Intern OUT !

As my internship comes to a close I would like to use this blog to reflect on my first nine months at the Kinark Outdoor Centre. I’ve had some amazingly fun experiences including being pulled 30 feet in the air on the Flying Squirrel in Challenge Course training, seeing Moose, Deer and Turkey right from the office window, talking about environmental issues with a great variety of people and joining a drum circle of over two hundred children at the Water Festival. One great memory is walking through the “Wacky Wetland Trail” (Fen trail) with my little green ukulele leading the day campers along the boardwalks while singing the Naturally Kids Discovery Day Camp Song.
Taking care of the Sustainable Living Centre (SLC) has given me good knowledge base around alternative energies and how to care for alternative buildings. This is not only a work asset but a personal one as I hope to build my home with similar principals. That type of thing happened with many duties during my internship. It also gave me an opportunity to network with businesses associated with alternative energies and sustainable living. Running events at the SLC also gave me an opportunity to network with local businesses and people who are involved in the environmental industry. Caring for the building presented some unique challenges that allowed me to expand my problem solving skills. The Naturally Kids Discovery Day Camp was an opportunity for me to engage children in sustainable living techniques and inspire young minds into positive environmental values.
The Climate Change Education program was the main educational component that I was a leader for and I enjoyed working in a fast paced classroom atmosphere. Teaching for school boards is different and important experience that I didn’t have before. The kids are very receptive since they are already in a educational setting and seem to be really engaged in the subject matter. Developing the program gave me valuable experience improving on games and activities for environmental learning. One challenge was finding the amount of CO2 saved by certain everyday actions which is difficult to gauge depending of a person’s lifestyle. This type of reporting is a common asset in environmental education since it is important to calculate how much of a difference is being made through these programs. My favourite part of the program was engaging kids in discussions and seeing them come up with ideas on their own. Those nuggets of inspiration are what make programs like this so important and effective.
Being the Intern gave me an excellent perspective of this organization since I was able to work with all facets of the outdoor centre. This made me aware of what type of work I truly enjoy and want to pursue. I’m very glad to say that the Kinark Outdoor Centre has offered me a seasonal contract position in the spring and summer of 2011 as an Outdoor Educator which I will use as an opportunity to engage in more environmental programs.

Thank you YEIP and Kinark Outdoor Centre for providing me with my dream job.

Thank you for reading my blog and I'd like to introduce Jen Mac the Climate Change Program Coordinator who will be updating readers on Kinark Outdoor Centre happenings!

"Messy" Jesse the Intern... Over and Out!

Friends of the Kinark Outdoor Centre

There are a few organizations that the Kinark Outdoor Centre work with to help achieve common goals and encourage mutual improvement in the field of outdoor education, therapeutic services and/or environmental learning. We thank them for their dedication!

Out To Learn is a division of Glenside Ecological Services Limited and endorsed by the Haliburton Highlands Stewardship Council, develops and delivers natural resource, ecological and environmental educational programs that are designed to provide participants with factual and theoretical information in an interesting and interactive manner. These programs are science and geography based with direct links to the Ontario curriculum. Drawing from our strong scientific backgrounds, programs are easily tailored to a wide variety of audiences, from Grade 5 to educators, professionals and citizens."
Out to Learn and the Kinark Outdoor Centre work together for the Naturally Kids Discovery Day Camp, the Climate Change Education Program and other public awareness days held at the KOC. Out to Learn also uses the Kinark Outdoor Centre as a site for school programming.

Speaking of kids mental health.ca is a forum for people to connect regarding kids mental health. As Ontario's largest accredited children's mental health agency, Kinark is proud to partner with the Child Welfare League of Canada and the Provincial Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in the launch of www.speakingofkidsmentalhealth.ca as a communication and resource tool for youth, parents, educators and mental health professionals. Click News and then Bloggers to see blogs form Kinark staff including a blog from Jim McHardy the Kinark Outdoor Centre Director.

