Edutopia has an article, "How to Make Being Outdoors In", posted on its blog about the benefits of getting students outdoors into nature.  For those of us in the field we understand the importance and see the social, emotional and educational benefits through our work with students; to us it is a "no brainer".  But others are starting to notice as well.  Following along with Louv's philosophy of nature deficit disorder this article discusses this idea that students are not connecting with nature by spending too much time indoors attached to electronics.  There is no longer a balance of play indoors and outdoors.  All this time indoors increases obesity, attention deficit disorders, low academic achievement, blood pressure and apathy towards the planet that sustains.  This article is worth a read to help support programs such as the one that we run here at Mulgrave.  

http://www.edutopia.org/outdoor-education-nature-deficit-disorder

If this article sparks your interest, Louv's book "Last Child in the Woods" has recently been updated.  Also, please take the time to read Mulgrave's position paper on this topic - on the side of this blog in the Vision & Values, I have written about why our community should continue to support the growth of outdoor education here at the school.

Enjoy the reads!

 

 

We met at the school at the early hour of 6am on Saturday.  You would think that the girls would be sleepy eyed and while some slept briefly on the bus - everyone was wide awake by the time we reached Squamish.  If they weren't - the singing of popular songs re-done with horse-themed lyrics would have woken anyone up!  We made our way to Pemberton to stop for a bathroom break - where all 17 of us waited for the 2 stalls in the women's washroom!  After a brief stop, we continued on our journey... In fact we continued a bit further than we needed to as I missed the turn off.  It was a scenic drive until I was sure that we had missed our turn - so I hopped out of the bus at Blackwater Elementary to ask the local school bus driver.  Sure enough we headed back on the road only to be greeted by the company owner waiting for us in his truck down at the turn off (which was not named the same thing as on our map - and google maps did not work as there was no reception... so I can't be blamed 100%).  We headed up the road to meet the rest of guides and our horses.

It was a quick unloading of the bus into the trailer that would bring our things to the campsite.  We then seperated into our two pre-determined groups and group one was off to meet their horses and get saddled up.  They had stool for the girls who were not confident at mounting their horse or they could mount the horse from the ground.  Either way we were all onto our horses in no time and moving along the trail.

I quickly learned that my horse was new to the herd and therefore was not liked by the other horses.  He was picked on and sometimes nipped from behind or kicked at from the front.  Poor Cinnamon.  His outcast status made me like him more as I felt sorry for this little horse... I am sure I am not the only one who formed an attachment with their horse.

The trails that we were riding on varied tremendously, ranging from narrow hiking trails to overgrown logging roads to small stints on a dirt road.  We learned quickly to learn forward going up steep hills and to lean back going down the hills.  We also learned how to control our horse - well... that was if our horse was willing to listen to our commands on the reigns or our voices! Poor Benny Jean got stuck with Whiskey who would go off into the bushes whenever he could.  If anyone had to be stuck with the mischievous horse, Benny Jean was a great fit because she just laughed at how ridiculous the situation was without getting too scared.  Each horse definitely had a personality of its own!

We stopped for lunch at a beautiful lookout to admire the valley that we had just climbed.  Group Two pulled in 10 minutes after us and we all had lunch together swapping stories about the ride and our horses.  We then moved on as one large group to tackle some of the more challenging terrain before making our way to camp.  

When we arrived at camp we busied ourselves with setting up our camp and in groups of two or three we went down to learn how to untack our horses and take them to the river to drink.  It was a slow process because there was not enough room at the river for all the horses at one time.  Those who weren't involved with their horses, set up camp, got changed and relaxed before cooking dinner.  After dinner the girls made a fire and we roasted marshmellows, made s'mores and played some games thought up by our evening leaders.  It was a great time with lots of laughs.  

The next morning everyone was up well before the 7:15am wake-up call.  It may have been because our guides were up early getting the day started by taking the horses to the water to drink... or because of the leader group waking up at the early hour of 5am without really falling asleep again!  I am not sure that the girls fully realized how much work the guides did behind the scenes with the horses being taken to the water at night before bed and having to wake up in the middle of the night to deal with a couple of horses that were not getting along (yes, Cinnamon was one of them - being chased around the corral by a couple of bullies).  But we were up and getting ourselves sorted with a blue sky and chilly morning.  Again, in sets of three we were off to learn how to brush and tack our horses.  

By the time we got on the trail it was almost 11am.  But we set off and moved as one large group.  The horses knowing that they were back at work had mixed reactions: some grumpy at being saddled, others knowing they were going home and wanting to get it over with, still others just OK with anything.  Cinnamon got off to a rough start with Andy behind him (despite Aine's attempts to stop him from biting he seemed to be on a mission) and Turbo (Sunny's horse) wanting to kick from the front.  But eventually after a few good climbs the horses all settled down and we got into an order that was OK for most.  We did not stop this time and headed directly to the trailhead.  

