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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGoderich Signal Star, 2017-05-10, Page 33Headwater Experience Alternative education in Ontario Provincial Park Kathleen Smith Goderich Signal Star In its first year of opera- tion, a new outdoors, adven- ture guide camp is available this summer for youth aged 12-14. The five-day and four night canoeing trip into the Massasauga Provincial Park is offered by Headwater Experience. Participants who are inter- ested should register online, and the group will meet at a designated location, then, take off on the trip with the adventure guide leaders. Led by Janneke Vorsteveld and David Moynihan, the youth who take part will have a choice from one of two trips. The first adventure is from July 22 - 26 and the second option for a summer, out- doors adventure through a Provincial Park is from July 31 -August 4. "An alternative form of education has been some- thing I have been dreaming about since I decided to become a teacher over 15 years ago," explained Vorsteveld. During these trips, the youth will be taught an out- doors curriculum including but not limited to skills such as paddling, portaging, canoe rescue, campsite set up, wood gathering, fire starting, tying knots, forag- ing, fishing, cooking meals and plant identification. Throughout these experi- ences, Headwater will develop and maintain strong relationships with the youth in an emotionally, psycho- logically and physically safe environment. Adventure guide leader Vorsteveld explains that, "to foster a deeper sense of self, while evoking an emotional and inquisitive relationship with the natural world through experience based education" is what the alter- native form of education and adventure trip is all about. In addition, the youth will also have an art curric- ulum including but not limited to Lessons in char- coal drawings, traditional paint making, creating nat- ural colour pallets, weav- ing, rock carving, art tool crafting and craftsmanship. Ianneke Vorsteveld is an Ontario Certified Teacher (Outdoor Experiential Education, History and Geography) and David Moynihan studied Fine Art and Art History in post -secondary, and also completed eight months of wilderness living on Vancouver Island in 1998. For full descriptions of Headwater's mission and objectives, information on the guides and on the 2017 trips, visit website at https://www.headwaterex- perience.com. Wednesday, May 10, 2017 • Signal Star 33 Headwater Experience has two trips this summer, one from July 22-26, and the second from July 21 -August 4. Photos courtesy of Janneke Vorsteveld David Moynihan, the other guide for the Headwater Experience for youth, taking a break in his canoe. Janneke Vorsteveld, a teacher and one of the certified guides for the outdoor adventure trips in Massasauga Provincial Park. Bayfield residents encouraged to apply for rain garden funding as part of a pilot project New funding to help homeowners if install rain gardens on their properties to help manage storm water and keep water clean There has been a lot of interest in rain gardens in Bayfield with recent work- shops and demonstration gardens at Pioneer Park. Homeowners in Bayfield are now encouraged to apply for funding to help install these gardens on their properties. "Local people suggested rain gardens as a management solution for dealing with urban runoff in the community-based Main Bayfield Watershed Plan," said Hope Brock, Healthy Watersheds Technician with Ausable Bayfield Conserva- tion. "Now homeowners have this great opportunity to install a rain garden and help protect Lake Huron." The Huron County Clean Water Project and the Municipality of Bluewater, through its Blue Flag initia- tive, have provided funding. The Blue Flag is an interna- tional designation awarded to beaches and marinas that meet certain criteria like water quality. The Bayfield Main Beach has flown the Blue Flag since 2010. Funding assis- tance will cover 50 per cent of the cash costs up to a maximum of $500 per rain garden. There is a limited amount of funding available for a limited num- ber of projects. Bayfield homeowners interested in receiving fund- ing to create a rain garden on their property should con- tact a local landscape profes- sional who has received a Landscape Ontario endorsed rain garden certifi- cate (visit the Ausable Bay- field Conservation.rain gar- dens page at this link: abca. on.ca/page. php?page=rain-gardens). Once the contractor has provided a plan and a quote for the garden, the homeowner will need to contact Ausable Bayfield Con- servation staff for a site visit to complete the application, which is available online. Grants, subject to approval, are paid out upon the satisfactory completion of the rain garden. Home- owners can apply for fund- ing without a contractor, but preference is given to the applications that use a certi- fied contractor. Rain gardens are shallow, sunken gardens. They pro- tect local water quality when they collect, absorb and filter water running off of land during storms. When it rains or when snow melts, water runs off roofs, patios, and driveways. Rain gardens can prevent this water, along with con- taminants the runoff picks up, from draining directly into a local storm sewer or nearby watercourses. "Rain gardens provide benefits to water quality," said Brock. "Rain gardens reduce flooding and erosion, and they can also add beauty to your yard and create habitat."