The Haliburton-Muskoka Children's Water Festival (HMCWF) is an annual event that motivates students to become water stewards in their homes, classroom and community. By combining hands-on interactive activities with messages relevant to their daily lives, students 'soak up' knowledge on the properties, uses, connections and importance of water. With this knowledge, students become aware of the value of conserving and protecting water.

The HMCWF is held at the Kinark Outdoor Centre and uses the natural beauty of our site to enhance its message of water resource stewardship.

Water covers 75 per cent of the planet, and also makes up about 75 per cent of a person's body weight. Water is essential for all life on Earth. Without it, nothing lives and nothing grows.

Check out these organizations more by clicking the blue lettered hyperlinks. Thank you to these organizations who have supported the Kinark Outdoor Centre! Kudos!

Sincerely,

"Messy" Jesse the Intern

Nature Classroom renovations!

This fall the Nature Classroom at Kinark is getting an overhaul. New paint job, new format, more fun! The classroom also holds three new program computers! The Climate change program has been using this room since the spring and the Kinark Outdoor Centre staff are eager to unveil this great place to learn. The classic "nature stuff" is in there like the taxidermy ermine, beaver chews, bird nests and information resources. New environmental education materials are available to teach about Climate change, natural resources, alternative energies and waste minimization and disposal. The room definitely brings a grand atmosphere to the classes that visit it so far. The students are always eager to hear about the things on the shelf as well as the posters on the wall. Keep checkin out the blog, Facebook or www.koc.on.ca for more info.

"Messy" Jesse the Intern

Water Festival takes over Kinark!

On September 27th and 28th in 2010 the Haliburton Muskoka Children's Water Festival took over the Kinark Outdoor Centre for two days of action packed learning. 834 students from 12 schools participated in 40 different stations around the Kinark Outdoor Centre.
The day started students arriving from the surrounding communities as well as briefing the 90 volunteers from Trent University who helped run stations. Primary students then broke off into smaller supervised groups that went to the stations that interested them. Lunchtime was in the main field with 6 large tents (thanks to the Township of Minden Hills and Castle Carnarvon for your help) where students ate and attended the largest drum circle I’ve ever seen. Barry Hayward led over 200 students at a time in a rhythmic community that shook ear drums. Barry brought a full load of drums, shakers and other percussion instruments and gave the students an opportunity to use all of them.
Stations included curriculum based games that fit into four categories which included water protection, conservation, technologies and attitudes. Some games were simple and very active (ex. Rolling Through the Shed: students donned Velcro vests and rolled down a vinyl “watershed” picking up particles and chemicals along the way), while other games were very demonstrational and educational (ex. Lay an egg: students placed cut out eggs in appropriate nests along a boardwalk and learned about wetland habitats)
According to the HMCWF website “Two of the primary objectives of this holistic-focused event are to develop personal awareness of the importance of water, and to foster respect for the natural environment. It is hoped that by increasing awareness and respect, as individuals we will make a commitment to use natural resources wisely.”
For more information go to http://www.hmwaterfestival.ca/ and remember… “Water covers 75 per cent of the planet, and also makes up about 75 per cent of a person's body weight. Water is essential for all life on Earth. Without it, nothing lives and nothing grows.”

Sincerely,

"Messy" Jesse the Intern

Building projects this fall at the Kinark Outdoor Centre

There are five beavers building a new lodge just 20 metres from where the Outdoor Centre keeps its canoes. They are busy using renewable resources (sticks) for structural support and other natural materials (mud) to make their winter home comfortable and warm.

There are also some humans working to make the Sustainable Living Centre warm and beautiful. This past October was busy with the Climate change having many Grade 5 classes through the program and two workshops teaching the public how to sustainably add to their homes.

The Natural Plaster Workshop with Sebastian Renal was very successful and allowed this intern to live up to his nickname of “Messy” Jesse! Mixing sand and clay takes a lot of care, consideration and willingness to get covered in sand and clay. Plastering it on the wall was sort of like putting icing on a cake. It didn’t taste quite the same though. We patched leaky spots and coated some walls with Alis paint which is made of natural pigments and flower paste. One participant actually made a beautiful symbol on our shed and we covered it in Mica which shimmers in sunlight.

