SKIP - Week 3

Again this week the Super Kids In Parks were favoured with beautiful weather as we enjoyed the great outdoors at Murphys Point in beaming sunshine and tolerable temperatures! This week's session was packed with all sorts of great information and activity!

Jeff Ward and Sarah O'Grady of the Community Stewardship Council of Lanark County, one of our SKIP partners, were on hand to lead the fun. Jeff kicked it off with an introduction to orienteering. He showed the participants topographical maps of the Perth area and satellite imagery of the Lally Homestead site to put everything into perpective. Next we had some instruction (and a bit of a reminder for some of us adult volunteers!) on how to use a compass. After some handy information about safety in the wilds, we set out into the field at the homestead to try our skills. Teams worked together to follow coordinates to make a triangle - and we were all quite pleased when we ended up where we were supposed to be!

In the last half of the session, Sarah gave an overview of the history of snowshoeing in Canada, which tied in nicely to some of our discussions about how animals adapt to travelling over snow in winter. Next the kids had the chance to strap on some nifty state-of-the-art snowshoes (thanks to the Stewardship Council and Mississippi Valley Conservation) and explore the fields. Deep snow isn't a problem currently, but the snowshoes had great crampons that helped to dig into the icy layer, making movement a breeze! For some of the kids, this was their first time on snowshoes.

Finally we retired to the clubhouse for snacks and chat about our Weekly Wander homework. The great adventures continue!