The annual GEOEC conference was held at the beautiful Parks Canada Palisades Stewardship Education Centre in Jasper National Park April 24-26, 2009. The conference was a great success with enthusiastic participants, inspiring keynotes and workshop facilitators, breath-taking scenery and delicious food.

Highlights from the conference include a keynote address from Bradley Stewart Young, director of the Aboriginal Involvement Program at the Foothills Research Institute in Hinton, AB. He regaled the audience with stories from his youth and how he combines his First Nations heritage with current scientific research on land use. Many conference attendees also had the opportunity to spend time with him in his following workshop.

Another crowd favourite was Jasper local Ben Gadd. Author of The Handbook of the Canadian Rockies and his latest release Geology Road Tours of the Canadian Rockies, Ben inspired the audience with anecdotes from his many years teaching and guiding in the Rockies. His keynote address was in conjunction with a full-day workshop where he led a group of amateur geologists on an educational field study of the Jasper area.

To bring in the Global Education perspective we were thrilled to have Janice Eisenhauer, Volunteer Executive Director and co-founding member of the National Office of Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan address the conference delegates. Her speech was heartfelt and moving, and reinforced the importance of educating girls and women in Afghanistan.

As always, the weekend was filled with images of friends reuniting, new friendships being formed, music making, dancing, and dining. For everyone involved, it was a chance to reflect, renew, and re-imagine; to celebrate the richness and challenges of our lives as educators and our commitment to the care of Mother Earth and her people.

Thanks again to all who contributed and attended!

Highlights from Ben Gadd's Seasonal Ecology all-day, outdoor workshop