The Grand Finale

Well, my goodness how time flies! So much has happened in the last few weeks - from New Denver to Syringa, touring the Hugh Keenleyside dam and then traveling up the Kootenay canal past the several generating stations. We really are living and learning - as we read, discuss and experience the issues and topics of our courses. The cycling trip was fantastic and we had a nice finish in Nelson for a few days.

While in Nelson we had another It Takes All Kinds sessions with four new excellent speakers who all shared their views and experiences on facilitating social and environmental change. It is inspiring and motivating to hear their stories. Some of us also told our own Redfish story being interviewed on the Kootenay Co-op radio program "Be the Change". That was pretty cool!

After Nelson, we then headed into Kokanee Glacier Park for our grand finale Redfish trip. We hiked up and up (in the snow!) all the way to the beautiful cabin. We stayed there for four nights. We did some day hiking in the beautiful sun and mountains. We read our own poems and narratives about nature which was so incredible. Everyone had such powerful pieces of writing - and reminded us of the many incredible places we had visited. We also shared our current thinking and plans for our community action projects - wow, what everyone is doing is so amazing! To close we had a ceremony and tried to make the moments last longer, moving towards our inevitable good bye.

Finishing at the source, the glaciers and mountains of Kokanee, from where all the drainages and valleys we had toured was appropriate. We went into the mountains, to the source of the waters, to the source of our spirits. There we connected in community once more before parting our ways, walking out of the mountains, and onto our own paths of action and change.

It's been a wild ride this Redfish experience. I am grateful for many many things, and look forward to the months to come for reflection and digestion of all that I have learned.

The last couple of days...

As mentioned in the previous post, we're currently staying for the next few days at Heart's Rest, and started from the Little Slocan Lodge. I thought I'd fill in the details for the time in between. We left the Lodge on the 24th of May, and biked down to the Slocan Lake docks. From there we loaded up our canoes - generously donated to us from individuals from the New Denver community, and paddled out to Evans Creek Beach. We had some sweet campfire ragers, stayed two nights, then paddled further on the lake to Nemo Creek Beach. A lot of us were becoming anxious after not having showered for three days, so along the way we stopped off at a campsite and jumped off of rocks into the lake. It was freezing cold, but it was a bright day, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky! We stayed at Nemo Creek for two nights, and had the opportunity to learn about the history of Valhalla Park - such a beautiful place, who would have thought the forests are all restored land! After Nemo Creek, we paddled further along the lake to Wee Sandy Creek, where we stayed for 4 nights. This was where one of the climax of our camping trip took place. The second night was scheduled to be an overnight solo. The instructors showed us how to set up tarps, then led us into the forests, up near the look-out, and along the beach - where we had to spend a night along on the island by ourselves. For many of us, this was a huge step, and we were all fairly nervous about it - the fact that a thunder storm was in the forecast didn't help reassure us either! And an adventure it turned out to be - from having trouble setting up tarps and freaking out, from dropping our dinner boxes and scavenging food off rocks, animal calls, and encounters with weird animals, the solo night was definitely an experience for all of us! After 8 days of camping, we finally arrived on the New Denver campground on the following Friday, (probably dirty, and smelly), but all feeling a great sense of accomplishment and self-fulfilment. We took off to the waters early in the morning at 7, and had a calm paddle into the village with the morning mist. Everyone appreciated the extra time to finally take showers, do some laundry, and relax after being exposed to the elements for so long. We had a barbecue that evening, and spent the night reminiscing the great time we had. We were at the campground for 3 nights, wrote a mid-term for the school, and then were welcomed to the beautiful home of George and Terresa at Heart's Rest. It's been a heck of an adventure - many more great memories await! STAY TUNED!!

Day 20 at Heart's Rest

Day 20! The Redfishies, as we collectively call ourselves are staying at Heart's Rest (http://www.heartsrest.com), a retreat centre just outside New Denver. The founders Therese and George have welcomed us warmly into their space. It has been raining for the last few days so we are extremely happy to use the centre as our home base while camping out on the porch overlooking Slocan Lake, and the Kootenay and Valhalla Mountains. Despite the rain, a few of us have gotten out to walk the labyrinth and gone into New Denver for some coffee and chocolate. Tomorrow we team up with Lucerne School and the Slocan Lake Stewardship Society to do some community work in New Denver. Looking forward to it!