Common Place #5: Using Your Surroundings

In grade eleven I was in the Greenall Outdoor School (ODS) program and in that we went on multiply week long trips to different ecoregions around Saskatchewan.  We would visit different historical sites and learn all about what happened there and how it impacted Canadian history. I consider myself extremely lucky to have been in that program as it helped me to began embodying what I was learning compared to just being in the classroom. On this one trip we went on a  four day 40km backpacking trip to Grey Owls cabin. Grey Owl was a British born man who chose to take on a fraudulent First Nations identity as an adult. He was a well known author and lecture in where he challenged people to re evaluate there relationship with nature. He largely focused on humans negative impact on the environment as a source for profit of natures resources. Once we reach Grey Owl’s cabin which is very isolated. We started to recognize the respect he had for the environment as everything about his cabin and the way he lived was trying to respect it.

I really liked what Newbery said in Canoe Pedagogy “Presenting
students with representations of how Aboriginal peoples have been strong,creative, and resilient throughout Canadian history…”. This quote stood out to me as I remember thinking how strong, creative and resilient Grey Owl must of been to be able to live out in the middle of no where and create everything he needed to survive of the resources around him.

My visual is of my ODS class standing in front of Grey Owls actual cabin where he lived completely off the land with his two pet beavers raw hid and jelly roll. The cabin had a beaver lodge on the inside.


One thought on “Common Place #5: Using Your Surroundings

  1. Hi Blake!
    I really liked how your blog post relied on an experience that you had in high school. You storied your post in a way that makes sense to me and makes me feel like I was there too. The quote you included is very powerful and you related it to Grey Owl very well. How can you use your experience on living off of the land in your future classroom in a meaningful way?
    Great post!
    Kayla F

    Liked by 1 person

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