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This was the plan for an October canoe trip for Secondary II students of Riverway Community Learning, a charter school in Minnesota City.
The group started Oct. 1 in Wabasha, Minn., and canoed down the Mississippi River to McNally Landing as part of an annual trip to learn about nature and sustainability.
The Audubon Center of the North Woods sponsors the school and sent four graduate students from Northland College and a leader on the trip to run the classes and plan activities.
The students did team-building activities and learned skills such as primitive, leave-no-trace camping, cooking food and setting up camp.
“The goal of the trip was to show the students that we are a small community within ourselves, that if we look in our own backyard we can find all aspects of nature,” teacher Leslie Lehnertz said.
Senior Savanna Lord said she liked getting to know everyone. “None of us were really close friends before the trip,” Lord said. “But then you work side-by-side and you get to know people. We’re all definitely friends now.”
Lehnertz said it was difficult at times to be with people. “It takes a bit of time to get accustomed to everybody.”
Students had to face physically draining parts of the trip — canoeing, setting up and taking down camp each night and cooking food.
“You find a mental outlook to keep going,” said junior Stephen Fleet. “It worked for me.”
The students and Lehnertz all said they would take the trip again “in a heartbeat.”
