To increase consciousness and celebrate ongoing efforts in the area of sustainability education, a group consisting of two trustees and two school leaders attended a major provincial conference at Hecla in the fall of 2008.

From that conference, a committee was formed that coined the name, SEVEN OAKS UNITE TO CHANGE. From this small beginning, students, teachers, school leaders, superintendents and trustees gathered periodically to plan division wide conferences. The idea was to hear the voices of folks in many different roles and ages from throughout Seven Oaks. The planning committee is open to all.

The Unite to Change committee has grown from 6-16 members. The committee organized the first Unite to Change conference at the Garden City Inn, May 2009.  A second conference, which focused on cultural awareness and understanding our urban core, took place in October 2009 at the Thunderbird House. Conferences feature a theme from our four strands, guest speakers, team building, hands on activities, research, field trip opportunities and planning time for school teams.

The four strands of ESD:

1. Environmental Responsibility
2. Cultural Awareness and Collaboration
3. Social Justice Initiatives
4. Health and Wellbeing

We anticipate family of schools Summits- Maples Area, Garden City Area and West Kildonan Area - in the spring of 2010 around the theme of taking care of our environment.  Another division wide Unite to Change conference has taken place this fall of 2010 as a way of sustaining our efforts to make a postive difference in our schools and communities.

Visit your local school to see a range of classroom and school wide initiatives connected to education for sustainable development.