The Solar Hot Water Heater Workshop with Sean Flannigan was also a great success with participants building their own thermal collectors out of simple materials. Teams of two put together a wooden case that held layers of insulation, a black piece of plywood, copper piping in a grid pattern and plexi-glass on top. The pipes were pressure tested and re-soldered until perfect. Participants were taught how to install the solar collector in their homes and how to maintain their panels.

We still have a few rain barrels left and anyone can contact me at Jesse.Christensen@kinark.on.ca to order or go to www.rainbarrel.ca/minden.

More blogs are coming very soon!

Keep up with us online at www.koc.on.ca or www.sustainablebuilding2006.com or www.kinark.on.ca or Jim McHardy’s twitter https://twitter.com/KinOutDoor or Jim McHardy’s blog http://www.speakingofkidsmentalhealth.com/blog/jim/ or search for Kinark Outdoor Centre on Facebook

Sincerely,

“Messy” Jesse the Intern

Solar Panels monitored by a heavy puppy!

The "Fat Spaniel" solar monitoring system is now in place so anyone can see exactly how much energy is being produced from Kinark Outdoor Centre's solar panels. Go to http://siteapp.fatspaniel.net/siteapp/simpleView.jsf?eid=523172 to see the website.

August was my busiest month yet and full of exciting happenings at the Kinark Outdoor Centre. It was a truly august month (pun intended). For this intern it included working at the Naturally Kids Discovery Day Camp in the Sustainable Living Centre. The camp was run by Out to Learn, which is a environmental education company based in Haliburton. To learn more about them visit www.outtolearn.ca. The camp was an amazing time and the kids were very creative and energetic. Mornings were spent doing crafts, writing a song, doing activities and games with nature themes. Afternoons were spent swimming, boating, rock climbing and hiking around site.

Our fall promises to be just as busy with grade 5's returning for the Climate change education program and a lineup of workshops at the Sustainable Living Centre in October. We also just ordered a few new displays and activities for the living centre including a bicycle generator to demonstrate that we've got all the power we need right inside of us!

Enjoy this heat before it's beat!

"Messy" Jesse the Intern

Solar Summer

The Kinark Outdoor Centre is the newest energy provider for the province of Ontario.

In the big field across from the baseball diamond is our power plant which collects the light from the sun and turns it into electricity for the power grid. Photo voltaic solar panels are now able to sell power back to their electricity provider. Kinark's panels provide about 2 kilowatts of power.

Kinark has used solar panels in the past to power the Sustainable Living Centre as well as heat water at the SLC and in the Dining Hall. We are also the proud owners of the Tamarack Lake Electric Boat Company's first Solar Pontoon Boat. Using solar energy to heat water is one of the best ways to use the sun's energy since the sun emits more heat than it does light.

A "Build your own Solar Water Heater" workshop will take place in the fall this year which is currently in the planning phases. Participants will be able to bring a guest and assemble their own solar water heater that can be installed in their own home. Email Jesse.Christensen@kinark.on.ca for more information or to register for the workshop.

We hope your having just as much fun in the sun!

"Messy" Jesse the Intern

Natural Plaster Workshop

On Saturday, July 31st, 2010 the Kinark Outdoor Centre will be holding a Natural Plaster Workshop led by Sebastian Renel at the Sustainable Living Centre. Natural plaster walls have been used by humans for generations and have been improved even more in the 21st century. This method involves using sand, clay, water and cattail fluff in a mixture that can be smeared onto a surface to create a stunning earthen wall. We will also add plaster colouring and mica to make a beautiful glittering effect. The day will start at 10 am with an introduction and background of natural plaster technique. There will be lunch provided by KOC and opportunity to explore the Sustainable Living Centre. The workshop fee is $60 (no HST) and the funds will go toward the workshop and future ones being held at the Sustainable Living Centre. Get plastered!

