When Hadley and I are not out paddling for ten weeks at a time, we are busy back home in Winnipeg working on our education degrees at the University of Winnipeg. An incorporation of outdoor recreation into our education system is something that we are both extremely passionate about and this topic has often come up in our conversations with people that we have met so far on the Path of the Paddle trail. Whenever we would chat about the subject of outdoor education with folks from Atikokan, we kept hearing the same thing over and over again, "you HAVE to talk with Peter and Cathy Burton." The other thing they would all say is "you HAVE to try Cathy Burton's baking." We were sold.
So there we are on Day 30 paddling through Turtle Lake with our eye on the prize--the dot that Lise Sorensen marked on our map for the Burton's Turtle Lake cabin. We weren't able to call them ahead of time but if there's one thing Hadley and I have learned throughout our years of canoe tripping, it's to never let a good opportunity pass by...especially if there is a possibility of freshly baked muffins. Even though we waltzed up totally unannounced and as total strangers, Peter and Cathy don't miss a beat and invite us inside for some iced tea, AND SOME FRESHLY BAKED MUFFINS!!!
We spent over 3 hours with them exchanging paddling stories, hearing about their various initiatives as teachers in Atikokan and about their time running the one-of-a-kind Outers Program at the Atikokan high school.
The Outers program is an inspiration for any outdoor-ed program. It consists of students going on multi-day hiking and paddling trips throughout the year and culminates in a 12 day student-led canoe trip in Quetico. The program is based upon a true experiential learning model in which students are the leaders, decision-makers, and ultimately in charge of resolving all of the challenges that are commonplace on a canoe trip. More than just teaching students about living in the outdoors, it teaches them how to live together in what can be a high stress environment where mistakes will inevitably be made. The Outers Program has become somewhat of a rite of passage for Atikokan youth with the program now spanning multiple generations of past Atikokan graduates. Cathy remarked how amazing it is to see the groups return from their 12-day excursions brimming with confidence and working together as one cohesive team. Seeing this same result year after year is a testament to all of the hard work put in by all leaders and participants in the program and to the effectiveness/need for students to learn in an experiential outdoor context. Hopefully we will see more programs like Outers become implemented in schools across the country in the years to come. At the very least Hadley and I have found an amazing template for an outdoor Ed program to base our own future programs upon and learn from.
We simply can not say enough about Peter and Cathy. In the same way that the Outers program is an inspiration for all other outdoor Ed programs, Peter and Cathy are incredible role models and an inspiration for us as we begin our teaching careers.
As if inviting us into their home and feeding us (the muffins lived up to the hype I might add) was not enough, they sent us on our way with three bacon wrapped moose steaks which Peter hunted and prepared himself! We fried the steaks up that night at our beautiful beach site on Clearwater West Lake with big smiles and happier bellies.
Thank-you so much Peter and Cathy!