On a beautiful sunny Saturday, the River’s Edge Guides hopped on a ferry and visited us here on beautiful Galiano Island for the Galiano Eco-Survivor adventure.
The girls started the morning out learning how to use compasses and completing orienteering courses. At the beautiful Millard Learning Centre, there’s plenty of room to roam and practice the orienteering courses we offer.
After learning how to use a compass, the girls were split into teams. Using only a compass, a measuring tape and their newly learned skills, they had to follow the given instructions to get to an unknown destination. What we didn’t tell them was that all the courses end at the same location and which ever team gets the closest wins!
Later, we hiked down to Chrystal Cove to enjoy a snack and some intertidal exploration time. The weather was lovely and we had a great view of Saltspring Island. We then ventured up into the forest to learn about different knots including the bowline knot and trekkers hitch. Some of the girls were already pros! After perfecting the knots, they had an opportunity to put their new skills to the test in a tarp shelter building competition.
Throughout the entire day, the guides were interested in edible and medicinal Native Plants. Educators Emily and Syd had the opportunity to show them our sets of Pacific Northwest Plant Knowledge Cards. A deck of cards containing 65 native edible plants, their uses, and their names in different Indigenous languages. To learn more about this fabulous resource, click here (https://www.strongnations.com/store/item_display.php?i=7484).
We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to hang out with the River’s Edge guides for this specialized program, we hope to see you again next year!