What: Natural Plaster Wall Workshop
Where: Sustainable Living Centre, Kinark Outdoor Centre, Minden, ON
When: Saturday, July 31st, 2010 from 10 am to 5pm
How: Email Jesse.Christensen@kinark.on.ca to sign up
Why: To forever be able to create your own personalized earthen wall

Also on July 31st is the pick up day of our Rain barrel fundraiser which is available at www.rainbarrel.ca/minden. The barrels come with everything needed and are made of reused or recycled materials (they are recyclable as well). The cost is $50 and all barrels must be pre ordered online at www.rainbarrel.ca/minden. Listen in to Moose FM (95.3) at 10 am and Canoe FM (100.9) at 10:30 am on Tuesday, July13th, 2010 to hear your friendly neighborhood Intern sing a jingle about our rain barrels.

Happy Summer All!

"Messy" Jesse the Intern

Grand happenings

Grand things have been happening at Kinark during the last little while. There are some new additions to the Sustainable Living Centre(SLC) building including a beautiful bathroom ceiling built by Bob and Donelda. We had our plumber Chris Harrison fix and improve our rainwater plumbing system.

I've planted a voluptuous vegetable garden with the gracious help of the previous SLC intern Stephanie Hall. We planted tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, lettuce, celery, Swiss chard, sweet onion, spicy basil, thyme and celeriac. Our garden will be used for educational purposes and makes an excellent edible demonstration of sustainable living. Rain water that overflows from the main collection tank goes into an outdoor rain barrel that feeds water by gravity to a soaker hose that waters our veggies.

We learned that the Annualized Geo-Solar heating system (which pumps hot air from the ceiling under the SLC into a two metre deep insulated trench) is an experiment that did not meet scientific standards. The technology has been disproven and does not significantly change the temperature of the building in the winter months. It does however cool the building slightly in the summer by removing heat from the hottest part of the building. This is one example of how the Sustainable Living Centre is participating in the study of experimental technologies and their practicality for a sustainable future.

The Kinark staff (Kristy, Jamie & Jesse) and Out to Learn educators (Irene & Rick) are now in full swing of the Climate Change education program with five grade five classes already successfully completing a full day of fun activities and lessons. There will be another six classes before the school year ends and then we will be changing gears to make the program fun for families that participate during the summer.

Here's hoping for happy happenings!

Messy Jesse the Intern

Climate Change Education Program is too cool!

Messy Jesse the Intern here after a few weeks of awesome education. I was trained to teach the high ropes courses and rock walls on site by Challenges Unlimited Inc. Thanks to everyone who helped me through the course. The most exciting thing for me however was the start of Kinark Outdoor Centre's Climate Change education program.

Grade 5 students from J.D. Hodgson Elementary were the first to experience the Kinark Outdoor Centre's newest educational program about climate change. Students spent the morning at the Sustainable Living Centre learning about electricity with Out to Learn instructors Irene Heaven and Rick Whitteker. They learned about current energy production methods in Ontario and tested windmills and solar panels to experience renewable energies. In the afternoon Kristy Pulver explained how climate change happens and led games to reinforce the information already learned.

The grade 5's were fantastic at coming up with things we can do to reduce our carbon footprint such as using compact fluorescent bulbs ("the swirly kind"). They were asked to choose one action they can do at home to improve the human impact on global warming.

Thank you very much to the J.D. Hodgson grade 5 students and they're teacher Mademoiselle Kimberly. We look forward to running this program for most of the grade 5 students in the Trillium Lakelands School Board and for families from all over central Ontario this year. Thanks to all involved with planning and developing this program.

Sincerely,

"Messy" Jesse the Intern

Fly like a Wild Turkey!

Time flies like a Wild Turkey at the Kinark Outdoor Centre where spring has sprung and Messy Jesse the intern is hard at work making his nest in the Sustainable Living Centre.

Since my last post I’ve had the chance to see some top local and national talent at the Haliburton County Earth Day Family Festival. Rick and Terri is a Juno award nominated folk duo who rocked my nation with the song “Calling Canada” and Trina West played great Earth themed folk tunes to a very entertained crowd of families and earth lovers.

