Summer
Hidden Creeks
We spent one morning walking along the Eramosa and Speed Rivers and running around the adjoining neighbourhoods trying to find hidden creeks. Guelph is crisscrossed with hidden creeks that were buried in order to provide more usable land. We followed cracks in foundations, sewer grates and water loving plants to guess where the creeks were. Afterwards, we went in the Pond Creek culvert under Wellington Rd.
The Hero’s Journey
Grant Linney came in to debrief the Hero’s Journey (a recurring theme throughout the semester), and to let us try out his Inuit Throw Blanket. It was amazing to launch our classmates into the sky with not much effort. Our debrief was a good time to appreciate one another, and recall all the awesome and difficult times of the semester.
Solo Skills
We visited the Guelph Outdoor School to learn about starting fires and building shelters. To get there and back we biked along river trails and through the Barber Scout Camp. We also did some practice canoeing along the Eramosa River.
Journey to the Source
Journey to the Source was our end of year camping trip to Zocalo Organics in Hillsburgh. We were divided into two groups, taking turns going on solo in the forests around the property. Meanwhile, the other group helped out on the farm, had campfires and went swimming in the pond. It was an exciting trip, with funnel clouds, rain, intense winds and thunderstorms, but we all had a great time.
Canoeing
On Friday June 10th, we paddled down the Eramosa river from Eden Mills to Guelph. The trip represented our journey back to the real world after our solo trips. The river was shallow, so we often had to pull the canoes while we walked through the water. It was interesting to notice how dirty the river became once we entered Guelph.