Trip to Portland Island
Last Saturday and Sunday Mr. Yates, Ms Ferris and a group of 9 students paddled kayaks to Portland Island to experience the outdoors of the West Coast. Some of the one-word descriptions used by the group to describe the weekend included: fantastic, musical, magical, stupendous and other synonyms. Some of the students had never been on a paddling trip before, so they were surprised that the pre-trip information they received regarding the use of quick dry clothing was actually important and accurate! Students foraged for information and interesting things about marine life and local fauna to teach us all at the evening circle on the beach (thanks for the candle, Jeff, since we were not allowed to have a campfire). Mr Yates found our salad—miner's lettuce, which almost everyone tried and agreed that it is better than domestic lettuce. Even the dandelion flowers were tastier, perhaps from the fresh rain on Saturday afternoon. Everyone worked together to create a great team facing the challenge of paddling—especially on the return voyage. The wind and tide were in our favour, but the going was long for some. The last stretch included a race to beat the leaders back to the dock. Everyone was rewarded at the Udder Guys ice cream store!
– Jenny Ferris, Outdoors
Photos by Peter Yates and Jenny Ferris