Recently, the Beyond Extraction collective have turned our attention to the ways in which PDAC works to shape narratives about the mining industry year-round through its influence on Canadian education and school curricula. The visual culture of PDAC’s educational efforts extend beyond classrooms, reaching young children and adults alike. For example, funding from PDAC’s educational arm, Mining Matters, creates educational resources like colouring books and mining science workshops.

In response to the visual culture that is funded by PDAC and distributed in Canadian public schools and other educational institutions, Beyond Extraction has developed What it Takes: an all-ages colouring book. This colouring book is designed to disrupt the grip that Canada’s mining industry has on culture and education. What it Takes is a counter-pedagogical tool that takes direct aim at the pervasive extractive narratives at the core of Canadian institutional mining knowledge and promotes critical energy literacy.

Follow this link to download a printable version of What it Takes: an all-ages colouring book which you can choose to print depending on your preference and available printing equipment: What it Takes is designed in a “booklet” style intended be printed on “ledger” (sometimes called “tabloid”) format paper, 11 x 17 inches, double-sided. The pages can then be folded down the centre line and inserted into each other, with the “Community/No more stolen sisters” page in the middle, and working your way outwards. (Booklet instructions are included in the folder, and below.)

We have also included a version at 8.5 x 11 inches accessible to print at home or on any letter-size paper. The pages can be stapled together or simply left loose, depending on your/your child(ren)’s/your student(s)’ preference.

No interest in printing? A digital version of What it Takes spreads can be downloaded here. Here’s a sample: