Please click here for information regarding how to apply and a video showcasing the location we will visit.

All of the learning in the course will centre on students planning and implementing a seven day canoe trip in Quetico Provincial Park. This unique learning opportunity allows students to develop an intimate connection and exploration of a wilderness location that is still within their province, but far beyond their local realm of comforts and environmental understanding.

Students from any secondary school are invited to apply to take part through a blend of in-class learning beyond their regular school schedule. Students will lead the learning in an online format where they can both work individually, and connect to build community and collaborate on planning tasks; and outdoor learning where the students apply the course theories of leadership and planning in an authentic and experiential manner.

The blended time together in person and online will allow for additional opportunities for discussion, collaboration, building of trust, and student investment in their learning. The use of technology also permits the structure and timing of the course to operate in an unconventional manner, beyond the parameters of regular school timelines, and for students to collaborate on the creation of elements of the course that would not otherwise be possible.

This course is designed to meet the Ministry of Education’s objective, as described in Achieving Excellence, of “creating more relevant, applied and innovative learning experiences that spark students’ curiosity and inspire them to follow their passions” (p. 4); and to provide students with “more flexibility and ownership in their learning, allowing them, for example, to determine whether they want to spend more time on e-learning or on learning outside of the classroom” (p. 6).

We have been fortunate to have been successful in some grant applications, and therefore are able to offer this opportunity to students for only $250 for the field trip portion. (including meals, outfitting and transportation for the canoe trip, ORCKA training, and our time at Brescia). No student will be denied the opportunity due to an inability to pay this portion of the trip cost.