Summer well-being program connects kids to the land

Empowering students to get in touch with their surroundings, the Summer Well-Being program is set to offer a wide range of outdoor, land-based activities guided by a blend of western and Indigenous approaches to mental health.
The Superior-Greenstone District School Board (SGDSB) has partnered with communities along the north shore to bring the Summer Well-Being program to kids in Nipigon, Schreiber, and Geraldton from Aug. 12 to 16.
Deana Renaud, manager of mental health for the SGDSB, said each camp includes a combination of education and mental health staff working in partnership to deliver programming to the kids.
“We’re giving that very well-rounded, holistic perspective on education and mental health,” she said.
Renaud added each of the communities involved in the program have really stepped up to the plate in terms of the programming their camps will offer.
Additionally, every camp will feature at least one activity where kids get the chance to interact with and learn from a local Indigenous Elder.
For example, Renaud said, Geraldton’s camp will see an Elder take the group berry-picking, ribbon skirt making is one of the exciting activities planned for the camp in Schreiber, and a knowledge-keeper will be leading a beading workshop with kids in Nipigon.
Parks Canada has also partnered with the Nipigon and Schreiber camps on some of their programming.
The SGDSB have contacted North of Superior Counselling Programs (NOSP) and their Dilico staff to partner as well in an effort to show kids how mental health teams in the region can work together.
“A big part of the design of this program was, ‘How are we truly connecting kids to the community and building their understanding of the services, supports, and things that are available right there in their own backyard?’
“All of our mental health staff with our board are super passionate. A lot of us are really passionate about the outdoors,” she said.
According to Renaud, the impetus for this new program started with a shift in the Ministry of Education and a greater focus on mental health in schools.
“They’ve been focused on extending that support into summer months. This summer, our board has really decided on prioritizing well-being in the region,” she said.
She added the SGDSB received funding from the ministry to hire multiple therapists to work over the summer and keep students engaged and connected with mental health supports and services.
She said another portion of that same funding has been put towards putting on the summer day camps and activities which comprise the Summer Well-Being program.
“We wanted to provide students with the opportunity to engage with land-based outdoor activities that really highlight Indigenous culture and mental health.
“A big part of the reason why we wanted to do this is because, in our part of the region, we are invested in the integration of Western approaches to mental health with an Indigenous worldview and how much of a priority that is for a lot of people in our region.
“We really wanted to support our communities and students to see that hiking is medicine, drumming is medicine, meaningful connections to other people is medicine, being on the land is medicine, and finding purpose and passion for the things you can do right here in your very own community is medicine,” she said.
Another inspiration for the Summer Well-Being program, however, was the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board and their focus on land-based activities in mental health programming last year.
With gratitude, Renaud said that she was spurred on to pursue this type of programming after she spoke with Katie Matthews, mental health lead for the Catholic Board.
“We’re really wanting to jump on that train . . . We saw, by example, how important that programming can be,” she said.
Renaud further acknowledged the fact that a number of challenges, including poverty, drug use, and busy schedules, make it difficult for some parents and families to make time for connecting outdoors.
“Even if we don’t struggle with social determinants of health, we get caught up in what has to be done, or we feel like should be done.
“I don’t think as adults or parents we prioritize being out on the land as much as we should because there are other things that interfere with that. Life interferes with that all the time.
“I think we’re kind of in a transition period with education in the Northwest in general, identifying the importance of being outside and all of the positive impacts that it has not only on mental health but also on actual learning opportunities.
“We need to make connections to that for kids in a very intentional way because we’ve gone down the path so far of screens, social media, and online things that we’ve removed ourselves so far . . . that we need to look at how you can do some really important tactile learning and build your skills for tolerance and well-being when you spend time out in nature,” she said.
For more information, contact Renaud via email at [email protected]; alternatively, the SGDSB’s Facebook post has contacts for each camp.
Camp registration ends on Aug. 1.
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