Keeping a connection between kids and nature is the aim of a summer program in the Shuswap.
The Shuswap Outdoor Learning Foundation will be entering its seventh year of creating outdoor learning opportunities through the Shuswap Wild Wonders camps.
The programs allow children from Kindergarten through Grade 11 to access many of the beautiful hikes and parks in the Shuswap. These camps are led by aboriginal leaders, trained teachers, biologists and artists.
Last year, students in the various camps covered the Shuswap; from Joss Pass in the East to Humamilt Lake in the North, and from Mt. Baldy in the West to Shuswap River in the South. They also went beyond the Shuswap as groups challenged the Mt. Begbie trail and camped overnight in the Keystone Basin near Revelstoke.
In each camp, participants used their senses to observe signs of living things, grew their knowledge of local flora and fauna and worked together to achieve team goals through safe and positive collaboration. Integrating indigenous education through the programs, Wild Wonders camps draw on the expertise of local First Nations knowledge keepers to explore Secwepemculew, the traditional territory of the First Peoples.
Camp participants also benefited through the Camper Sponsorship Program, whereby local businesses sponsor students to attend a Wild Wonders camp.
The schedule this year includes trips along the Larch Hills Traverse and to Mt. McRae, up to Joss Pass and along Enderby Cliffs. There will also be an art/drama camp and aboriginal-themed camps in both Armstrong and Salmon Arm.
This year’s seven camps promise another summer full of new adventures and can be found at www.outdoorlearning.ca. Registration is on now.