Outward Bound sets new course in the Brick Works.
Firgrove Public School Grade 5 students Trinh Nguyen, left, and Michelle Le join the ball toss during Outward Bound activities at the Evergreen Brick Works recently. The events, held in conjunction with the Youth to Youth Coalition and Right to Play, aimed to build team co-operation skills. Outward Bound holds open houses at the Brick Works April 29 and 30.
Photo/MATTHEW SHERWOOD
After years of being located way up north, Outward Bound Canada has moved its centre of operations to the city.
Outward Bound is one of the many organizations to find a home at the Centre for Green Cities at the newly redeveloped Evergreen Brick Works in the Don Valley. It moved in October, but is holding an official open house April 29 and 30 to help raise awareness about what it does.
"Here our intention is to be more accessible to more people, particularly diverse populations and especially youth," said Margot Haldenby, Outward Bound's partnership development and community relations manager.
The not-for-profit, charitable, educational organization was founded on a philosophy of challenging young people in an effort to push their personal development.
"We're more than just canoeing and kayaking for the experience of doing that," Haldenby said.
All the activities Outward Bound undertakes fulfill the objectives of the organization's four pillars: physical fitness, mastery, self-reliance and resilience, and compassion through service to the community and the environment.
"It's more than just skill," Haldenby said. "It's more than just learning how to paddle a canoe."
The new location at the Brick Works site allows the organization to be accessible to a large population of people, many of whom may have never spent any time in the wilderness or even contemplated getting in a canoe.
"The hope is we will inspire them and build their self-confidence to do it in the wild," Haldenby said.
But, for many who visit the Brick Works site, a canoe may never be a part of their experience. A group of Grade 9 girls from Bendale Business and Technical Institute have pushed themselves and learned team work and leadership. The group has been to the centre three times in an effort to have the girls get to know each other - and themselves - better.
Bendale is a male-dominated school where there are just 17 girls in Grade 9. Because of this, said guidance counsellor Soula Koutlemanis, the Outward Bound program allowed them to bond and interact better in the school environment where there is the tendency toward arguing and gossip.
"They've made great strides," Koutlemanis said. "On every occasion when we left there was a feel-good kind of feeling. They trusted each other a little more and they'd expressed feelings to each other."
While those good feelings didn't always last to the next visit, she feels the girls have grown and become more self-confident. The first visit began with icebreakers and communication activities and from there the students moved to team-building exercises and attempted physical and personal challenges by climbing the onsite OB boulder, as well as the climbing wall and challenge tower.
"It provided an opportunity for the girls to experience things they hadn't before and challenge themselves and identify some strengths and feel successful," Koutlemanis said. "Each and every time, the girls were so excited about going again."
That's what Richella Hyde, the urban program co-ordinator, likes to hear. Programs are tailored to the needs of each school, community or corporate group, always keeping in mind the four pillars. Through the onsite obstacles - the 65-foot tower and 30-foot climbing wall - people not only challenge themselves, but break out of their usual interactions.
"Their interactions with these elements allows them to show a different side of themselves to their peers," she said.
Hyde said groups build on the skills learned through multi-day programming, which could take place consecutively or over several months, such as with the Bendale group.
"It's not just about the outdoor experience," Hyde said. "It's about the development of the human being."
The Friday open house is for school and community groups, while Saturday introduces Outward Bound to the general public. Visit www.outwardbound.ca for more information.