Funding from flood efforts expands outdoor school program

Thanks to a generous grant from the Canadian Red Cross, First Nations youth from various communities will now be able to participate in an established outdoor education program.

Officials from the Canadian Red Cross have agreed to provide more than $320,000 to the Canadian Rockies Public Schools board.

The money comes from funds the agency raised following the devastating floods in southern Alberta in 2013.

The grant will go towards expanding the Stoney Adventure Group Experience program, which has operated out of Canmore Collegiate High School for the past seven years. The program has allowed First Nations students to build confidence and character, skills which can be transferred later from the wilderness into the classroom and everyday life.

Jeff Horvath, the Aboriginal liaison teacher at Canmore Collegiate who heads SAGE, says the grant money will allow the program to be expanded through until 2016 to include Aboriginal students from schools in other Treaty 7 communities.

“We’re pretty excited about this opportunity and the chance to expand the program,” Horvath said.

This March, a four-day excursion took place to Banff National Park, with the 16 students split evenly between Canmore Collegiate and Morley Community School.

Horvath is also hoping to stage three other trips before the conclusion of the current school year. He has talked with officials from other schools who are interested in having their students participate.

Though the grant money being provided sounds like a hefty sum, Horvath said it won’t take long to use up the funds.

“It is big,” he said of the grant. “But outdoor education is pretty pricy. With the gear, transportation and food, it all adds up.”

Talks about providing the grant money first surfaced during the winter of 2013. Canadian Red Cross officials told Horvath they might be in a position to provide some funds for the SAGE program.

“My original plan was to ask for some canoes,” he said. “And they told me if you were to dream a little bit bigger what would it look like.”

Horvath then expressed a desire to expand the SAGE program to other schools, believing other schools can have similar success stories as Canmore Collegiate participants.

“We’re hoping to improve high school completion rates by developing resiliency in our people,” he said. “And graduation rates have generally improved at our school. Also the grades and attendance are improving with those students who have been through the program.”

Horvath is primarily the guidance counsellor for First Nations students at the school although he at times teaches drama and social studies.

Melanie Soler, the Alberta flood operations director for the Canadian Red Cross, is pleased with the partnership that has been forged through the grant.

“By supporting the SAGE program, we want to help First Nations students succeed in school and build their resiliency, so they can continue to pursue their dreams,” she said.

It’s not just people from Alberta that have helped to make this expanded program a reality.

“The funds were donated by Canadians who wanted to assist those affected by (the 2013 floods),” Soler said.

Photo Caption: The Stoney Adventure Group Experience program participants spent time at Cougar Creek near Banff National Park last year.