Yellowknife (Feb 10/06) - It's said there's no better classroom than the great outdoors. And at William McDonald school, it could be the beginning of a career for students interested in the bush.

Nine boys, Grade 7 and 8, jumped at the chance to go on a week-long excursion around Tibbitt and Prelude Lakes to learn about trapping and traditional hunting.

"The students have a renewed appreciation for the environment, and what the land can give them," said outdoor education teacher David Radcliffe.

The unique part of the program is afterward, students had the chance to get an official trapping license. Studying with determination, each of the boys passed the test with 96 per cent or better.

Radcliffe decided to organize the trip because some of the students now see trapping or hunting as a potential career.

They were also able to learn about respect for themselves and others.

"They got more out of this trip than just learning about trapping. They aren't boys anymore, they're well on their way to becoming men," he said.

The trip included skidoo rides, learning to skin caribou, net fishing, and learning how to work together towards a common goal.

"We know a lot more about the outdoors and it was great to get away from all the noise," said 14-year-old Kelly Betsina.

The boys also learned about Dene culture as two elders accompanied the team along with a representative from the department of Wildlife and Natural Resources.

These kinds of trips are also in the curriculum at other schools.

Students from Sir John Franklin high school are some of the most recent students to participate in a Trapper Training program, a joint venture between First Nations communities and the WNR.

Sir John students were able to participate in a study about forest fires.

"The program is part of a study to see what effects forest fires have on trapping," said Alan Petten, a teacher at Sir John.

When students arrive, they examine two trapping lines - one along an area affected by forest fires in 1999 and another unaffected by fire at Bliss and Tibbit lakes.

These lines will answer a debate among trappers to see whether or not forest fires affect trapping positively or negatively. The study will be completed next year.

Together with Dene elders from Dettah and representatives from the fire ecology program, students learned about trapping, hunting, fishing and how to live in the bush.

Katrina Heimbach, 14, is a Grade 9 student who has taken the course.

"I learned about the fun stuff you can do in the bush, like how to skin a fox."

Heimbach also learned how to make twist snare traps and how to catch fish with nets.

She said she would be able to survive for at least a few days in the wild with her new-found skills. At Sir John, 10 students per semester go for two days during the winter.

Sir John students will also be going on a snowmobile trip to Tibbit Lake this winter.