Camp Highlights 2009

The following is a summary of highlighted camp activities for the 2009 Health and Science Camp. Opening Prayer

The camp opened up with an Opening Prayer by Elder Isador Pelletier and was followed with a meal at Luther College with the Campers and Supervisors.

For the first evening of the camp, the day and evening supervisors organized games for the youth to play that encouraged interaction with each other. Some of the games included the name game, bumper cars and capture the flag. The games successfully got the youth laughing and introducing each other.

Saskatchewan Outdoor and Environmental Education Association (SOEEA)

The SOEEA team, including Sarah Smith and Peta White demonstrated how solar ovens can assist us in daily living. They brought a number of different types of solar ovens to show the youth while they talked about how they use solar energy in their daily lives. One of the presenters bakes bread in his solar oven each week, even in the depths of winter! The students were then split into smaller groups with the task of building their own solar oven using recycled cardboard, plastic, foil and tape. In total the students built five solar ovens. Unfortunately the weather was cloudy so they could not be tested until the end of the week (on the last day their ovens were used to bake cookies).

Plant tag is a game designed to teach students how to identify and name plants native to the area. Michelle Biden led this activity. First the students were shown about five species of plants and told their name. Then, as a group, they identified the plants in the area. Once sufficient knowledge of the plants and their names were established they played a game of tag where the leader called out the name of a plant and each person had to find the appropriate plant to stand beside. The last person to find the plant had to stand on the side. The six winners of the game got to be first in line for lunch.

EYES Camp Switch

In this partnership, the U of R EYES camp exchanged students with our camp so that each group would have a broader set of experiences. Our youth went to a lab at the U of R where they performed fire and bubble experiments. The EYES camp youth went pond dipping, explored edible plants of the prairies and picked and prepared mint tea with our supervisors.

Science Laboratory Activities
In order to provide a wide range of experiences that reflected the interests of our students we had a number of science-based activities they could choose to explore. These included biology, math, chemistry, computer science and Indigenous science.

Biology
In the biology activity, the youth dissected owl pellets with Dr. Fidji Gendron, a biology professor at the First Nations University. Inside the owl pellets they discovered bones, jaws and skulls of small animals that the owl had eaten.

Chemistry
Jodi Bellegarde, an instructor at the First Nations University, performed chemistry experiments with students and shared his own draw to chemistry which was the magic of it. Some of his experiments included the burning towel that didn’t burn and starting a fire without a spark. The students also got to experiment with alchemy by turning copper into “gold”.

Robotics
Dr. Edward Doolittle, a mathematics professor at the First Nations University, had premade robots that the youth could interact with. The robots were able to tell if something was in front of them and redirect their path so that they wouldn’t run into anything. The students made a maze that the robots had to navigate. At one point one of robots ‘escaped’ from the lab and cruised speedily down the hall.

Setting up a Tipi
Roland Kaye, the Elder’s helper at the FNUniv., gave tipi teachings and attempted to set up a tipi with a number of the students. Unfortunately, do to heavy winds the tipi could not be set up at that particular point in time. It was successfully set up later in the week and the students enjoyed roasting marshmallows and hanging out in the tipi they worked hard to set up. The tipi remained set up for the remainder of the week as a testament to what they can accomplish.

A Computer Science

This year the Health and Science Camp partnered with the University of Regina KHS Camp to offer a wider range of activities for the youth of both camps. The KHS Camp had a number of computer science graduates who taught the youth a number of interesting and relevant computer programming techniques. One of the activities was programming the popular Wii video game. The second activity involved creating a song on Mac computers using the garage band program. Both activities were highly enjoyed by the youth.

Games in the Cellar

The youth enjoyed supervised games in the cellar of Luther College. Available games included pool, shuffleboard, and video games. This form of structured free time allowed the youth time to strengthen friendships and interact with others their own age in their own way.

Talk and Medicine Walk with Elder Walter Lavallee

The group bussed to Piapot First Nation where Elder Walter lives. Upon arrival they each shook hands with Elder Walter and proceeded to his garage where he had set up chairs for his talk. He entertained the group with witty antics while teaching them about the significance of tobacco, the pipe and various ceremonies that he holds. After the talk he showed them his medicine shed where they got to smell and touch various dried medicinal plants. The next stop on his tour was his indoor sweatlodge where he spoke about his lodge, injecting lots of humour. After leaving the lodge, the group proceeded on a medicine walk behind his home. He showed the group many plants and their medicinal value. He also taught an interested group how to pick plants the proper way using tobacco. The visit to Elder Walter’s concluded with bagged lunch, bannock and berries.

