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-Integrated Programs

Integrated Outdoor/Environmental Education Programs This web page highlights a persistent, successful and exciting niche for outdoor education in Canada. Taught at the high school level, intensive, integrated outdoor/environmental programmes combine subjects such as Physical Education, English, Geography, Science, and Family Studies. In most cases, students spend an entire semester with the same peers and one or two teachers. Some programmes are based out of a single classroom or portable, moving out of the school for day-trips and extended expeditions; others are based at outdoor centers or camps, creating a mini-school campus away form the traditional concrete walls. Still others are constantly mobile, operating with no physical home base. Subject boundaries blur as students complete, canoe, hiking, and winter camping trips, bioregional and urban treks, and engage in environmental action projects, teach younger students and publish community-based magazines. A wide variety of programs have evolved, reflecting a combination of the strengths and interests of teachers, opportunities and interests existing in the local community, and needs and interests of students. Both anecdotal evidence and more formal research confirm that high school students flourish in these programmes. They rekindle connections with their communities, their environment and themselves while having an opportunity to define, redefine, and ultimately, feel more comfortable being who they are. At least twenty-six such programmes exist in public schools across Canada. It is our hope that the following resources – both articles and web links – will provide a space for current and prospective integrated programme teachers to access and share resources. – M.J. Barrett & Connie Russell To post additional information or make corrections to information provided on this site, please contact M.J. Barrett at barret2m@uregina.ca Special Feature Issue of Pathways (2002) highlighting integrated programmes Programmes Descriptions Integrated Programme Inventory Comishin, K. & Potter, T. ((2000). What’s going on in the wild west? Four public secondary schools that offer integrated curriculum outdoor education programmes. Pathways: Ontario Journal of Outdoor Education. 12(5), 26-29. Suggestions for Teachers Student Assessment and Evaluation Kozolanka, K. (1995). Engagement, evaluation and integrated programs. Pathways: Ontario Journal of Outdoor Education. 7(7), 28-32. Research Hobson, L. (1996). Environmental action: How do we make it happen? Pathways: Ontario Journal of Outdoor Education, 8(4), 27-28. Horwood, B. (1995). Energy and knowledge: The story of integrated curriculum packages. Pathways: Ontario Journal of Outdoor Education, 7(4), 14-18. Jupp, J. (1995). An integrated programme from the students’ perspective: The Bronte Creek Project. Pathways: Ontario Journal of Outdoor Education. 7(4). 19-23. Russell, C. & Burton, J. (2001). A report on an Ontario secondary school integrated environmental studies program. Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 5, 287-304. Programmes and Web Links (where available): Last updated September 29, 2003 Ontario Bronte Creek Project, Halton District School Board (Milton) http://www.brontecreekproject.org/ Outdoor Environmental Education Package, A.Y. Jackson S. S. (Kanata) Edventure, Banting Memorial Secondary School (Alliston) Geostudies, Barrie North Collegiate (Barrie) Environmental Studies Project, Carlton Place High School (Carlton Place) Community Environmental Leadership Program (CELP) Centennial High School (Guelph) Paris District High School (Paris)  (see p. 13) Dunville Secondary School (Dunville) Environmental Studies Program, Grey Highlands Secondary School (Flesherton) Natural Bridges, Hastings and Prince Edward School Board Education Centre, Belleville Ecobound, Bayside Secondary School Lifelines, Centennial Secondary School Environmental Training and Partnerships, Centre Hastings High School Environmental Leadership Program, Haliburton Highland High School Natural Connections, Moira Secondary School Leadership in Ecotourism, North Addington Education Centre R.E.A.L. L.I.F.E., Prince Edward Collegiate Institute Environmental Technology, Quinte Secondary School Outer Limits, Trenton High School Northern Outdoor Studies, North Hastings High School (Bancroft) Outdoor Education Program, Kenjgewin Teg Educational Institute, M'Chigeeng Geoventure; Roots to Routes, Moira Secondary School (Belleville) Windsong, Opeongo High School, (Douglas) TAMARACK, Deep River Secondary School (Deep River) Beyond the Walls, Resurrection Catholic Secondary School (Kitchner) Enviroworks, Limestone District School Board (Kingston) Terra, Timiskaming Secondary School, (Cobalt) Integrated Semester Program, Outward Bound Canada (Burk’s Falls) – Private school Ontario Ministry of Education Interdisciplinary Studies Support Site Saskatchewan Outdoor School, Marion Graham Collegiate (Saskatoon) TREK School, Balfour Secondary School (Regina) Adventures in Learning and Leadership, Riffel High School (Regina) Outdoor School, Carlton Comprehensive High School (Prince Albert) British Columbia Earthquest, Vernon School District  Trek Programme, Vancouver School Board Environmental Awareness Program (EAP), Mount Baker Secondary School (Cranbrook) Yukon Experiential Science, Wood Street School (Whitehorse) Achievement, Challenge, Environment, Service (ACES), Wood Street School (Whitehorse)