The Treehouse Group

After a bit of a break (to appreciate the Great Canadian Summer, bien sur), we’re back with some updates and news.

Updates

ideaXchange
We have elected to postpone our Fall ideaXchange, in favour of throwing a bigger and better party in the Spring. We’ll post information on the website as it becomes available, so be sure to check back for updates.

Cape Farewell
We were captivated and touched by this quick video documenting the travels of the young artists and scientists of the Cape Farewell crew as they explored Arctic waters, recording data and interpreting the experience as they went. Keep an eye out for the segment featuring the junk yard band on Baffin island: the drumsticks they are using were given to them by the Treehouse Group during an orientation session we put on at MaRS Discovery District, in Toronto, last Fall.

News

Monthly Brunch Series
A big thank-you to everyone who joined us for some “Hillcrest archaeology” last weekend, as part of our monthly brunch series. We picked up some “artifacts” from the neighbourhood and examined them through the lenses of different professions. The results were then given the Treehouse Treatment: What can a midwife teach a fisherman? How do epidemiology and the history of medieval guild festivals overlap? How can a baker and an exterminator share information?

Member News
Joseph Wilson is heading to MaRS! During a one year contract, Joe will be working closely with MaRS to roll out some new educational programs and on-line content. Look for some dynamic events in the new year featuring more collaborations between MaRS and the Treehouse Group.

That’s it from us for now. As always, if you have any questions or feedback please feel free leave a comment or get in touch! Happy Fall, everybody.

On Sept. 3, the Treehouse Group led 30 international high school students in an evening of activities at MaRS. The students were part of the Cape Farewell project, and traveled to the Arctic for two weeks to raise awareness about climate change through art and science projects.

After an introductory activity of “speed-networking for ideas”, the students engaged in a round of climate change treaty negotiations by acting out the roles of different stakeholders in the climate change crisis. US government officials went toe-to-toe with environmental scientists, and Chinese government representatives argued with the CEO’s of import/export companies over what to do about the problem of climate change. At one point the corn farmers went on strike, and the citizens threatened to form a coalition to unseat the government if they refused to subsidize green energy alternatives. All the while, journalists reported on the progress of treaty talks, sending headlines to the editor to be posted on the news-feed.

We wrapped up the evening by teaching 30 kids about to be enclosed in a metal ship how to do a drum-roll. Check out the video below:

Upon the request of MaRS, the Treehouse Group has been asked to take a group of 30 international high school students through a 2 hour session of Treehouse activities on Sept. 3 from 5 - 7 pm. The students are part of the Cape Farewell project, a project to visualize climate change in the Arctic through art projects.