• To provide all students with opportunities to be appreciative and responsive to nature, wildlife, land, water, air and one’s place within the natural world
• To emphasize holistic reflection and self-awareness within the context of nature and ceremonies that honour the spiritual connection to the land of the First Peoples of Saskatchewan
• To encourage the exploration of a wide variety of career paths, including entrepreneurship, through Brightwater experiences as they relate to the environment, economics and social justice
• To demonstrate the collective valuing of sustainable use of natural resources for future generations and to help students understand the impact of human society on the natural environment, demonstrate active sustainability from ethical resource use from Western perspectives and Indigenous ways of knowing
• To inspire and sustain ecological learning and other connections to the land through a wide variety of curricular experiences and Indigenous ways of knowing nature
Source: https://www.spsd.sk.ca/Schools/brightwater/about/vision/Pages/default.aspx
Students were not permitted to bring technology (cell phones, iPods, etc.) and were encouraged to “leave the city behind.” While at camp, students engaged in five facilitated sessions that focused on ethnobotany, aquatic and terrestrial hiking and observation, artistic representation of prairie landscape, a traditional knowledge sharing circle, and appreciation for and observation of the night sky (stargazing). Students spent one night out at camp with their teachers and parent chaperones.
Upon returning from camp, we asked students to tell us what Brightwater means to them. Here are some of their responses:
“Camp means leaving the city stuff behind and getting in touch with nature.”
“Camp means learning about nature while we’re in nature. We learned about things in the woods that we can eat, or how we can use them to make our lives easier.”
“Camp means reconnecting with nature and friends in different ways, and leaving technology and textbooks at school.”
“Camp means learning to respect nature and the history of the land, as well as the history of Aboriginal people on this land.”
Thanks to SaskOutdoors for helping us create another great Brightwater experience! Carolyn Barton, Kate Kuprowksi, & Carrie Soroski-Olfert