GAMETI/RAE LAKES
Five students in grades 10 and 12 spent a weekend surviving on the land last month, thanks to a new outdoor education program held at Jean Wetrade Gameti School.

Julian Black and Jesley Gon prepare tacos in the cooking shelter they helped construct during a camping trip outside Gameti the weekend of Oct. 25. Five students, along with teacher Shelagh O'Neill, spent the weekend out on the land as part of Jean Wetrade Gameti School's first outdoor education class, which began this year. - photo courtesy of Shelagh O'Neill

The course, which began in September, is part of the Career and Technology Studies program, said teacher Shelagh O'Neill. The first weeks were spent learning basic survival skills.

"All of September and most of October, we've been learning and preparing how to cook over fires and how to build fires and how to set up shelters using tarps and trees and ropes and whatever resources we have," O'Neill said.

Students were able to put their skills to the test the weekend of Oct. 25 by participating in a camping trip outside Gameti. The weather helped make the trip a challenge, O'Neill said.

"It was really cold," she said. "We got that big snowstorm. It started snowing on Thursday morning and snowed pretty much the whole time."

O'Neill worked as a camp counsellor for 10 years before becoming a teacher and took young people on many outdoor trips during that time. She said her knowledge, combined with students' familiarity with the outdoors, helped create a great camping experience for the group.

"A lot just comes naturally to them because going out on the land is something they do," she said.

Students spent the two nights and three days doing everything from building fires to making sure shelters were maintained. The boys had a tent of their own and so did the girls, but other shelters, such as for cooking areas, were created using tarps for the roof and walls.

O'Neill said working together helped create a team mentality.

"They knew it was their responsibility and if they didn't help fix the corner of the shelter, then everybody else was going to be cold," she said.

Grade 10 student Justina Moosenose said one of the things she learned was the importance of placing a sleeping tent out of the wind.

"You're not supposed to put your tent beside the lake, where the wind comes from," she said.

The group also went on hikes, identified animal tracks in the snow and spent their down time playing cards together.

While hiking, they spotted tracks that showed a dog or a wolf had been chasing a rabbit through the woods, Moosenose said.

Cell phones and other devices weren't allowed on the trip, although students were permitted to use their phones to take photos.

"They struggled at first, but my rule was no cell phones, no iPods. We had a satellite phone for emergencies," O'Neill said. "I think they were surprised how much they enjoyed just being unplugged."

Moosenose said she enjoyed being away from social media for a few days.

"We didn't have that in the bush and I thought that was pretty great," she said.

Spending their time without the distractions of town and technology helped students to focus on their daily tasks at camp, O'Neill said.

"The biggest thing for me that I see is just after two or three days in the bush, they become so much more self sufficient," she said. "Trips like this for young people, it can be life changing even if it's only a couple days long. They grow so much in their confidence."

Students kept a daily journal of their thoughts and activities, which will be put together along with photographs to document their trip.

While the group spent much of their time outdoors during the beginning of the course, colder weather means more instruction will now be done inside the classroom, said O'Neill.

The curriculum will now focus on ecology and looking at ways humans impact the environment.

"We're going to take a bit more of a scientific approach," O'Neill said.

Moosenose said she was already looking forward to next year's program.

"It's great just to go out on the land," she said.