The outdoor skills we have learned up to this point have dealt with providing for our basic needs while in the bush; safe and comfortable shelter, food and water, warmth, and social/emotional well being. This trip would introduce the students to environmental ethics and minimum impact camping skills.
The chosen campsite was RC17 rapids, a popular summer destination outside Manitouwadge where people often spend the day swimming, tubing down the rapids and camping. The site is also on the Black River canoe route from Manitouwdge to Lake Superior. This site has a beautiful section of cascades surrounded by mature jackpine forest and sandy level areas for camping.
At the site the students participated in discussions about what ethics are and how some activities people did in the past are no longer acceptable to society today. We also discussed how our undisturbed natural areas are disappearing and the remaining ones are under increased pressure because more people are attracted to fewer areas. This concentration of people to an area can quickly degrade an area unless we use skills that minimize our impact on these areas when we use them recreationally if we want to keep them in a natural state. In this respect, human actions that were acceptable in the bush in the past are no longer acceptable today.
As a teacher, I was very pleased with the level of participation and positve attitudes diplayed throughout the lessons.
Our last day we were rewarded with a warm sunny day and good trail conditions to walk out on. In all it was a great trip.