watercourse than transects their land. The Grunthal-area dairy farmers have farmed alongside the river since the mid-1920s when the patriarch, Dietrich Heese, moved his family from
Management decisions made the difference in quality beef: speaker
Cow-calf producers can use TCSCF reports to inform their decisions around breeding and management
You only hit whatever you aim at, so you’d best aim high. However, it helps to know what the target actually is. In the beef business, it is producing the highest-quality beef possible, an American cattle expert visiting Manitoba told the Manitoba Beef Background and Feedlot School held in Carman recently. “Ultimately, our industry is
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