As planetary health becomes an increasingly urgent priority in health professions education, educators are experimenting with diverse and creative teaching and curriculum development strategies to engage learners in complex, systems-level challenges. This panel brings together four practitioners to share practical, real-world examples of how planetary health content is being taught today — through land-based learning, case-based learning, project-based learning, and scenario-based simulation.
Panelists will discuss the design, implementation, and impact of their respective approaches, offering attendees concrete strategies and lessons learned that can be adapted across different educational contexts. The session will close with a moderated discussion exploring where these approaches overlap, where they diverge, and what they collectively suggest about best practices for planetary health education going forward.
Moderator
Ashley Mariko Aimone, RD, MSc, PhD
Ashley Aimone is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Epidemiology and Centre for Global Health at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. Her research interests and engagements include planetary health education, and community-based research, particularly at the intersection of climate/environmental change and food systems. As Associate Director of the DrPH, Ashley teaches applied research methods (critical appraisal of evidence), support program operations and development, and mentors Mastercard-funded scholars from African partner institutions.
Panelists
Samantha Green, MD
Samantha Green is a family physician at Unity Health Toronto and Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. She is also the President of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) and is a Fellow at the University of Toronto’s Collaborative Centre for Climate, Health, and Sustainable Care. Her work bridges clinical practice, research, practice change, and advocacy for planetary health. Samantha led the development of the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada’s Planetary Health Declaration and co-chaired the integration of planetary health into the CanMEDS 2025 Framework.
Lynn Henderson, DVM, MEd
Lynn Henderson has been involved in clinical companion animal veterinary practice in many forms since graduating from the Ontario Veterinary College in 2007. Lynn holds a Master of Education in Higher Education in the Health Professions, alongside a Collaborative Specialization in Indigenous Health, and is currently completing a PhD in Public Health through the University of Toronto studying land-based pedagogy within the health professions. Lynn is currently the Veterinary Director of the Kim and Stu Lang Community Healthcare Partnership Program at the Ontario Veterinary College where she designs and oversees the delivery of community-based veterinary services and student experiential learning opportunities in community and shelter medicine.
Margarita Lam-Antoniades, MD, MScCH, CCFP
Margarita Lam-Antoniades is a family physician and medical educator. In her role as the DFCM Quality Improvement Education Lead, she has introduced planetary health into the family medicine resident QI curriculum.
Allison Slater, RPh, PharmD
Allison Slater is a pharmacist and Assistant Professor at the University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy. She is a member of the MAPLE Collective, a national collaborative also including Dr. Kaitlyn Watson (University of Alberta), Colleen Brady (University of British Columbia) and Dr. Mikaela Thorne (Memorial University of Newfoundland), focused on mobilizing and advancing pharmacy leadership in emergencies, implementing emergency preparedness training into the education of pharmacy professionals across Canada. She teaches professional practice and communications courses in the Doctor of Pharmacy program. Allison has extensive experience as a community, compounding and long-term care pharmacist in rural southwestern Ontario. She is passionate about providing high quality, forward-thinking pharmacy care in the community and teaching the next generation of pharmacists to do the same.