Spotlight on Learning: Life in the Back Country- Food Edition

Spotlight on Learning:                                                                                                     Life in the Back Country:  A Food Edition

Presented by:   Mr. Mark Loewen 

Course: Outdoor Education 9 and 10

 During Deeper Learning Week we learned about life in the backcountry through…FOOD! First, we went on a hike around Downes Bowl to immerse ourselves in the environment we wanted to simulate. Then we organized into groups where group members shared what they already knew about the backcountry, and what they needed more information on. Next was a trip to the internet where students researched what they didn’t know, searched for meal ideas, and familiarized themselves with the seven Leave No Trace Principles. Students then put a meal plan together that had to account for all aspects of organizing, packing, unpacking, preparing, cooking, and clean-up in the backcountry. The next class we gathered in the cafeteria, which we transformed into a backcountry simulation. Students had access to water…and that’s it! After making sure their food could survive a backpack, they got to work. When done they presented their meals to me and Chef Gerry who evaluated their meals. The last thing we did, after a self-assessment of their performance, was watch observe me cook for them using my tried-and-true backcountry system. Student Comments. Our only issue was with packing the food, as we had various boxes and cans, and the added weight made it difficult to fit in the backpack. In the future it might be a better idea to reduce cans by using dried chickpeas rather than canned. We also could have put the rice we needed in a bag instead of bringing the whole box.

STUDENT REFLECTION:  Our biggest challenge was getting organized. Our first big challenge was that someone forgot to bring stuff for our appy. We solved that problem by making something with the supplies we already had. Our biggest reward was getting told it was tasty…I’m still so surprised!  The biggest challenge in the whole process was coming up with a plan to figure out what to do with the garbage.  During this project we learned how to start a burner using propane and a lighter. We now have a deeper understanding of the outdoors.  Waste disposal was a big challenge.  A huge reward at the end was seeing the food we created/put together and knowing that food would be and look the same if we were in the middle of nowhere.  Cooking the food was a whole group effort. We think that the most important thing we learned was to be prepared for whatever the items we bring might go through…this includes weather/temperature/expiry date/surviving a backpack.  It was a fun and enjoyable process to go through as a group and we learned many new things.  Our group made trail fries for an appy.

Read the full newsletter

.