News
Venturing Into the Outdoors
This fall, BSS students undertook Silver and Gold Duke of Edinburgh journeys, gaining new skills, expanding their perspectives and forming meaningful connections with both people and the environments they explored.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award (Duke of Ed) challenges students in Grades 9 to 12 to foster positive lifestyle habits and skills through physical activities, outdoor expeditions and service to the community. The award has three levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold. Each level requires a higher degree of commitment to complete. At any time, more than 100 BSS students are working on levels for the Duke of Ed. Trips are offered every year for each of the three levels, to places like Point Pelee National Park, Temagami and British Columbia. While on these adventures, students showcase their grit, work in teams to solve problems and make deep and lasting connections with each other.
This year, from September 17 to 19, a group of 16 students completed a five-day trek through the Temagami region to obtain their Silver award. The trip took students through some of Canada’s most iconic wilderness routes, sharpening their canoeing and backcountry skills and deepening their understanding of the land through a guided walk with an Elder of the Teme-Augama Anishinabai people.
On October 3, 14 students set out on a week-long journey through the west coast of British Columbia to explore environmental challenges, human impact on ecosystems and Indigenous history. Stopping in Vancouver, Cathedral Grove, Ucluelet, Tofino and Victoria, the journey includes cycling, camping, explorations of tidal pools, coastal trails and old-growth forests, outdoor skill-building, creative projects and whale watching.
