The mandate for the Environmental Task Force was transferred to the Sustainability Roundtable and then to the Roundtable on the Environment. The following material is provided for archival purposes.

The City of Toronto Environmental Task Force
Education and Awareness Workgroup Report
Final report - September 27, 1999

Download the full report in PDF file format (file size: 140 Kb)

Education and Awareness Workgroup Minutes

Summary

In March 1998, Toronto City Council formed the Environmental Task Force (ETF) to help the City become a world leader in municipal sustainability--with a healthy, sustainable environment, community, and economy that meets today's needs without compromising opportunities for future generations. A major activity of the Task Force is to recommend an Environmental Plan for the City of Toronto. Early in the planning process, the ETF recognized the need for an integrated program of environmental/sustainability education and outreach to build awareness, develop support, and motivate action toward the achievement of a more environmentally sustainable city.

The ETF requested that a chapter be prepared for the Environmental Plan on public education and outreach. An Education and Awareness Workgroup was formed to investigate and make recommendations about environmental/sustainability education and outreach in Toronto. The workgroup consisted of City Councillors, City staff, representatives from school boards, agencies, community organizations, and interest groups. This workgroup report provides the basis for the chapter.

This report provides an umbrella under which a broad range of environmental/sustainability education and outreach activities can be developed to complement recommendations made in other chapters of the Environmental Plan--sustainable energy, sustainable transportation, green economic development, governance, air, land, and water.

Education was broadly defined to include formal, nonformal, and informal modes of instruction and learning. This workgroup found that environmental education and public outreach programs are currently being delivered by the City, non-governmental organizations, agencies, businesses, the academic community, and others. Many of these programs could be improved through stronger partnerships, strategic marketing and promotion, and increased accessibility. The workgroup considered these existing initiatives when developing its recommendations.

The recommendations are intended to set the framework to:

• enable a greater understanding of the importance of environmentally sustainable behaviours within the context of the local Toronto environment;
• assist all Torontonians in adopting more environmentally sustainable behaviours; and
• establish a culture within the city to make this happen.

Recommendations emerged from the workgroup relating to themes based on the professional and practical experiences of workgroup participants. These themes are listed below and described in the text of the report with corresponding recommendations:

• Public Education and Outreach Program
• Social Marketing: City-wide and at the Community Level
• Institutional Commitments to Environmental Responsibility
• Multi-cultural and Multi-lingual Sensitivity
• Community-based Groups and Not-for-Profit Organizations
• Engaging Youth
• Integrating Environmental Sustainability Into Formal Education
• Experiential Learning
• Access to Environmental/Sustainability Resources
• Long-Term Partnerships for Education and Outreach

The "Public Education and Outreach Program" describes the main mechanism for implementing recommendations that the City is responsible for initiating or undertaking. For each theme, recommendations are put forward to build awareness, develop support, and motivate action toward the achievement of a more environmentally sustainable city.

Summary of recommendations:

The Environmental Task Force's Education and Awareness Workgroup recommends that the City become a world leader in the delivery of environmental/sustainability education and outreach. This would involve developing an education and outreach program in partnership with the broad community of educators. The program would work to establish a culture supportive of environmental sustainability through building awareness, developing support, and motivating action for the adoption of more environmentally sustainable behaviours in all sectors of society.

Public Education and Outreach Program

1. That the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services, in consultation with Economic Development, Culture, and Tourism; Community and Neighbourhood Services; Public Health; the Healthy City Office; Corporate Services; and Urban Planning and Development Services, initiate and coordinate a broadscale environmental/sustainability public education and outreach program until such time as a staff lead for sustainability is appointed and assumes this responsibility.

   The program should be:

   1. designed to raise awareness in the general public, and more specifically target the media, business, industry, agencies, educators, youth, community-based groups, and not-for-profit organizations;
   2. based on City priorities as identified in the approved Strategic Plan and the Environmental Plan or by Council;
   3. presented to the proposed Sustainability Roundtable or City Council prior to December 31, 2000;
   4. assessed and reported on in any Environmental/Sustainability Audit reporting undertaken by the City;
   5. allocated appropriate staff resources from each participating department to lead specific environmental/sustainability education and outreach initiatives, and that the budget requirements of the program be included as part of the operating budgets of the relevant departments. It is anticipated that it may require additional staff and other resources to carry out the strategic delivery of this program; and
   6. designed to involve other City agencies, boards, and commissions such as The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, Toronto Hydro, Toronto District Heating Corporation, Toronto Atmospheric Fund, and Libraries.

