YRS Jasper 2018
On October 17th, a group of 12 grade sevens recently went on a five day Young Round Square service trip to Jasper, Alberta. We started our journey by flying to the Edmonton International Airport and then driving 4 hours to Jasper. While we were in our cars, enjoying the road trip and the beautiful scenery, we spotted many significant animals like big horn sheep, elk and deer. En route, we stopped in Hinton to stretch our legs and take a walk on the Beaver Boardwalk. Here, we walked the boardwalk intertwined with several beaver dams. It was super cool! Some even spotted a beaver swimming under the water.
In Jasper, we stayed at the Palisades Stewardship Education Centre operated by Parks Canada. The Collingwood students were joined by students from Strathcona Tweedsmuir School in Calgary. The two schools combined soon became known as the ‘Strathwood’ group.
On the second day, after a yummy breakfast, Strathwood came together for some team building activities; this is where we really bonded with the Strathcona students. In the afternoon, we went on a two-hour hike on the Old Fort Point trail. Although this hike was physically challenging, it was definitely worth it because at the end we saw the whole town of Jasper and a group of seven bighorn sheep.
The third day we canoed on Lake Edith and learned about the different mountains surrounding the area. Following our canoeing and lunch picnic at Lake Edith, we drove up to Medicine Lake and then even further to Maligne Lake.
On the fourth day, we traveled to the Columbia Icefields (a.k.a. The Athabasca Glacier); we also visited the Glacier Skywalk hanging over the cliff’s edge. All of the students were thrilled and some a bit nervous about the glass bottom platform.
The YRS Jasper trip was a great experience and reminded us that we are so grateful to be living in a world surrounded by clean air, forests, glaciers, mountains, and incredible wildlife living in nature. Thanks to the Parks Canada educators, we learned so much about the ecosystems in the National Park.
Strathwood Photo @ Maligne Lake
Submitted by: Joyce M. (7J) and Jasmine H. (7S)