After a brief challenge of opening the bus door, we loaded in and off we went on our drive home.  It was a great trip and I think that we all learned something new whether it be from the camping or the horses...  

Enjoy the pictures!

 

The second annual outdoor rock climbing day did not disappoint!  I think that the club has a few weather friends on our side because this year and last year were both blue bird days.  

The group arrived in Squamish at 9am to be treated to a cold morning in the shade.  After meeting Jamie, our guide for the day (or re-meeting for the climbing club last year or the Grade 10's who went winter camping this year) and gathering our harnesses, helmets and shoes - the students hiked into a different climbing area then last year - Neat and Cool (opposed to Burgers and Fries) with Mr. O while Ms. Roy and I drove the BBQ food around to a more accessible location.  We had about 7 different routes set up for us (with the help of some of the students) and after a thorough safety talk the students were on belay and tackling the rock.  Totally different than the indoor climbing that we have done all year, the students found the granite more challenging and intimidating.  Inside they are able to comfortably master a 5'10 climb - but they had to work hard to get to the top of some of the 5'10 climbs set up here.  A great new area with routes for all ability levels - ranging from 5'5 to 5'10.  Some students even learnt to belay for the first time!  Those who weren't climbing were belaying, safety belaying or enjoying the sunshine that finally came over the mountain at around 10:30am.  Stopping only for a BBQ - the students climbed until 2:15pm when we had to gather the gear and hike down to meet the bus.  

At the end of the day Jamie and I were discussing ways to incorporate a great climbing course with certification into the Summit 2 outdoor ed elective for the middle school next year...  It is a pretty exciting opportunity! 

It was a great day; we had great weather and it was a great way to end the climbing club for the year...  The climbing club will definitely be back next year for another climbing day in the sun!

...Already looking forward to next year!  

Driving from Squamish to meet the students in Horseshoe Bay on Saturday morning the rain was pouring down...  I had a dreaded feeling that the Grade 9's on the trip would have a very wet repeat experience of their Grade 9 Fall Camp in September.  At Horseshoe Bay it was cold and overcast (but dry!) as the students said goodbye to their parents and we boarded the ferry to Snug Cove on Bowen Island.

The students worked togethe and stayed organized, to allow for a quick pack and introduction to the boats.  Getting into the boats off a dock was a new experience for all - luckily no one ended up in the marina water!  We were on our way with our leaders (Ryan, Kevin, Omar and Andrew) getting us going at a blistering pace.  It only took us one hour to reach our lunch time destination of Cate's Bay at Hood Point.  This allowed for a leisurely lunch break and a quick lesson on how to following a bearing to prepare us for our crossing to Gambier Island.  Curren, Eric and Oliver took over the lead after lunch.  We waited out the Langdale ferry crossing and made a dash across the Halkett Point with Curren using the compass and some visual cues to get us where we needed to go.

Once at our site we settled in -  preparing our camp for the night.  Everyone was busy finding their perfect spot, getting warm, relaxing and socializing.  At this point we realized that Yuta, Josh and Tommy had forgotten their tent, stove and pot set and rope for their tarp!  (A large lesson for students who are planning to come on our Gold Expedition in June).  While we had back-ups at the ready, the weather was continually improving so we, the group leaders, made them figure out a way to set up their tarp without any extra rope... The rest of the group played a game of Manhunter while they found a rope in the woods left by a previous group, brought some rocks up from the beach and gathered twigs in the forest.  After a couple of hours of hard work they put up a shelter that impressed even the guides.  While they toiled on their tarp shelter, the other students switched from Manhunt to hanging out, playing Frisbee or exploring the area around camp.

After dinner, the night cleared and the students made a great fire to relax by.  We spent the evening telling stories, riddles and jokes.  It was an amazing location to watch the super moon rise over Halkett Point.  After the moon was high in the sky we went back to our tents to sleep for the night.

The next day was brighter than the first and we were treated to taking down our camp in the sunshine.  Once our boats were loaded we walked over to a little island (the path covers over at high tide but is walk-able at low tide) to bask in the sun and learn about how to write a proper log book.  With that we set off and paddled in sunshine back across to Bowen Island.  Stopping for lunch at a new location our guide Dustin led a wrap up before we made it back to the docks for the unpacking process.  We were lifting the last clean boat up to the upper dock when the ferry pulled in.  Gathering our stuff we loaded onto the ferry and made it back across to Horseshoe Bay to be greeted by parents ready to take their children home to a hot shower and their own beds!

The trip was great and the dry weather allowed the students to realize (hopefully!) the joys of kayaking on our coast!