Social Marketing: City-Wide and at the Community Level

2. That the public education and outreach program use a two-tiered social marketing approach to:
   1. develop public awareness of environmental conditions and issues within the city to establish a culture supportive of environmental sustainability; and
   2. undertake initiatives at the community-level that target and foster concrete action and the adoption of environmentally sustainable practices and behaviours among Torontonians. The specific behaviours should be identified in the City's new Environmental Plan.
3. That the Chief Administrative Officer develop an environmental/sustainability "branding" campaign to guide the public education and outreach program. The campaign will:
   1. promote, celebrate, and provide incentives and awards for the support, participation, and achievement of progress toward environmental sustainability; and
   2. recognize the contributions of business, industry, teachers, educational institutions, media, community-based groups, not-for-profit organizations, youth, and others.
4. That the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services establish an interdepartmental team to organize a Toronto Environment Week Expo in 2000, sponsored by the Mayor and Council, as part of the public education and outreach program and the City's millennium celebrations. This event should be linked to the proposed city-wide environmental/sustainability branding campaign. The Expo should also be used to launch the implementation of the City's Environmental Plan. Partnerships should be developed with the Toronto District School Board and the Toronto Catholic District School Board to provide Torontonians, and particularly youth, with opportunities to learn more about local programs developed to address urban environmental/sustainability issues and to encourage the public to become actively involved in their communities.

Institutional and Business Commitments to Environmental Responsibility

5. That the public education and outreach program include a valued and significant "inreach" component to ensure City staff are knowledgeable about the sustainability goals and principles adopted by the City.
6. That the public education and outreach program include opportunities to work with business and industry recognizing the important role the private sector has in achieving a more environmentally sustainable city.

Multi-cultural and Multi-lingual Sensitivity

7. That the public education and outreach program include the development of culturally sensitive and relevant public education and outreach initiatives focused on environmental sustainability. The program should establish partnerships with relevant agencies and settlement groups to deliver these initiatives using culturally appropriate methods in order that new Canadians and others who do not have English as their first language have the opportunity to understand and participate in these programs.
8. That the public education and outreach program identify ways to support the inclusion of the City's environmental priorities into English as a Second Language (ESL) programs developed by school boards and agencies.
9. That the Environmental Task Force request Citizenship and Immigration Canada provide or facilitate access to information on local environmental/sustainability issues to new Canadians.

Support for Community-based Groups and Not-for-Profit Organizations

10. That the City continue to support the environmental/sustainability education and outreach work of community-based groups and not-for-profit organizations, recognizing the important role these groups perform in the formal school system and their contribution to public awareness which can enhance knowledge, foster attitude change, forge commitment, and create supportive public attitudes for policy and regulatory changes. Further, that the forthcoming report from the Chief Administrative Officer, "Existing Environmental Committees and the Environmental Task Force" identify appropriate staff resources across the corporation to provide this support for community-based environmental groups.
11. That the Environmental Task Force request the proposed Sustainability Roundtable investigate the establishment of a grant program to provide seed money for community-based environmental groups to undertake education and outreach initiatives focused on environmental/sustainability, and seek leveraged contributions from other partners such as the Community Foundation.

Engaging Youth

12. That the public education and outreach program welcome, encourage, and celebrate the involvements of youth in planning and implementing the City's environmental/sustainability initiatives by developing a specific youth program which will in its initial phases:
    1. inaugurate a process for identifying and developing appropriate volunteer opportunities in support of City programs and initiatives for youth seeking to become involved in environmental/sustainability projects, and through this involvement meet their Ontario community involvement curriculum requirements;
    2. recognize youth environmental leaders through the inauguration of a new Youth Environmental Achievement Award;
    3. support environmental/sustainability education opportunities such as internships and similar programs in conjunction with local universities and colleges;
    4. include opportunities for the proposed Sustainability Roundtable to consult with youth representatives, either through direct representation on the Roundtable or through other appropriate mechanisms;
    5. have appropriate staffing resources assigned to coordinate the involvement of youth in environmental/sustainability initiatives; and
    6. that the above recommended youth program be referred for comment and a report back to the ETF by the Children and Youth Action Committee and the Co-chairs of the Toronto Interdepartmental Environment Team on the best way to implement the above recommendations by March 1, 2000.

