RSS, Wildsight and FORRS working together
By Rossland Telegraph
It’s common knowledge: spending time in the outdoors is good for our health and our brains. People learn best from experience, and we also learn best when we’re young; hence the growing interest in outdoor education and experiential learning. Early in October, a crew of young people from Rossland Summit School (RSS) were out in the fresh air at Strawberry Pass, experiencing a bit of what that area has to offer.
The responses of those young students will help the Friends of the Rossland Range Society (FORRS) — which manages the Rossland Range Recreation Site under contract with the Ministry of Forests — by influencing the design of interpretive materials for the Rec Site.
The young students’ experience is part of the “Wildsight Eco-Stewards program.” Its main objective is to “offer an excellent opportunity to showcase how Environmental Education can effectively and successfully provide opportunities for 21st century learning, including inquiry, action and place-based learning.”
The Wildsight Eco-Stewards project:
FORRS has voiced their interest in creating new education-friendly sites, cabins, and trail systems. The plan is to have students from RSS work alongside FORRS to research, construct, and implement a new Forest Interpretive Trail along the first kilometer or two of the Seven Summits Trail, starting at the Nancy Greene summit. The students’ ideas will influence the results.
The forest interpretive trail vison is to give everyone using the trail an opportunity to learn more about the natural world by experiencing it with all their senses, through focused activities and information along the trail.
Connection Field Day:
Mr. Starzner’s Multi-Grade class at RSS, Grades 4 to 6, are participating in this Wildsight Eco-Stewards program. Their first field day at Strawberry Pass was on October 5th, and the main objective for the day was to develop a connection to, and awareness of, this beautiful place and some of its inhabitants.
Under the guidance of Jessica Williams of Wildsight, assisted by Mr. Starzner, students enjoyed fun activities such as The Camouflage game — their favourite — and, further up the trail, The Ant Amusement Park, and then experienced a reflective Solo Sit for 15 minutes, without any cell phones or other electronic amusement devices. They also hiked to the current Surprise Cabin and admired the design features of a packrat’s nest in the woodshed, then visited the location planned for the replacement cabin.
The students will continue learning about the area from future field day visits throughout the year, as well as in their classrooms. The next step of the interpretive trail project is planned for implementation in the spring of next year.
