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District School Board Ontario North East
Eco Camp Bickell

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The purpose of the pro​gram is to foster a sense of environmental awareness in the grade 6 students of District School Board Ontario North East. The program also provides an opportu​nity for students to develop social and emotional growth outside the classroom environment. Student learning occurs through varied, hands-on learning activities, incorporating expectation from several curriculum documents.

Camp Brochure

​The brochure provides an overview of the Eco Camp Program including an introduction for parents and packing list for students.

Camp Brochure

 

Program Overview

​The overview provides an in-depth look at camp programming including the core activities that students will participate in.

Program Overview

 

Student Resources

​The student resources document has all the information students will need to prepare for their Eco Camp Bickell experience.

Student Resources

Why Value Outdoor Education?

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Camp Overview

eco-camp-bickell-drawing.jpgThe Eco Camp Bickell outdoor education program runs between May and June and is designed for up to 60 students to enjoy two and a half days of outdoor experience. Typically, the first group of students arrive on Monday morning and leave on Wednesday at 11:30 pm. Simultaneously another group of students arrive, have lunch and begin their adventure, leaving Friday afternoon to catch their school bus.

The study of living things in grade 6 focuses on the use of classification systems as ways of learning about the great diversity of species and as ways of organizing the study of species. To acquire first-hand experience in studying the diversity of living things, the intricate life in a pond is explored with students using nets and magnifiers to search for pond life.

Another highlight of the program is survival skills. Students learn the technique of starting a fire with a bow drill (rubbing two sticks together) and where to find and how to collect water if stranded in the bush. They build a debris hut that is capable of keeping them warm to -10 celsius without a fire or sleeping bag. Students also learn how to use a compass and complete a challenging compass course. Trees, plants and critters of the area are studied during a nature hike. Where and how to collect plants for food, and how to capture small animals is also included in this unit.​

Curriculum Connections

camp-bickell-crest.pngThe bulk of the curriculum expectations come from the grade 6 Diversity of Life science unit. The outdoor education program not only allows the students to experience the curriculum in a hands-on manner, but also allows the unit to be taught in a shorter amount of time. This will help teachers cover the required five strands of the science document and will help make up some of the time lost to the grade 6 testing.

The eco camp will also cover and reinforce a significant number of expectations in the physical education (active participation) curriculum. Several art, mathematics and social studies expectations have been included as well.​