Instruct

I spent my work term in Algonquin Park as a canoe tripper at a summer camp instructing girls in back country skills, navigation and canoeing. Some of the girls had never been in a canoe before or camped in the wilderness. I was able to successfully guide the girls and I became a favourite tripper because while making things fun, I introduced the girls to the technical aspects of back country canoe-camping in a simplified and age appropriate manner.

One of the routes I was assigned to included a lake that was easy to get lost on but by utilizing my map reading and compass skills I was able to take a compass bearing, line it up with the maps, count islands and bays to figure out which bay our portage was in. I utilized this skill as a teaching tool with the children to explain the scope of our day and to create a physical idea of the big-picture in terms of space, upcoming challenges and duration. Sharing engaged the girls, transferred skills and reduced the number of times I was asked, “are we were almost there?”

Given that the group I was supervising were minors I am unable to provide photo evidence.