The CFES continues to advocate public education on Earth sciences on a number of fronts, namely its committes CGEN, CanGeoRef, and GeoParks. 

 

CGEN

 

The Canadian Geoscience Education Network (CGEN) is a committee of CFES, whose president is the CFES Outreach director. CGEN is focused on all levels of geoscience education in Canada and increasing public awareness of geosciences. For more information on CGEN and workshops for teachers, visit their website here.

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CanGeoRef
 

CanGeoRef is a subset of the GeoRef database, containing more than 200,000 Canadian Geoscience reference materials from government publications, peer reviewed journal articles, book chapters, theses, and maps. Developed by the CFES and the American Geosciences Institute, this resource offers objective search results that are not influenced by your past search history. A free trial, more information about subject coverage, and subscriptions are available here.

 

EdGEO

 

EdGEO, a suborganization of CGEN, provides educational resources for teachers. For classroom-ready activities, explore EdGeo's free online manuals Brining Earth Science to Life and Putting Earth into Science. EdGEO also organizes workshops for teachers, and funding to support hosting a workshop is availble.

 

Geoparks

 

A Geoparks promotes sustainable tourism and other economic activities.

It is an area with significant geologic heritage elements, including:

 

• Scientifically important or striking and unusual geologic phenomena

• Sites where historically important geologic features were first recognized and described

• Outstanding examples of geologic features and landforms

• Historic sites where cultural events were tied to an area's geologic features, such as those in the history of geology, mining and geology in early exploration and settlement

 

Currently, the only Geopark in North America is the Stonehammer Geopark in Saint John, NB. The Global Network of National Geoparks, supported by UNESCO, provides a platform of active cooperation between experts and practitioners in geological heritage. Under the umbrella of UNESCO, and through exchange between the global network partners, important national geological sites gain worldwide recognition and profit through the exchange of knowledge, expertise, experience and staff with other Geoparks.

 

The WHERE Challenge

 

The WHERE Challenge is a national contest for students ages 9-14 to discover what is in your stuff and WHERE on Earth does it come from? The WHERE challenge contest is open until March 11, 2015, enter to learn more about Earth sciences.  Thousands of dollars of regional and national prizes for groups and individuals are waiting to be won!