The Tatla Lake Elementary Junior Secondary School has partnered with Lake City Secondary’s grade 10 to 12 Enviro Club to attend Calvert Island.
Principal Clare Gordon says Tatla Lake School was successful in receiving a $600 grant from the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation to go to the Hakai Research Institute
“The Tula Foundation supports our trip in that they provide us with accommodation, food, access to researchers once we get there, and that’s all supplied for free, but we have to pay for the water taxi and the school bus to get there which costs over $6,000.”
Despite the costs, Gordon says once they are there it will be an incredible experience for students. She says the focus of this year’s learning will be glaciers and the impact of climate change on humans and ocean life as well as archaeology and food webs specifically kelp.
“Our school is a tiny little school so we’re just taking our intermediate students and there’s only six of them,” Gordon says.”That’s why we partnered with the Enviro Club from Lake City Secondary and they’re anticipating 12 will be coming with us.”
Gordon adds that they attended Calvert Island about two years ago.
“Those that have been before are super, super excited about going back because they know what we’re going to be experiencing and the other students I just know that it’s going to be an incredible experience.”
The students will at Calvert Island for three days from May 22 to May 25.
Throughout the trip, students will take the time to reflect on their day’s learning within their journals. Gordon says a final reflection of the overall trip will give students and leaders the opportunity to assess how students were impacted and what they took away from the trip both personally and educationally. Students will also write, edit, and submit a written article to their community newspaper summarizing their experience and the value of the trip, as well as share it with family, friends, and fellow students.
“The experiences and learning on the trip will provide students with background knowledge to expand their learning in years to come whether in career choices, understanding environmental change, or classroom lessons,” Gordon says.