May 5: – This week I began a new project for the camp.

Objectives: to create an Outdoor Ed cookbook of edible plants, berries and treats you can make over a campfire. Counselors will use this as another Outdoor Ed activity with campers.

The cookbook will consist of edible plants, berries, and seaweeds. It will also include recipes, methods, ingredients, tools needed to make specific recipes over the fire, and the proper techniques in building a cooking campfire.

The final goal is a complied recipe book that is also an educational resource for YMCA Elphinstone staff to use with campers. This week I began by researching recipes, edible plants, berries and seaweeds. By Thursday I had most of the research I needed to begin putting together the cookbook layout.

Friday my consisted of a nature walk to find the plants, berries and seaweeds that I researched. They need to be available around camp for them to useful to the campers!

This project must be complete before my final day May 15. By Monday afternoon I would like to have something to show to Pam and Adim before finalizing the information.

The hope is that I will then be able to test the recipes, or some of them next week. By doing that I will then be able to finalize the cookbook for laminating or binding as the camps final resource!

My experience thus far has taught me:

1. That children and students learn so much more about themselves when exposed to the outdoor education environment. This camp not only about having fun, but also having fun while learning how to push oneself, how to orienteer, kayak/canoe, build a camp fire, survival techniques, safety and warmth skills. Through team building outside the classroom environment, students make connections with one another, nature, and themselves. This growth is the backbone to this style of learning. Students leave camp and this experience with a new outlook and perspective of one another and themselves.
2. Through this experience I have learned that in my teaching practice I have wanted to take it outdoors more. But being here has solidified that I can. Through the project that I am creating it will be another resource that I can use in my culinary classes. It also has showed me that I can take my practice, and my students to a camp like this to show them the benefits and also potential drawbacks of the outdoor classroom.

It has opened up my eyes to the endless possibilities that I have as an educator.

And above all that being goofy, fun, energetic, and connecting with students on the personal levels creates bonds and connections that enhance students learning and overall engagement in my teaching.