Goodbye, Slocan Valley

So it's day 14 of the program and finally time to say goodbye to Little Slocan Lodge, our home away from home.

What an incredible time we have had here! Being nestled between the mountains has been nothing if not an inspirational way to build our community and start our Redfish journey together.

Thankfully, we had full license to go out with a bang because it was Neelam's birthday yesterday! Of course, we had an epic kitchen dance party until the wee ours of the morning, with some intermittent howling at the moon. We also had a really wonderful metaphors in music jam session last night. It was amazing to compare this session with our last one almost two weeks ago. We were SO much smoother. It seems that our whole group is just on the same page, we each know where we fit in to make some beautiful music.

A highlight of the past few days was the BBQ at Nadine's house in New Denver. We all got to practice our mingling skills, as well as our local-organic burger-flipping skills. Thankfully, we were successful at both! It was wonderful to be able to network with so many of the active citizens in this area; their dedication to their actions was pretty incredible to see.

Well, its time to head out. (if I keep typing we might miss the only bus out of Castlegar, and I don't know how happy everyone would be with that...) Blog posts may be very limited for the next while, because we are going internet free to the farm and then on the canoe trip!

See you down the river!

We're Baaaaaaaack

Last night, a bunch of smelly, satisfied Redfishers returned from a successful first camping trip. We spent three days hiking and learning in Valhalla Provincial Park. What an experience! We stayed at a site called Evan's Creek, which was actually a RAGING WATERFALL! The power of the falls will 'stick with' a lot of us, as will the cold fresh water which is pure enough to drink straight from the source. What an incredible connection with nature. Another thing many of us will remember is the campfire chat on personal ecology we had on our first night. We have officially compiled a list of reminders to email to ourselves regularly so we don't forget our own ecologies and how to maintain them in the midst of all the 'paction' we will be doing.
Other highlights included our first solo time, in which we were able to contemplate our connection with nature. Even a hale shower didn't dampen our spirits! We also 'got our grade six on' and played a game with Monica about ecosystem services. Some very creative presentations later emerged as to how services such as food production, genetic diversity, and water are necessary. Let's just say we have many a budding actor/rap star among us.
We were also able to chat with Craig from the Valhalla Wilderness Society. It was really inspiring for many of us to hear from someone who had put so much into preserving an ecosystem in the area he had helped protect. What an amazing success story.
And of course, finishing a long hike back to meet up with Brenda, Dane, and delicious treats is never a bad thing!

week One in the Sun

Hello Redfish Comrades!
We're finishing up week one here with Redfish and the time is flying by! All three classes are in full swing and we are loving every second. There is something so satisfying about lying on your belly, giggling in the sunshine while supposedly taking your 'ecology' class.
Today us students started cooking our own meals and t'was delectable (however Alan is greatly missed).
We also tried our hand at Zumba... I'll let you be the judge of our success by these photos!

To Nelson We Will Go!

It has been such a whirlwind week here at Little Slocan Lodge! Between unpacking our bio-regional backpacks, starting all of our classes, having a really cool jam session with Jeremy, and eating Alan and Ricardo's AMAZING food we have had our hands pretty full.

We also got to try our hand at consensus decision making with the help of our lovely facilitator, Ruth. After only two days and four hours, we have come up with the fundamental values of Redfish School 2010! They are (drumroll please): community, passionate action (otherwise called 'paction'), creativity, learning, respect, and kincentricity (a lovely concept describing the connection between all organisms and our need to live in mutually flourishing relationships). TA DAAA.

We will now try to live these values for the next 6 weeks, starting today with our first field trip! We are headed to Nelson where we will do our first big grocery shop. Hopefully we pull it off, Ricardo and Alan have left us a lot to live up to...

We have arrived!

It has only been a few days since we began the program but already there seems to be a sense of comfort and familiarity developing within the group. The location is simply amazing and the Little Slocan Lodge has provided us with a wonderful home base from which to explore the area. Today we spent the afternoon learning about wild edible and medicinal plants with Shanoon, who's knowledge on the subject seemed to be almost limitless. We were also treated to a special dish for dinner...delicious nettles and coconut curry courtesy of Ricardo. This photo was taken at the very beginning of the program and I think it will be very interesting to compare it with a group shot near the end. Until then I can't wait for our next set of adventures!

Dane

Return of the Redfish

The second semester of the Redfish School of Change begins May 12th. Instructors met in preparation for the arrival of 16 students from across Canada. Building on the success of the first field school, and incorporating feedback from alumni, participants, instructors and guests along the way can be exciting for the adventure ahead.

Here's our schedule. Follow us as we head into the field for the future!

May 11: Arrival at Little Slocan Lodge in West Kootenays
May 12– 25: Activities, workshops, field trips and wilderness adventure throughout the West Kootenays, based from the Little Slocan Lodge
May 25–28: Ecological restoration and service learning on organic farm in southern Okanagan
May 29–June 4: Voyageur canoe trip down Fraser River from Harrison to Vancouver with various stops and guests along the way
June 5–10: Activities, workshops and field trips based from University of Victoria
June 11–14: Marine trip to Gulf Islands National Park
June 15–19: Activities, workshops and field trips based from Pearson College
June 19: Program ends in Victoria, BC
After June 20: Students implement their action projects with follow-up support and mentorship