BBQ and Activities with SEIMA
Leon O’Soop of SEIMA brought together a fabulous group of people to create a fun and interactive afternoon for the youth. There were three groups of presenters including Saskatchewan Science Centre, Wascana Centre Authority and Erin Consulting. SEIMA concluded the afternoon with barbequed burgers and hotdogs and a bag of gifts and information about environmental programs.

Science Centre

Instructors from the Science Centre brought a number of interactive items to share with the students. They discussed energy with the electron generator, demonstrated physics and gravity with a pressure pedal and foam arrow, tested natural design by having some volunteers step on an egg, the power of friction with a carefully folded set of phonebooks, and peaked interest in biology with their pet snake.

Bird Watching with Wascana Centre Authority

Jared Clarke, naturalist at the Wascana Centre Authority, led the youth in a bird watching session (modified from the originally planned ecology walk because of rain). Each person was taught how to focus their binoculars and then proceeded to look at the numerous birds that flew around the building.

Environmental Sciences

Two presenters from Erin Consulting discussed environmental sciences with the youth. In their session they had each person introduce themselves along with their favorite animal and favorite thing to do outside. This served as a segway into the vast number of positions available through environmental sciences. The presenters also discussed the current need for environmental sciences that has resulted from the number of humans on the planet and how we have set up our societies, including permanent building, factories, mining, forestry and the resulting air, water and soil pollution.

Sexual Health Education

Christine Bilinski gave three sexual health presentations. The first was done with all the students and included primarily HIV education. In one activity a number of students were given a jar of clear liquid and had to share fluids with three other people, only one person had the ‘HIV virus’ in their fluids. In the end Christine “tested” them by adding a particular chemical to their jars and all jars were ‘infected’. She also dispelled some myths about sexuality and promoted abstinence as the only safe sex. The next day Christine did separate presentations with the girls and the guys. The genders were separated so that appropriate topics could be covered for each group and to create a safe environment for asking questions.

Cree Language Activities

The Cree language activities were a fun way to build language into the camp. Bill Cook, a sessional instructor at the FNUniv., took a wide variety of approaches to teaching language to the students over two evenings. He taught language in a classroom setting with pictures, he played songs to them in Cree and had them share their own. He also played a number of games with the youth. The language component inspired many of the youth into wanting to learn their own language. The collaboration of Department of Indigenous Languages and Linguistics within the Health and Science Camp is integral to providing youth with a full understanding of the worldview of Indigenous peoples in regards to health and science.

Four Directions

The Four Directions Community Centre was an opportunity for the youth to explore possible career directions and what a career in health might look like. Dr. Gill White and Christel Gee were the primary coordinators for the Four Directions visit. Dr. Gill White is a physician at the clinic and Christel Gee organizes the Pre-Professional Health Club that encourages and supports youth into entering into a career in the health sciences. A variety of health practitioners including nurses, coordinators, support staff and Dr. White shared information on their chosen careers including what courses are needed in high school to prepare, personal challenges and triumphs they had, and some of the duties that they would be required to do. The students received hands on experience in suturing a pig’s foot. Each person was given a real pig’s foot and suturing supplies. The nurses and Dr. White then taught the youth how to make tight stitches and tie knots in the stitches, just as they would do if they were in nursing or medical school. The students also enjoyed a tour of the 4D facilities and were provided with a catered lunch from the Sioux Chef.

Bugs, Plants and Water

This session was a series of fun, hand-on activities that teach about the natural world. There were three sessions that the students moved between, edible plants with Michelle Biden, pond dipping with Christine Bilinski and a game called “Are you Me?” with Christine, Thomas Squirrel, and Robert Cote.

Edible Plants

In the edible plants session the students did a tour of the Native Prairie gardens at the FNUniv. and got to try a number of edible plants on the grounds. They learned the protocol for picking plants with tobacco and had the opportunity to pick mint leaves that was later made into tea for the group.

