On the weekend of February 22-24, our Leaders In Action students joined us at the Outdoor Education Center for our annual Survival Overnight. This interactive weekend was developed to help our students get the overall feel of the OEC in preparation for summer camp, along with introducing them to the outdoors.<\/p>\n
We played a name game to officially begin Survival Weekend, as some of the students are fairly new to the program. One goal of LIA is to increase student\u2019s leadership and teamwork skills, which is the first step to creating a strong team. Afterward, we hiked several of the many trails that the OEC has to offer while identifying animal tracks and playing camouflage, a hiking game fit for every age (if you know it, you love it!)<\/p>\n
Students enjoyed our next few activities that focused on native wildlife such as \u201cWhat to do when you encounter animals\u201d where each pair of students received an animal, acted out how they think someone should react when they stumble upon this animal, and then we discussed the practical decision. This activity helped the children step out of their comfort zone while using their own originality and creativity skills. The next wildlife game we played is known as \u201cWildlife Headbands\u201d. Each student received an animal card, blindly placed it on their forehead, and actively wandered the room asking yes-or-no questions about which animal they represented. To relax, we sat down to watch Dr. Seuss\u2019s\u00a0The Lorax<\/i>. As we watched the movie, we discovered and discussed the many specific morals. The movie follows a young man\u2019s encounter with the Lorax, a majestic speaker to the trees. The man decides to take advantage of the environment, cut down all the trees for the product he is creating, and in the end is left with nothing as the forest is empty, and his wildlife friends abandon him. We discussed the ways he could have followed his dreams and still kept the forest intact. All the students participated with their own unique thoughts on the subject. This activity truly helped our students view the environment from an alternative perspective. The moral of\u00a0The Lorax<\/i>\u00a0correlates directly with our environmental stewardship mission, and fit precisely with our upcoming Health and Gardening Unit.<\/p>\n\n\t\t