Three-day field trip takes Grade 7 class into lakes and up mountains to learn about environment
The B.C. Catholic
BURNABY
Swimming in a frigid lake and scaling a mountain peak have some Grade 7 students more excited about taking care of the environment.
“Now that I’ve seen everything that’s been given to me I’ve become more conscious,” said Sarah Badley, a student at St. Helen’s School in Burnaby.
She hiked Stawamus Chief, swam in Alice Lake, and visited Queen of Peace Monastery in Squamish with her class during the first week of school, Sept. 7-9.
Since that giant field trip, Badley said she is more aware about conserving water or electricity by not leaving the water running or the lights on.
“You could reflect on God’s nature,” from the top of the mountain or from inside a monastery chapel with floor-to-ceiling windows looking out onto lush forest.
“You could really accept what God had given you and be thankful and see it in such a beautiful view.”
The three-day trip to Squamish is an annual St. Helen’s event, something every future Grade 7 student looks forward to.
Principal Waldemar Sambor said for at least the last 20 years, the first few days of school have been one big field trip for Grade 7.
“When kids are graduating from Grade 7, we ask them for their highlights. This trip always comes up,” he said.
This year Sambor decided on the theme, “Care for our Common Home,” taking his cue from the title of Pope Francis’s encyclical.
“There’s nothing wrong with computers and technology and so on, but let’s face it, we’re afraid to enter the forest. Hiking and camping is slowly disappearing.”
The hike “is a tremendous challenge for most of them,” Sambor said.
“We climb, then we have a little prayer, and in the end we’re celebrating God’s creation and promising that we’re going to take care of the environment and we’re going to do our best to keep it the way it is for future generations.”
The lesson was not lost on Grade 7 student Sofia Di Fluri. She said since the trip she’s been picking up garbage on school grounds. “I felt a connection to God in seeing all the nature.”
She was also moved by the visit to Queen of Peace Monastery, where she met a nun for the first time.
“We learned that at the Queen of Peace monastery their first job was to pray for people.”
The Dominican sisters who live there are also very eco-conscious, growing their own corn, beans, and squash, and using local materials for all their building and creative projects. They have plans for a hydroelectric project that would use a small creek on their property to power their lights.
Di Fluri added that the trip taught the class several other lessons, such as what makes good leadership, and taking care of oneself when parents are not around. The children even visited Quest University for a few lectures, and imagined being undergraduate students.
“What a great way to start school,” Sambor said.
While Grade 7 students were away, students in Grades 4, 5, and 6 were also on tour.
Sambor said the Grade 4 class spent some time at a North Vancouver outdoor school, while Grades 5 and 6 went to Evans Lake in Squamish, where they learned about things like salmon spawning, forestry, and First Nations traditions.
In the middle of the trip, all 200 students from Grade 4-7 gathered at Evans Lake for Mass and a barbecue. Many parents joined them.
“It was a true community feeling.”
