If you were asked to work with others to move a pile of snow using a shovel, you’d probably know what to do. But what if you were told you could only use a tarp? What if you were told you couldn’t use any tools at all? How would you most effectively transport the snow together?
This year, St. Clement’s School’s Grade 5 students faced challenges like these through a partnership with The Pine Project, an outdoor education organization that focuses on enhancing children’s connection to nature, building community, and developing participants’ resilience. The collaboration was the suggestion of SCS’s Outdoor and Experiential Education Coordinator, Cam Baldassarra; having volunteered with Pine Project in the early 2010s, he knew it would be a great opportunity for the Clementines to experience hands-on learning year-round.
Twice each season, the Grade 5 class journeyed to a local park for sessions guided by mentors from Pine Project. They explored, discovered nature, and played teamwork-building games. Each visit centred on a different aspect of the wild—plants, shelter, survival, and more—that could be tied back to what students were covering in the classroom. For instance, when the students were tackling a unit on the human body, their trip to Pine Project involved discovering how to use sticks and other natural resources to wrap a broken leg and carry an injured person to safety.
Ask the Grade 5s what Pine Project has taught them and they’ll list similarly vital survival skills: tying knots, setting up rain tarps, lighting fires with flint and steel, and constructing quinzhees (Canadian snow shelters). Less immediately visible to them but no less transformative are the soft skills they gain along the way: teamwork, communication, leadership. Some of these skills are the natural byproduct of experiencing themselves in a new environment. “Outside of the classroom, different children shine,” explains Cam. “It gives the quiet one who sits in the back or is nervous about their academics or feels like they’re a low performer a completely different chance in a completely different context. You often see entirely separate students rise to the top, become leaders, and be embraced by the community.”
Other skills are the result of hard-learned lessons. If the students bring running shoes in December, those are the shoes they will wear for the entirety of the session. If they forget to fill their water bottle, they will have to manage. Seeing the natural consequences to their actions not only teaches students to come prepared but also builds their sense of personal responsibility. The flipside is begrudgingly realizing that perhaps the adults were right all along. “They’ve all commented, ‘Listen to your mom! Check the packing list! Wear layers!’” laughs Cam.
Most of all, by stretching their boundaries and attempting new things, the students build their courage and their ability to persevere. They learn to push through discomfort, whether mental or physical, and ultimately return as bolder, more confident girls. Take Sarah Quinn ’33, for example: she was especially nervous about the idea of being hoisted into the air on a makeshift stretcher but tried it anyway and was pleasantly surprised by the result. “It was actually pretty fun!” she admits. “It felt like you were floating.”
It’s this lesson—realizing what you’re capable of when you overcome fear or hesitation—that resonates most with the students. After eight rounds of navigating everything from sweltering summer heat to rain-soaked hikes to collapsed snow shelters, Quinn Wright ’33 still wouldn’t hesitate to recommend these trips to younger Clementines. “You don’t have to be scared,” she encourages future Pine Project students with a grin. “Be open to anything!”
