Congratulations to Dr. Ellen Field — champion of climate change education — on being awarded tenure! 

Ellen is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education at Lakehead University (Orillia campus) and a leading advocate for climate change education in Canada. Her research focuses on policies and practices in the K-12 education system, emphasizing the need to integrate climate literacy into schools and formal learning contexts. Committed to preparing young people for the socio-ecological challenges they face, she fosters collaborations across organizations and generations to build hopeful futures. Her work centers on connected learning — an approach that equips students with the skills needed for a rapidly changing world while addressing environmental and social justice issues.

Ellen joined Lakehead’s Faculty of Education in 2017. She earned a PhD in Education from James Cook University in Australia, where her dissertation, Constellations of Environmentalism: An Exploration of Learning and Activism Within Youth-Created Social Media Interest Groups, examined how young people worldwide use social media for environmental learning and activism.

“I was drawn to the field of climate change education because while doing PhD research in 2013, I discovered that teenagers around the world were using social media for environmental conversations and learning as well as for organizing community actions to address local climate issues,” she says. “They were taking matters into their own hands because they weren’t getting enough climate information in their classrooms.”

Since then, Ellen has made significant contributions to climate change education. Her research portfolio includes a SSHRC-funded national review of climate change education curricula. She has led extensive surveys with Canadian teachers, students, parents, and the public to assess perspectives on climate change education. Supporting teachers in integrating climate education into their classrooms is a priority of her work, and she has engaged hundreds of teachers in professional development workshops while collaborating closely with ministries, school boards, and community organizations to strengthen climate education nationwide.

At Lakehead, she teaches Environmental Education (BEd) and Climate Change Education (MEd), among other courses. She also serves as Associate Editor of the Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, Co-Chair of the Canada Regional Hub for the Monitoring and Evaluation of Climate Change Education (MECCE) Project, and Community Advisor for Climate Education Reform British Columbia.

Ellen’s advocacy extends beyond academia. Selected by UNESCO as one of six global scholars to develop a climate change education curriculum framework, she co-leads the Accelerating Climate Change Education in Teacher Education (ACCE-TE) Project, which provides a national course, webinars, and collaborative tools to enhance climate education for teachers.

Beyond her professional work, Dr. Field is a mom and outdoor enthusiast. Through her research, teaching, and advocacy, she remains dedicated to empowering educators and young people to take meaningful action in addressing climate change and building more just and stabilized futures.

Congratulations to Dr. Gary Pluim – educator, researcher, and advocate for global citizenship education – on being awarded tenure!

Gary joined Lakehead University’s Faculty of Education as a Contract Lecturer in 2012, and was hired on a full-time basis in 2021 as an Assistant Professor (Orillia campus). An accomplished educator, researcher, and advocate specializing in critical global citizenship, youth development, education for democracy, and intercultural education, Gary holds a PhD in Comparative and International Development Education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto. 

Gary’s doctoral research, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), explored youth participation in Haiti following the devastating 2010 earthquake. Since then, his research interests have been rooted in the intersections between critical global citizenship and education that is place-based, reflexive, and intensely local. Currently, Gary is leading a research project that investigates the nuances of education transfer – whether and how curriculum for youth and youth workers should be shared between small countries of the Commonwealth.

“Many of my current projects bring young people together from different parts of the world to examine how global trends affect local realities,” he says. “I am interested in questions such as how youth realities are impacted by the culture and politics of their own regions, how intersections between global and local citizenship might differ in various contexts, and how teaching and learning of global issues should respond to location variations.”

Much of Gary’s research focuses on voice, experiences and the perspectives of youth in education. These standpoints are essential to address complex global problems that older generations have been unable to solve.  

Gary has extensive international experience in educational leadership, having worked in various countries, including East Africa, the Pacific, the Caribbean, and Canada's Arctic region. His global exposure has shaped his understanding of education's role in fostering critical thinking, social justice, and intercultural awareness.

Through his teaching, research, and activism, Gary is a transformative figure in the field of education, promoting a vision that emphasizes the importance of critical thinking, intercultural understanding, and global citizenship in today's interconnected world. In 2024, his teaching earned him a Contribution to Teaching Award. In recent years, he has taught courses including Curriculum & Instruction in Social Studies, Social Difference in Education, Democracy and Education, Educational Psychology, and Place-Based Education in Simcoe County.

Gary is also an active participant in civil society, having served as a human rights monitor for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, a board director for Cycle Toronto, and a spokesperson for the Global Campaign for Education. His activism underscores his commitment to social justice and community engagement.

Gary lives in Huronia with his partner and three children. In his free time, he is an avid runner, cyclist, and cross-country skier, balancing his professional achievements with a passion for outdoor activities.

Congratulations to Faculty of Education Contract Lecturers Marilyn Ailey, Mohit Dudeja, and Steven Secord for being recognized as “WellU Champions for Mental Health.”

