The Happy Camper: Say Goodbye to Outdoor Education for Toronto Kids
Good grief! Another nail in the coffin towards outdoor education in Ontario. The provincial government has announced the closing of all except two of their outdoor education facilities for the Toronto District School Board (serving 235,000 students).
All outdoor education specialists, except for a skeleton crew at one residential centre (Mono Cliffs) and one day centre (Hillside), are being declared surplus and all outdoor education teachers will be returning to standard classroom teaching.
The reasoning given is that the maintenance cost is way too expensive to keep things running at the rest of the centres and in-school outdoor education programs.
It’s the tale of The Lorax all over again.
The Council of Outdoor Education of Ontario responded to the closures:
“These cuts are not modernization. They are abandonment. Outdoor education is not an extra or a luxury. It is an essential part of a healthy, equitable and future-focused public education system. It enhances learning for students and brings to life curriculum in ways not experienced through the four walls of a classroom.”
The attention towards the almighty dollar rather than preparing our children for a healthy and sustainable future isn’t new. I worked at outdoor education facilities throughout the mid 1980s—all of which have been closed or are now closing (I taught at the Etobicoke Outdoor Education Centre).
My teaching jobs at those centres were an incredible experience in my career. I loved working, and the staff and my colleagues were amazing people. We were all dedicated to educating the youth of the day about preserving wild places. Posters were taped to the wall of my office promoting saving Clayoquot Sound and Temagami’s old-growth forests. We led night hikes to hoot for owls, took the kids cross-country skiing while wearing our PJs and held countless outdoor activities to educate and enlighten them about the Great Outdoors. We were in our element, and so were the kids.
It was back then. However, the administration started bubble-wrapping the kids and burning out the instructors. Our night hikes and those at other outdoor centres were cancelled due to possible dangers, and then our pond studies were axed. Our high-ropes program was completely demolished. In a year’s time, school policies had changed. Instead of getting the kids outside, they were placing them back in the classroom. A good majority of school administrators believed a stuffy portable was a far safer place for the kids to be. Frustration grew rapidly among outdoor educators. Some took early retirement; some moved on to other positions. Soon there were fewer and fewer young teachers willing to take on the fight and keep the outdoor education programs going.
Ever since then, us outdoor educators have weathered a storm of constant cuts, being constantly labelled as “non-essentials” and continued to be told to bundle the kids in more bubble wrap. It seems to go in cycles with a bit of remission now and then, and even times of untroubled serenity, but it always goes back to fiscal responsibility and bean-counting crap.
During my career in outdoor education, taking youth into the outdoors has never been a priority or a necessity. It was defined as an administrator’s burden when it comes to advancement in their careers.
In current times, it’s not just the Toronto School Board that’s abandoning the youth of today. Other school boards across the province have already closed their outdoor education programs. The majority of college and university outdoor leadership programs have also been closed, including the one I taught at for over three decades.
So, what’s the big deal? Why should students be wandering about in the woods smelling flowers and gawking at ant hills instead of learning mathematics or a skilled trade? The answer is quite simple.
I taught youth in the outdoors for over 40 years, and I’ve watched every single one of them excel with everything they do—including mathematics and a skilled trade—basically because they’ve spent time in nature. I’ve also witnessed time and time again that if they don’t spend quality time outdoors, then mental illness degrades beyond repair, anxiety levels peak, sedentary lifestyles are increased, violence erupts and our environment—the very thing that keeps us all alive—is destroyed.
In my opinion, Ontario should be building more outdoor education centres, not demolishing them.
Think about that while you’re having your beer on the beach at Ontario Provincial Parks this summer.
