“Going outside gives you freedom to think.
It’s peaceful. You can use
your imagination and build with it.” Austin, grade 3
At Aubrey, every student in the school experienced outdoor community activities at the school and at Burnaby Lake during their school’s first ever Outward Bound day. The goal was to create a sense of community within the school and provide the opportunity for every student to experience a range of local outdoor activities. Students had several stations both at the school and at Burnaby:
- Burnaby Lake stations: weaving First Nations ways of knowing, storytelling with fairy doors, nature photography, local animals and adaptations
- School stations: planting a bulb, community walk, nature story and activity
“Going outside makes me happy
and it makes the world colourful.”
Marcus, kindergarten
Click here to learn more about Aubrey’s whole-school Outward Bound activity:
Connecting students to their outdoor community at Aubrey
Thank you for sharing your school’s story, Jolene Carlsen!
Getting outside is fun for Div. 4 and our buddy classes, here at Maywood Community! Once a month, Ms. Lanaway’s Gr. 6/7’s buddy up with two Gr. 1/2/3 classes and walk the 20 min to Central Park. We leave part way through lunch (after eating) and head along the Central Valley boulevard past the Metrotown and Patterson skytrains stations. Big buddies learn what it’s like to have the responsibility of a younger person in tow, making sure they stay close, hold hands and looking both ways when crossing the street, and minding bikers on the trail. It can be a big job for some of our big buddies!
kly, as groups chase each other through the woods, students make forts and fishing rods, while others choose to sit and draw in their nature journals. I find it so interesting to watch how the students play: who is not quite sure what to do, which ones are nervous, and who takes flight – surely in their element!
Canoeing at Deer Lake through the Burnaby Parks and Rec is an incredible opportunity for students. At Marlborough, several teachers trek over to the lake to participate in this program. There is an option for up to 4 lessons, building on each other in technique in canoeing, as well as knowledge of the surrounding area.