Integrating Environmental Sustainability Into Formal Education

13. That the public education and outreach program identify opportunities to work in partnership with universities, local colleges, school boards, and others to assist in the development and monitoring of sustainability indicators for inclusion in the City's State of the Environment/Sustainability reporting.
14. That the public education and outreach program identify ways to formally develop new or strengthen existing programs in partnership with The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, the Toronto District School Board, the Toronto Catholic District School Board, the Toronto Public Library Board, and others. These programs should raise environmental awareness and motivate behaviour change at the appropriate levels (elementary, secondary), be integrated with and support the curriculum, and be consistent with the City's environmental priorities.
15. That the Environmental Task Force invite local universities, colleges, and school boards to join with the City in making Toronto a model of sustainability through adopting more environmentally sustainable practices in their internal operations, and ensuring that the concepts of sustainability are offered as important components of the curriculum.
16. That the Environmental Task Force: identify appropriate roles for their agencies to assist in developing materials in conjunction with the Toronto school boards to help the boards draw a substantial portion of their curriculum learning resources from the local environment; and

    2. recognize that at a time of increasing concern over environmental health, teachers within the Province generally do not receive environmental/sustainability education training. Further, that the ETF call on the Ontario Ministries of Education and Training, Colleges and Universities and local universities and colleges to consider environmental/ sustainability education as a significant core element and requirement of courses available in preservice and inservice teacher education.

Experiential Learning

17. That the Commissioner of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism, in conjunction with other appropriate departments, support broadening opportunities for nature exploration, stewardship activity, and enriching personal experience through nature interpretation, hands-on and experiential programs, towards a healthy and diverse natural environment in city parks and greenspaces.
18. That the Environmental Task Force recognize and seek ways to strengthen the important contributions the Toronto District School Board, the Toronto Catholic District School Board, and The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority outdoor education field centres make to enhancing environmental awareness and motivating the adoption of more environmentally sustainable behaviours among Toronto students. Further, that the ETF recognize the existing partnerships among the TRCA, TDSB, and TCDSB that make environmental/sustainability education through field centres accessible to Toronto students.

Access to Environmental/Sustainability Resources

19. That the Environmental Task Force request the Toronto Public Library Board promote its current environmental resources, and investigate the feasibility of establishing an environmental/sustainability collection within the public library system in conjunction with the City. In addition to printed material, this should include audio-visual and on-line resources. Following the investigation, the City should support the development of specific resources and collections that can provide information for educators, students, and the broader community on local environmental/sustainability issues.
20. That the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services establish a team, which includes the Chair of the Environmental Task Force, to develop an on-line environmental information resource as part of the City of Toronto website. The ETF Chair should report progress on the website to the ETF prior to the completion of the Environmental Plan. The website should ensure easy public access to local environmental data and include up to date environmental directories initiated by the ETF workgroups, local monitoring data, State of the Environment/Sustainability Reporting by the City of Toronto, and other resources.
21. That the Environmental Task Force request the proposed Sustainability Roundtable explore the principles and opportunities for sharing information in consultation with The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, local colleges, universities, school boards, other levels of government, and representatives of community-based groups, business, and industry. This information would support the development of policies and programs which encourage the adoption of more environmentally sustainable behaviours, and could range from community attitudes and behaviour research (i.e. opinion polls) to technical data such as geographic information systems.

Long-term Partnerships for Education and Outreach

22. That the Environmental Task Force request the Toronto Interdepartmental Environment Team report on the allocation of staff resources to support the continuation of the Education and Awareness Workgroup for one year. The Workgroup should report to the ETF or its successor.
23. That the Environmental Task Force request The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority explore the feasibility of hosting a regular environmental/sustainability education forum for formal, non-formal, and informal educators. The forum should celebrate achievements in environmental sustainability, assist in the integration of local environmental/sustainability issues into classroom teaching, and set priorities for future action.

Education and Awareness Work Group Minutes
April 6, 1999
April 20, 1999