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