A new Wildlands League initiative aims not only to help a group of Ontario youth develop a lifelong love of the outdoors, but also to help them bring that spirit back into their own communities.
The initiative, Get Outside Ontario, is based on a similar project that
Wildlands League has been running in British Columbia for the past two years. The core of the program is to get youth outdoors, teach them leadership and camping skills, and have them use their newfound skills to start a project in their own communities.
Selected participants for the inaugural Get Outside Ontario program, will spend 4 days this July camping in Rouge Park, a 40km urban wilderness park located north of Toronto.
"During the camping, we're going to talk about leaderships skills and also just how to be outside," says Liz Brouwer, Get Outside Ontario coordinator. "So, for example, we’re going to talk about leave-no-trace ethics, and safety, and of course how [the participants] can organize their own adventures when they go back to their communities."
Get Outside Ontario will also invite green mentors, Ontarians who work in green jobs, to come to the campsite for a few hours and share their knowledge and experiences with the participants.
"The plan is to have a bunch of people come from different sectors, it could be anything to do with a green job," says Brouwer. "They would speak to the youth for a few minutes and if the youth though they had an interesting career and they could follow up with them and chat about what their job is and what their background is."
As for the community planning component, Brouwer says it could be just about anything, "so long as they’re getting people outside."
"It could be a nature hike, or a garbage pick up on the beach, or something even bigger, like a backpack trip or overnight camping trip. It’s totally up to them."
The youth participants will re-convene in October, after having planned and executed their community outdoor adventure, to share what they've learned.
Get Outside Ontario is funded by an Ontario Trillium Grant and Mountain Equipment Co-op. There is no-cost to participants.
The program is open to Ontario youth between the ages of 14-18. Applications can be found
here, and are due June 7th by 12:00 p.m.
Writer: Katia Snukal
Source: Liz Brouwer, Get Outside Ontario