The Centre for Education Research (CER) at the University of Prince Edward Island is launching a new website for parents and early childhood educators. The Eating Between the Lines website (EBTL) aims to foster an interest in nutrition issues and food awareness in a fun and informative environment while emphasizing early literacy. It will be launched on June 2 at 3.30 p.m., in the Alex H. MacKinnon Auditorium of McDougall Hall, UPEI.
Eating Between the Lines is an early literacy, healthy eating program for young children developed and tested in child care facilities in Prince Edward Island. Led by Dr. Ray Doiron from the Faculty of Education and Dr. Jennifer Taylor from the Department of Family and Nutritional Sciences, it includes materials and resources linking healthy eating with literacy on such topics as Eating the Rainbow, Breakfast Matters, and The Salad.
The website was created by a team of early childhood researchers and an advisory team at UPEI. It includes separate sections for parents, enabling them to link nutrition and literacy activities in the home, and for educators, allowing the information to be used in the classroom. The web address is ebtl.org.
The Centre for Education Research advances and promotes collaborative research inside the Faculty of Education, across the UPEI campus, with other universities, and with educational and community organizations across Prince Edward Island, Canada, and globally. For more information, visit upei.ca/cer or contact Christine Gordon Manley at cgmanley [at] upei [dot] ca, 566-6784.
Contact:
Anna MacDonald
Media Relations and Communications, Integrated Communications
Phone: (902) 566-6786
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The PEI Food Security network recently held a workshop entitled “Sowing the Seeds: Food Security in Prince Edward Island”. Over 75 people came together to spend a day learning about food security from a variety of perspectives. Food security is a term that describes a situation in which all citizens have access to healthy and affordable food that has been produced in an environmentally sustainable way and has given food producers a livable income.
The morning was dedicated to exploring the concept of food security though a panel discussion with a farmer, a fisher, a dietitican, and a low income advocate. The panel gave participants an opportunity to learn more about the crisis in agriculture and fisheries, as well as the challenges citizens face in accessing healthy, affordable food. Workshop participants were invited to participate in the discussion and brought out many more perspectives .
“The goal of the day was to have everyone see themselves in the issue of food security, and the number of participants who spoke to particular concerns or challenges that they see in PEI and around the world tells us that this is work that is very much relevant and needed right now.”, notes PEI Food Security Network Coordinating Committee member, Michelle MacCallum.
The afternoon session saw participants take on food security challenges and case studies where they were challenged to find the factors that contribute to food insecurity and talk about what needs to be done. The groups had lively and deep discussions around the local food movement, understanding the evolution of our food system, building community based food systems, eating healthy without a livable income, as well as a farming and fishing case study.
“We have our next events planned for March 23 at the Murphy Community Centre and March 31 at the Murchison Centre where we will be looking at the future of farming in PEI. “There are recommendations being put forth right now that if adopted, will have a huge impact on farming in PEI. We as a food security network want to study the recommendations and see how they line up with our very real need for livable income for producers and environmentally sustainable food production. “ MacCallum states, “Citizens need to know what kinds of changes are being proposed and how they will impact Islanders and our future”.
If you are interested in the PEI Food Security Network or would more information on upcoming events, please contact Michelle at 368-5040.
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