A large focus of our fourth block has been the value of fun. Our class has gone on trips to the park, to do track and field, to do improv, play wheelchair basketball, and numerous other fun activities. It has been very memorable, and I record it here to remind myself of the value of fun in the future.

Lheidli T’enneh Park
This adventure was to the effect of “create your own fun.” We gathered in a grassy field in Lheidli T’enneh Park as a group and came up with water related games that would keep us cool and spark some fun. It was good, classic fun indeed. The most fun activity was also the most competitive, although we were instructed to make the game non-competitive. It really lacks urgency when there’s no competition…

REAPS
We went to check out the new REAPS facility up at UNBC. It is well kept and a potentially great spot for botany and volunteering opportunities. Not the most most fun or exciting location but very accessible. A recurring theme was that it is very hot out in summer these days, and not all of us had enough water and sun screen. Definitely something to stay aware of.


Beekeeping
We travelled to the property of a local beekeeper, Barry, who is also sort of the overseer of all bee hives in the region. Barry had a great enthusiasm for all things bee. It might sound sarcastic but the hour of information flew by. We also got a chance to put on beekeeping outfits and see a hive up close, a unique and celebrated experience for all of us. It was also a chance to talk about climate change as the property also had a field of grass. Barry had recently changed to a more drought resistant strain but related that the yield has been far lower, highlighting that there is no magic bullet for climate change effects.

Esker’s
We went to Esker’s Park as a group and identified plant species. This was a good chance for a hike, and in truth the longer we went the more it became about the hike. We were using the iNaturalist app for identification, which was interesting. It wasn’t the instant ID that I thought it was, it’s more of a crowdsourced thing, and getting to use it was enlightening. An interesting idea that was suggested was having students go to one spot repeatedly, which can cause people to tune into new senses and observations over time. I think this idea ties in well with my desire to get students taking field notes. Definitely not the easiest place to access, it’s a forty minute drive and the road is rough. We were able to drive around the potholes in our vehicles but a bus would have a hard time.


Wheelchair Basketball

A real stand out success, probably everyone’s favorite event, and definitely the most expensive and difficult to set up (huge thanks to the Northern Adapted Sports Association.) It was so fun! You can go very fast and turn on a dime without tipping over, reach back without falling back, and bump into another chair without injuring your hands or legs. It really gives you the confidence to throw yourself into it. We spent most of our time doing training and warm up, things like races, dribbling, and shooting. The game itself went for about ten minutes. The game was fun but it was a lot more fun with the training exercises taking up most of the time: it kept everything fresh and varied, and you never felt like you were falling too far behind (the game was a 4-0 rout.)

Native Friendship Center
I’ve done work in this building and I still really didn’t know what they do. A bit of everything, turns out. Lots of educational opportunity as well: job postings, volunteering opportunities, language lessons, all sorts of things. We had a guided tour of the building and had a chance to meet and talk to a number of the people who work there. In retrospect it’s not like we could have just wandered around unaccompanied, something true of a lot of professional locations.

Masich Place
This was the first time in a long time that I did track and field, and the first time ever that I threw a javelin (another common highlight for much of the class.) My legs were sore for three days after, but it was worth it! Two of the ladies leading us in the activities were only recent high school grads, but you wouldn’t know it from their confidence. That was cool to see, a reminder that our students are already becoming leaders in the community. The activities were a little inaccessible compared to wheelchair basketball, and some people did sit out some events. For the most part though we were all engaged, and a majority of the class very much got into the competitiveness of it all.

Theater Northwest
I was kind of dreading going to do improv, and I was not the only one, but I am proud to say that I and all of my fellow science majors got up to participate. It was fun but I would have liked to do more warm-up exercises, or to focus on things that felt less high pressure. (Some of the games were lower pressure but the freeze improv game stands out for me.) We got to hear about the plays they choose to do, chances to bring classes to shows, volunteer with the organization, and generally get involved in theater. As a STEM person, drama is a bit of a blind spot for me, so this was a great opportunity to broaden my awareness.