We are constantly getting closer to our goal of not wasting anything at the Kinark outdoor Centre. We are making some improvements on the Sustainable Living Centre and the Re-store yard next to it. The goal is to store construction materials and scrap materials for reuse or recycling in a very organized fashion so the site can also be used for education. The worms are also working hard at wiggling through our compost in their new home. Red wigglerific!

Funds for some of the Sustainable Living Centre’s events and materials are being raised through a rain barrel sales event this summer. Rain barrels are being sold at $50 online at http://rainbarrel.ca/minden/. They are made of reused or recycled materials and come with a hose attachment at the bottom and a screen on top. The pick up day is on Saturday, July 31^st from 12 – 4pm at the Sustainable Living Centre.

Hope all is well in the lives of those reading this!

Naturally yours,

Messy Jesse the Intern

Messy Jesse the Intern is still at the Kinark Outdoor Centre, blogging about my first three weeks living here. I’ve been giving some Tender Loving Care to our wonderful Sustainable Living Centre building. Spring cleaning seems to cheer me up when I find all kinds of fun program materials like Solar Race Cars and model windmills.

Our caring staff team does everything in their power to make Kinark an earth friendly place. Most of the lunches brought by our staff in the office are in washable containers and free of throw away packaging. The Outdoor Educators were busy making Maple Syrup for our delicious pancake dinner, and getting nice stinky breath from wild leeks that we’ve put in tasty salads and stir fry. We even had a human stampede in our office to see a moose that was walking right past our office windows. Only at Kinark!

There was a little trouble with our worm composters last week. The Red Wiggler worms have been trying to escape! The poor little wigglers were overfed and didn’t have enough air in the paper shred bedding. But never fear! They have a new home with fresh food at the Sustainable Living Centre after a few hours of digging through compost to find them. If you are interested in worm composting visit www.cathyscomposters.com/

Naturally yours,

Messy Jesse the Intern

PS. I’ve been given some awesome links to environmental web sites, so I've put some of the best links at below... Enjoy!

How to Recycle Anything
http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/organizing/tips-techniques/recycle-anything-00000000006117/

Large online community of people who want to “Make a Difference”
http://www.care2.com/

The Art of living lightly on this earth
http://www.weconserve.ca/

What’s cool and fun and “GREEN” all over?

What’s cool and fun and “GREEN” all over?

Hi! I’m Messy Jesse the Intern and I have just been charged with caring for the Sustainable Living Centre. When I first saw the building I wanted to explore everything! There’s play space with toys, relaxing areas and interactive displays for all ages. The atmosphere of this building is very exciting and comfortable. Sunlight shines through skylights and coloured glass “light tubes” meaning there is no need for light bulbs even on a cloudy day! The water flowing into the rain collection barrel echoes off the earth plaster walls and sounds like an indoor waterfall. The building is full interactive displays, which distracted me from cleaning and entertained me. Gardens surround the building and there is always wildlife nearby. The building is full of ways to have fun while learning about how we can enjoy our world to the fullest. The Sustainable Living Centre is a must see if you are interested in “GREEN” technology, the outdoors or environmental education!

I’m looking forward to showing it off to Naturally Kids Discovery Day Campers and groups. We are starting a new program this year for Grade 5 classes and families to learn about making our lives more sustainable and FUN!

To find out how to visit the Sustainable Living Centre with your group or class, or if you would like to sign up for the Naturally Kids Discovery Day Camp, please email us at info@koc.on.ca or call us at 705 286 3555 or visit us at www.koc.on.ca/.

Naturally yours,

Messy Jesse the Intern

Spring has sprung at the Kinark Outdoor Centre! All the snow is gone and programs are well under way.

We are excited about our new projects funded by the Recreational Infastructure in Canada grants; retrofitting the Eagles Nest Rec Hall with solar panels,and a new family focused ropes course!

We have two new interns starting as well, awarded to us by the Youth Environmental Intern Program through the YMCA. Jesse will be a guest on our blog frequently, letting everyone know about his experiences here at the KOC.