More than 20 Earl Marriott Secondary students “unplugged” themselves from their everyday lives and embarked on a field trip last month.
The students, along with their teachers, Michael MacKay-Dunn, Carson Drayson, Nathalie LaRoche and Carol Blacklaws, boarded the ferry from Horseshoe Bay in North Vancouver to Langdale, then bused two hours up the Sechelt Peninsula to Egmont, where they unpacked their bags at the Westcoast Wilderness Lodge.
The group then took on a 10-km hike to the Skookumchuck Rapids – the largest tidal rapids in North America.
The students’ trip was a way to curb “Nature Deficient Disorder,” according to a news release.
“In an age where environmental issues have, for some, been reduced to momentary web hit encounters, these outdoor educators are convinced that the environment deserves more attention and priority in their students’ daily lives,” Blacklaws said.
The two-day trip also featured a boat trip to the Jervis Inlet to experience one of British Columbia’s longest fiords, Chatterbox Falls, and much more.