Since its inception in 1994, Women's Healthy Environments Network has been educating the media, policy makers and general public to the fact that environmental health is a key determinant of public health. WHEN actively promotes the primary prevention of environmentally linked health problems such as cancer, asthma, immune system related conditions and others by advocating the reduction of toxic emissions; a shift to safe production models, biological agriculture and lawn care; more efficient, renewable energy sources; affordable public transportation; and more. It draws on and endorses various resources such as The International Joint Commission on the Great Lakes (IJC) biennial reports and the Recommendations of the Ontario Task Force on the Primary Prevention of Cancer (1995) - which call for the use of the precautionary principle, declaring that: "the lack of full scientific certainty shall not be sufficient reason for postponing preventive or remedial measures".

While WHEN focuses on the primary prevention of women's reproductive health problems, it also addresses other environmentally linked health issues. One such concern is the impact of hormone disruptors on the health of children and men. Their impact on children can result in learning disabilities, attention deficit disorders, birth defects and cancers. Their impact on men may initiate or promote prostate or testicular cancer and lowered sperm counts.

Recognizing that growing numbers of people are calling for clean and safe air, food, water and soil, WHEN routinely organizes and participates on many different levels in a variety of activities. Information is disseminated through workshops, courses, public meetings, conferences, panel discussions, and displays; in various venues such as communities, schools, universities, and workplaces. WHEN works in partnership and collaboration with teachers, students, health professionals, grass root/community groups and other non-profit organizations.

Exposure: Environmental Links to Breast Cancer and the accompanying resource guide Taking Action for a Healthy Future were created and launched at the First World Conference on Breast Cancer in Kingston, Ontario in 1997. Exposure has been broadcast on CBC Newsworld, TVO, Women's Television Network and several international broadcast outlets. It recently won "Best Health Documentary - September 2001 at the New York International Independent Film Festival. It is now available in Bahasa Indonesian, Cantonese, English, French, Hebrew, Mandarin and Spanish.

If You Love Our Children: Children's Health and the Environment - a film documentary about the effects of environment on children's health is now in production. If You Love Our Children will draw from the success of Exposure and will offer scientifically based information in order to raise awareness of the growing concern for the health of our children. For more information or to contribute to this worthwhile project, contact the WHEN office.

Training Trainers workshops train participants to become 'environmental health multipliers' e.g. lead discussions, speak at conferences, organize educational screenings, educate colleagues, families, friends, professional associations etc. In addition to addressing personal lifestyles, these workshops often mean adopting a community health approach framed within the broad socio-environmental perspectives of health promotion as reflected in the goals of the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion (1988) - To strengthen community action, develop personal skills, create supportive environments, help to educate, enable, mediate and advocate health.

Education For A Healthy Future, a program initiated in 1998, helps workshop participants from different community, social, cultural, workplace or educational contexts to evaluate effective ways of learning and to develop confidence and skills to integrate primary prevention into their ongoing work. Guidelines were developed with these diverse groups for effective educational work in community and/or other group situations where appropriate.

The Canadian CO2 Reduction Initiative - initiated in 1998 - it addressed the relationship of climate change and health. Participants voluntarily took on the responsibility of reducing personal CO2 emissions by using bicycles and public transportation to limit car use, eating locally produced organic food when possible and, generally becoming aware of their own personal impact on Climate Change. Originally funded by the Toronto Atmospheric Fund, this project continued in 2000 with the support of a grant from Environment Canada's Climate Change Action Fund - Outreach Program.

Environmental Health, Transformative Learning and Policy Change: Education for Social and Ecpsystem Healing. WHEN in collaboration with the Centre for Health Promotion, U of T began this course in the summer of '99 at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto (OISE/UT) Transformative Learning Centre (TLC).

"Video Verde": WHEN organized a well attended monthly environmental health film festival from fall 1999 to spring 2000, in collaboration with the International Institute of Concern for Public Health and the Sierra Club, Ontario Chapter.

The Environmental Health Program: In June 2000, following a year of planning, WHEN co-coordinated The Environmental Health Program component (offered for the first time) at the Seventh Annual Health Promotion Summer School of the Centre for Health Promotion of the University of Toronto.

Participation: WHEN has also participated in various events such as Everyday Carcinogens: Stopping Cancer Before It Starts (McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario), the Ontario Breast Cancer Information Exchange Information and Support Think Tank, Green Planks, a panel on the three parties positions on the environment leading up to the provincial election, the Toronto Environmental Fair (Nathan Phillips Square), the primary prevention program of the First and the Second World Conference on Breast Cancer, and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation Day of Awareness, Toronto, to name a few.