Paul Bickford
Northern News Services

Hay River (Aug 29/05) - Kids seem to love to pick berries no matter what.

Even though they were swarmed by bugs, wet because of water dripping from towering shrubs and under smoky skies because of Alaskan forest fires, a dozen children had a great time picking saskatoon berries last week at Hay River's Paradise Gardens.

Kristen Morin, 10, picks saskatoon berries at Paradise Gardens in Hay River.

They were treated to a morning of picking on Aug. 23 as part of a culture day camp sponsored by Soaring Eagle Friendship Centre.

"I love picking berries. It's fun," said Kristen Morin, 10.

"I like to eat them while I'm picking them," said Lee Jones, 9, as she made her way through the rows of shrubs at Paradise Gardens, a farm about 24 km south of downtown Hay River.

Lee added she eats most of the berries she picks, especially saskatoon berries, which happen to be her favourite.

Marc Colosimo, 10, said he likes saskatoons and raspberries. "They're good to eat, and they give you something to do," Marc said.

Jerome Constant, 11, said he often picks berries with his grandma. His favourite is blueberries.

"They're good and they're juicy."

Allan Browning, the youth co-ordinator at Soaring Eagle Friendship Centre, said berry picking was included in the camp because it is part of Northern culture. "It's something that's natural," Browning explained.

The berry picking part of the culture camp allowed kids to experience first-hand the goodness from the land.

The Aug. 22-26 camp also got the children - aged nine to 15 - involved in activities such as canoeing, dry fish making in Kakisa and hiking at the waterfalls south of Enterprise.

They were also treated to storytelling by Metis elder Alex Lafferty.

Each day about a dozen children participated in various outdoor activities. The children didn't need much convincing about the fun of picking berries.

Daniel Hache, 9, said he can pick berries for hours at a time and will always do so. "As long as my life."

The berry picking at Paradise Gardens was particularly appropriate for the culture day camp.

The farm was recently purchased by Sharon Pekok and her husband. She is the program co-ordinator at Soaring Eagle Friendship Centre.