The Green City Adventure Camp

Returning Summer 2011

Children thrive when they are physically and socially active in natural settings. And they don’t have to leave the city to experience this. The Green City Adventure is a 10-day exploration and discovery of the green side of Toronto.

Each day the adventure begins at Evergreen Brick Works and in the adjacent 11.5-hectare wetland park, a beautiful green oasis in the heart of the city. Children will explore this enchanting landscape and discover its amazing array of wildlife. They will venture further afield, on foot and by bike, through Toronto’s trail networks, following the paths of wildlife and learning how nature moves through our city. They will follow the flow of water, upstream and downstream, and see how the ravines are the lifeblood to the city. They will travel through what will increasingly become a landscape of stories. And they will begin to orient themselves around these stories, which will deepen their sense of place in this city.

See what this year’s campers have been up to on our blog:
August 16: Green City Adventurers Take Over Evergreen Brick Works

Activities Include:

• planting, harvesting, preparing, cooking and eating local food
• building shelters with mud and willow, and bricks and mortar
• navigating the city by the ravine trail system
• a CAN-BIKE training course
• biking to the lake for a picnic lunch, swimming and beach volleyball

Sample Day: The Ravine Exploration

A meandering hike along the Beltline trail, following the course of historic Mud Creek, searching for signs of urban wildlife and discovering the amazing stories written on the ravine landscape.

Schedule

9–9:30am – Opening Circle: Warm-up activities and orientation to the day.
9:30–11am: Visit the garden to check the harvest; morning snack; review safety protocols.
11am–noon: Hiking on a ravine exploration!
Noon–1pm: Lunch in a local park. Supervised free time.
1–2pm: Adventure mapping (like Capture the Flag while learning to read a map)
2–3:15pm: Hike back to Evergreen Brick Works along a different route, maps in hand.
3:15–4pm: Group gathering, clean up; end of day reflection; and getting ready for home.

Mementos

Most of our experiences will be focused on being active, team building towards a common goal. There will also be time for campers to work on projects individually, which will result in some creative camp mementos. Over the course of the Green City Adventure Camp, each camper will bring home:

• a journal of their adventures – including found objects, maps, drawings and notes
• a Green City Adventure T-Shirt – organic cotton t-shirt, using plant-based dyes and vegetable inks
• a herb or vegetable windowsill garden
• Eco-Crafts made using upcycled materials
• samples of the healthy snacks like bread, pizza, and cocoa bricks
• photographs of the places they see in their adventures in the green city

Contact Us

For more information, please contact Lisa Spinks, Community Events Manager, Evergreen Brick Works, by email: lisa@evergreen.ca

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