Pond Dipping

During the pond dipping session the youth fished out a variety of bugs and other creatures living in Wascana Lake. Using a guide they were able to identify the bugs and learn about the quality of the water depending on the bugs they found.

Are you Me?

“Are you Me?” is a game in the Project Wet series. The participants are given tags with bugs or animals on them. Using only the image they have to find either their baby or their mother. Many of the adult animals look drastically different from their baby form.

Planispheres

The students created their own paper planispheres that can be used to map out the sky at any given point in the night. Chanz Thomas, part of an FSIN/FNUniv. camp partnership led this activity. Because the sky stayed bright until quite late and because there is quite a bit of light given off by the city, the students were not able to use their planisphere’s during the camp. They were, however, given directions on how to use them and many students expressed interest in learning more about astronomy.

Career Rotation - Nexen Inc., SIAST, SaskPower

Students enjoyed some interesting presentations on future jobs in the sciences from Nexen, SIAST, and SaskPower. The students rotated through each presenter in smaller groups that enabled more interaction with each of the presenters.

Nexen Inc.

Becky Cook, a geophysicist from Nexen brought a number of rock samples that were passed around during her presentation. She discussed the nature of geophysics, a number of types of rocks found in Canada as well as their significance.

SIAST

Hamilton Greenwood is a dynamic presenter from SIAST. He did a presentation/test on people’s knowledge of prairie plants and animals while discussing his experience as a conservation officer. Hamilton is the Program Department Head at SIAST Woodland Campus in Prince Albert and he talked about the opportunity for youth within this discipline as well as mentioning other academic programs that are available including Natural Resource Technologies such as Conservation, Forest Ecosystems Geographic information Science, Resource and Environment Law and Forest Ecosystems.

SaskPower

Two presenters from SaskPower came to talk to the students about opportunities at SaskPower. One of those people was Agnes Brass, a Recruitment Officer at SaskPower and the second presenter has a background in ecology. Together they encouraged the students to take all their sciences in high school and to consider a career in the sciences as there are numerous jobs waiting for them when they finish their university degrees.

SaskPower also sponsored a pizza lunch for the students on the last day of camp that was a HUGE hit as well as providing them with a goodie bag including a variety of treats and a t-shirt.

SIAST Nursing Activities

The students were exposed to a number of exciting aspects of nursing during their visit to SIAST. Upon arrival they were toured through a portion of the SIAST building, making them feel more comfortable if they were ever to apply or seek educational opportunities. When they arrived in the classroom they settled in to watch an 11minute video about opportunities in the health field that consisted of all Aboriginal role models. After the video they were divided into three groups where they got to experience more hands on activities. The first group tested their blood pressure with Selena Talbot. The second group learned proper handwashing techniques in order to avoid spreading illness, especially during the flu season. The final group, led by a young, male Aboriginal student explored with wheelchairs and crutches. The students had the opportunity to rotate through each of these stations. To end their visit, SIAST provided fruit and ice cream snacks for the group. Information from the students was collected at this session that will be given to the Pre-Professionals Health Club. This information will allow the Club to follow up with career and education information and mentorship opportunities for interested students.

Science Centre and IMAX

An exciting youth led afternoon was spent at the Saskatchewan Science Centre. The youth were given approximately an hour and a half to explore the interactive displays and games at the Science Centre. Following their personal exploration, the group ate lunch outside and then enjoyed a movie at the IMAX. ROAR was an education film about lions in the Kalahari Desert. The group enjoyed snacking on popcorn and a drink during the picture and were impressed by the massive theatre.

Swimming at the University of Regina pool

After the IMAX, the students burned off some energy in the U of R swimming pool. Two lifeguards as well as supervisors were available in the pool. The students really enjoyed swimming.

Camp Video Presentation and Closing Prayer

Robert Cote, a camp supervisor, alumni of First Nations University of Canada, teacher, and continuing student, took the time to provide the camp with photos and a video presentation of the camp experience. Robert’s hard work and dedication to the camp provided us all with a living testament of the great experience and life long memories that were made at the camp.
We viewed the DVD during the closing ceremonies of the camp and each student received a copy to take home. The 2009 Health and Science Camp closed with a prayer from Elder Isador Pelletier.