Yellowknife (Sep 24/04) - The sun was shining as all 29 members of the natural resources and technology and recreation leaders programs at Aurora College launched their canoes into Campbell Creek Sept. 9 for the annual field camp.

The four-day event is a chance for students in the two programs to interact with each other and their instructors outside the classroom.

The natural resources and technology program and the recreation leaders program at Aurora Campus recently held a joint four-day outing at Campbell Lake. Among those taking part were NRTP student Eli Nasogaluak, in back, and RLP student Rachel Siusangnark. -

Students also spend time developing team-building, leadership and outdoor skills that sets them up with the necessary tools for success.

The camp required a lot of preparation. Recreation leader program (RLP) instructors Julian Tomlinson and Theresa Ross spent many hours teaching students basic navigation skills, trip planning, safety and logistics skills.

Before leaving, students also spent four afternoons reviewing basic canoeing strokes and rescue techniques on Boot Lake.

It takes a lot of organization to plan menus, purchase food, develop outdoor education curricula, sort out camping gear for 29 people for four days and, finally, to pack it all into 14 canoes. But we managed to work together and get it done.

The group set out down Campbell Creek in high spirits on Thursday morning. It took less than an hour to paddle down the creek in the sunshine and students were able to navigate and lead us across Campbell Lake and along the shoreline to the chosen campsite on the West shore.

Tents up

We arrived late in the afternoon and set up camp: two McPherson tents, a bug tent, cooking area and 10 personal tents. After a fabulous student-prepared dinner and some team-building activities and debriefing, everyone was ready to turn in for the evening.

After a hearty breakfast on Friday morning, our group paddled across the lake and embarked on a rigorous hike in the Campbell Hills.

While atop the cliffs overlooking the Campbell Lake delta, students were engaged in an energetic discussion of Campbell Beach's formation and geology, led by nature-loving instructor Joel McAlister.

Exquisite supper

We ended our day with an exquisite supper of grilled Arctic char and moose stew. Great job, cooks!

Friday night was surprisingly cold and frosty and, as a result, many of us were sluggish on Saturday morning. The day was spent doing a variety of physically-challenging games such as muskox push and Inuvialuit leg wrestling. Then, the students separated into their respective programs and engaged in several challenging team-building activities.

One of these was "electric fence," where the goal is to move a chain of people outside a penned-in area without touching an imaginary electric fence.

Later, everyone was able to participate in a couple of traditional activities: a lively session of hand games and roasting bannock over a campfire.

Sunday morning was grey and windy, but we managed to pack all of the personal gear, load the canoes and clean the campsite rather quickly. The lake was rough and choppy, with many canoes taking on water, so we stayed closely together in the canoes for safety reasons while paddling across the lake.

Showing good judgement and knowledge of risk management, the student leaders made a unanimous decision to pursue Plan B, rather than paddle along Campbell Lake and back through the creek in somewhat hazardous conditions.

We hauled our canoes over the hill and into the Gwich'in Territorial Campground. We were collected by the Aurora College crew, and by the time we arrived back in Inuvik and unloaded the equipment, everyone was tired from paddling and the excitement of the trip and ready to relax.

Altogether it was a fantastic fall camp and a good learning experience for everyone. There was plenty of merging together of ideas, teamwork and interaction between NRTP and RLP students. Highlights of the trip include Mike Orbell's bikini shirt, Denny Moses' jokes, luscious Larry Greenland's live commentary, Shannon O'Hara's Labrador Tea and Brenda Kikoak's fire-roasted bannock.

Great work guys. You showed some remarkable leadership and pulled off a successful camp.