Each year, WellU Champions for Mental Health are nominated by students for showing compassion, encouraging a sense of belonging, inspiring health-promoting behaviours, and promoting student well-being. To see what this year’s champions had to say about their role in student well-being on campus, visit lakeheadu.ca/welluchampion. Excerpts from their quotes are included below:

Marilyn Ailey: “Asking for help can be difficult, so I make it a priority to remove any barriers by being readily available and ensuring students have access to the resources they need to improve their well-being. I’m open and transparent with my students, letting them know that while I may not always have the expertise to address every challenge, I am committed to helping them find someone who can. I have also created a resilience challenge as a significant assignment in my physical and health education courses. I encourage students to look at an area of their life that could benefit from some attention—whether it is for their physical, mental, or social health. They set individual goals, track progress, and research and reflect on how prioritizing an area of life for themselves affects their overall well being.”

Mohit Dudeja: “I actively work to disrupt traditional power dynamics in the classroom. I encourage students to see me not just as a teacher, but as a multidimensional human being, fostering open communication and mutual respect. Recognizing the diversity of challenges students face, particularly international students navigating culture shock, academic transitions, housing instability, and language barriers, I take proactive steps to support their mental health. Through empathy, advocacy, and meaningful relationships, educators and staff can help students thrive not only academically but also emotionally and socially.”

Steven Secord: “Mental health is as important as our physical health and needs to be prioritized whenever possible. It is critical for effective learning and allowing us to reach our full potential. I try to create space in my classrooms that allow students to feel comfortable being themselves and where they know their well-being is a priority. Teaching in the Faculty of Education, it is important to model this for future educators so they too are able to visualize how they will accomplish this with their students.”

Below, left to right: Marilyn Ailey, Mohit Dudeja, and Steven Secord.

Lakehead University’s Farm Lab team, consisting of educators and students from the Faculty of Education (Orillia), has recently been awarded a three-year, $79,800 PromoScience NSERC grant. This funding will enhance the on-campus micro-farm and support educational programming with local schools.

The Farm Lab team plays a key role in supporting K-12 education in Simcoe County. Last year, the team collaborated with 10 local schools and worked alongside the university’s Bachelor of Education program to integrate education with gardening.

Their success was highlighted in a recent article in Orillia Matters, which can be found here: Grant will help Lakehead's Farm Lab grow, get kids out of the classroom.

Pictured below, from left to right: members of the Farm Lab team: Chris Murray (Adjunct Faculty and Principal Investigator); Linda Grant (Contract Lecturer and Garden-Based Educator); Jacob Kearey-Moreland (Contract Lecturer, PhD student, Co-Investigator, and Farm Lab Coordinator); Lindsay Sargent (MEd student and Garden-Based Educator); and Ellen Field (Assistant Professor, Co-Investigator). Not pictured: Mellissa Spencer (BEd student and Orillia Site Coordinator, Let’s Talk Science).

Melissa Twance, an Anishinaabe scholar from Netmizaagamig Nishinaabeg (Pic Mobert First Nation) and newly appointed Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Land Pedagogies and Indigenous Futurities, was recently interviewed on CBC Superior Morning.

In the segment, she discussed the focus for her five-year CRC: to contribute to Indigenous resurgence through the support, documentation, and researching of Indigenous land-based learning and creative practices that have long been part of Indigenous communities.

“I think about all the work our communities have been doing to maintain our practices and ways of being … I think we’re at a point where mainstream classroom education isn’t the only to imagine Indigenous education, and I’d like to bring our stories and practices, that are already happening in our communities, to light,” she explains.

The 6.5-minute conversation can be heard here.

Lakehead University has been ranked Ontario’s #1 primarily undergraduate university and the fifth best primarily undergraduate university in Canada, according to the 2025 Maclean’s Magazine annual rankings.

Further, within the University, the Faculty of Education was the only faculty to be recognized in the national top 20 in terms of reputation. This is an achievement the Faculty takes some pride in, as it reflects the work we have been doing over the past years.

“Students choose Lakehead for its welcoming atmosphere, beautiful surroundings, liveable communities, and ultimately, to realize their full potential,” said Dr. Gillian Siddall, President and Vice-Chancellor. “We meet students where they’re at and help them achieve their dreams. We do this through our uniquely accessible pathways to entry, student support programs, and extensive opportunities for experiential learning and research. This year’s Maclean’s rankings recognize the important investments made by Lakehead’s passionate faculty, staff and community partners dedicated to creating an environment where every student can thrive.”

Congratulations to the Faculty and wider university!

As part of the Master of Education “Activism in Education” course, taught by Mohit Dudeja (Contract Lecturer and PhD student), international students wrote and performed a powerful one-hour play titled “Divided by Borders, Bound by Struggles: The Journey of International Students in Canada.”

A CBC news report of the play is available here.

The performance, attended by students, faculty, staff, and Thunder Bay community members, was a free event that vividly portrayed the challenges and resilience of international students. The play broadly explored themes of migration, identity, and activism, offering personal students’ perspective on these issues.

A recording of the play can be viewed here.

Dr. Tanya Kaefer (Associate Professor, Orillia) is part of a team of education researchers completing a multi-year study titled Reducing Knowledge Gaps for Low-Income and Educationally At-Risk Pre-Kindergartners through Taxonomically Organized Books and Screen Media.

"We’re looking at how kids learn from screen media and how they apply it to reading comprehension," she explains.

Their research was profiled in Lakehead University's Winter 2024 Journey Magazine.

To read the profile—"The Upside of Screen Time"—click here.  

The September 2024 issue of Education Exchange, the Faculty of Education's newsletter, has been published.