WHEREAS the wealth of all British Columbia is built on a foundation of our natural resources and the four main sectors that utilize those resources: forestry, agriculture, mining and oil and gas; AND WHEREAS many children in British Columbia receive little or no education in the importance of these sectors of our economy: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities lobby the provincial government to ensure that all students in British Columbia receive formal, balanced and meaningful education in the importance and sustainability of forestry, agriculture, mining and oil and gas to our province.
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION The BC Science and Social Studies curricula put a great emphasis on understanding resource sectors and promoting sustainable practices. For example, in the revised K-7 Science curriculum students start learning about various human activities including the natural resources sector in grades 2 and 3. Throughout the elementary years, students determine how personal choices and actions have environmental consequences. They assess the requirements for sustaining our natural resources. The revised curriculum engages students in identifying renewable and non-renewable resources as well as various methods for extracting and processing BC resources. These are some of the examples illustrating how the revised K-7 Science IRP stresses these concepts, a full copy of the document is available at: http:www.bced.gov.bc.cairpdrafts Other courses such as the Earth Science 11 and Geology 12 and Resource Sciences 11 and 12 Forests are almost entirely dedicated to the natural resources and related industries. The Social Studies curricula can be found at: http:www.bced.gov.bc.cairpirp.htm