Sue Humphries, Headteacher (1965-2002) at The Coombes School, London, England. Trustee, Learning Through Landscapes Trust.

Since her retirement after 37 years as Headteacher at The Coombes School in 2002, Susan Humphries has continued to be deeply involved in the work of the school. She works there voluntarily for four days a week and is a Governor with a particular responsibility for the school’s outdoor environment. She continues to contribute to the educational press with her colleague Susan Rowe, and they are currently finishing a book that documents the history, ethos and curriculum of The Coombes.

During the past eight years, Susan has been a keynote speaker at educational or environmental conferences and seminars in South Korea, the People’s Republic of China, Japan, Sweden, Norway and The Netherlands. She has led a wide range of training events and workshops at schools throughout England, Wales and Scotland. For the last ten years, she has worked with the Forth Environment Link in Stirling. Susan also has close links with the Eden Project in Cornwall, and has presented a range of courses there.

Susan continues to serve as a Trustee of the Learning Through Landscapes Trust.

Daniel Rainham, PhD, Chair in Sustainability and Environmental Health, Environmental Science Program, Research Associate, Atlantic Health Promotion Research Centre (AHPRC), Dalhousie University

Daniel Rainham is an assistant professor in the Environmental Science Program, is a research associate with the Atlantic Health Promotion Research Centre, and holds a joint appointment with the College of Sustainability at Dalhousie University. He has a Ph.D. in Population Health from the University of Ottawa and holds cross-appointments in Community Health and Epidemiology, Health and Human Performance, Resource and Environmental Studies, Earth Sciences, and Planning. He is also an associate with the GIS Centre at Dalhousie University.

His interests focus on environmental patterns and changes as determinants of human health with a purpose to understand how these patterns are created, how they vary in space and time, and how they are changing, particularly in the context of environmental sustainability. He also has an active interest in the development and deployment of geospatial technology in support of epidemiological inquiry, in particular with respect to exposure assessment, place and health, and environmental correlates of health.

Melanie Sifton, Director, Humber Arboretum & Centre for Urban Ecology

Melanie Sifton is Director of Humber Arboretum & Centre for Urban Ecology in Toronto, Ontario. She has been working with the Sustainable Sites Initiative team at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center toward the formation of guidelines and performance benchmarks for sustainable landscapes since early 2008. She is a graduate of the Cornell Plantations Public Garden Leadership program where she focused her research on sustainable landscape design and operations in public gardens. Melanie’s background includes a B.A. from McGill, five years in advertising and publishing in New York and Montreal, intense plant studies at the Niagara Parks Commission School of Horticulture, Ontario Horticulture Technician Apprenticeship training, and several years of work experience in the horticulture industry that includes green roofs, national parks development and botanical gardens assignments from Australia to California to Canada.

Paul Gifford, Education Manager, Evergreen

Paul Gifford is Evergreen Brick Works Education manager. Paul developed the facility's school program, which launched in October 2010. Before coming to Evergreen, Paul was a middle school teacher for 12 years and an Outward Bound instructor and outdoor educator for 10 years before that. Paul's work has focused on integrating core academic curriculum and moving it into the outdoor classroom where children learn best.

Kim Sanderson, MA, Policy Advisor, Research and Innovation Group of Community Services, City of Edmonton Chair, International Play Association

Kim is employed by the City of Edmonton, Community Services Department, where he works in policy and research. Over the years, he has been involved in a number of initiatives related to school/community greening from policy development and implementation, design processes, site operations and management, to child development in the context of greening provision. Kim is currently a regional vice president with the International Play Association.

Hilary Inwood, Teacher, Ontario Institute of Studies in Education, University of Toronto

Hilary Inwood teaches Art Education and Environmental Education in the Initial Teacher Education program at the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on integrating art education with environmental education to develop learners’ environmental literacy in school and community settings. Her work as an educator and artist extends beyond the classroom to include school gardens, outdoor education centres, parks and galleries.

Sharon Danks, Environmental Planner, founding partner Bay Tree Design, inc., Berkeley, California

Sharon Gamson Danks is an environmental planner and founding partner of Bay Tree Design, inc. in Berkeley, California. As a researcher, writer, and hands-on designer and planner, she has visited and documented over 200 green schoolyard and park projects in North America, Europe, and Japan. Since 2001, Sharon and her firm have assisted over three dozen schools, using a participatory master planning process to help them transform their grounds from ordinary asphalt into vibrant ecosystems for learning and play. Sharon is also the author of the newly published book, Asphalt to Ecosystems: Design Ideas for Schoolyard Transformation (New Village Press, Nov. 2010). www.asphalt2ecosystems.org

Heidi Campbell, Senior Designer, Evergreen

Heidi is a landscape designer with a Masters degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Guelph and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Toronto. She has over 10 years of experience as School Ground Design Consultant for the Toronto District School Board with a strong emphasis on creating natural play environments inclusive of tree planting, trail building, natural play elements and the provision of shade to protect children from UVR on school grounds. A qualified teacher with a focus on place-based learning, she has worked in a variety of outdoor contexts with artists, volunteers and community groups to envision and co-create natural learning environments for children of all ages. Her current focus is to co-design and manage the planning and construction of the Children’s Garden in Chimney Court here at Evergreen Brick Works. Her passion is discovering creative design and programming innovations through emergent design while building relationships and connections between child development and landscape.

Rebekka Hutton, Urban Agriculture Manager, Evergreen

Rebekka Hutton is the Urban Agriculture Manager for Evergreen. In addition to day-to-day project management, Rebekka’s key responsibilities involve engaging and connecting diverse communities with nature through their involvement in the design, build and animation of urban agriculture projects. She is contributing to the development of Community Food Programs that include urban agriculture displays and innovative food growing techniques at Evergreen Brick Works, and provides support to food programs across the GTA and nationally.

Shannon Crossman, Spiral Garden, Centre for the Arts, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto, ON

Shannon Crossman is an artist and arts educator born in Honolulu, Hawaii who lives and works in Toronto. She has been an artist in the community at Art City in St. James Town, Evergreen Brick Works, Green Thumbs Growing Kids at inner-city schools, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital/Centre for the Arts/Spiral Garden and an Artist in Education through the Ontario Arts Council.

Her art practice includes pinhole photography and sculptural works. She often works by hand, chooses base materials and utilizes low technology. Her work is philosophically and methodologically grounded in sustainability; she is passionate about sharing these ways of working with learners.

A favourite project has been the creation of the integrated program Art Kitchen at Holland Bloorview of cooking sustainability using local, organic and seasonal foods, gardening and making art and artifacts around food culture.

She has presented at numerous conferences on art education, gardening and special needs.

Robert Vine, Spiral Garden, Centre for the Arts, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto, ON.

Robert Vine has wandered Spiral Garden, an integrated art/garden/play programme, since 1987. Through out those years of tending and pretending, he has had the opportunity to help and be helped by people of all ages, skills and abilities. With the Spiral Garden community he, his puppets, and his clown have prepared the soil, planted seedlings and seeds, designed raised and ground level beds, adapted garden tools, watered, investigated who’s eating the garden, and harvested the abundance of food and seeds for the next season. All the while watching for opportunities of connectivity, creativity, and celebration.