(Facebook/ Learn to camp)

By Teena Monteleone

Camping

New Canadians experience the Great Outdoors

Jul 5, 2019 | 5:00 PM

A program offered by Parks Canada will allow new Canadians to experience camping for the first time this summer.

The Learn-to Camp program teaches participants how to set up a campsite, cook in the outdoors, wildlife safety, protecting the environment and water safety over the course of a two-day trip.

Research conducted by the federal government suggested many new Canadians face barriers to visiting and camping in Canada’s outdoors, including a lack of awareness of opportunity, access, equipment and knowledge. This weekend, the program will help break down those barriers for 50 new Canadians who will travel to Prince Albert National Park. For most of the participants, this will be their first exposure to the boreal forest.

“I learned how to make an amazing dessert baked with chocolates, marshmallows and bananas. I am very happy about it. I liked the hike on the Boundary Bog Trail and camping,” past participant Sophia Liang said.

Global Gathering Place is a non-profit settlement organization based in Saskatoon and has been involved in the Learn-To Camp program for the past five years. The organization has helped recruit campers for the trip to Prince Albert National Park this weekend. Program Manager Afton Tolley said they’ve had great feedback from the people who attended.

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“Often our clients have never camped before and for many of them, have never gotten outside the City of Saskatoon,” she said.

Last year, Parks Canada hosted more than 600 Learn-To Camp outreach events reaching over 96,000 participants in total. Public Education and Outreach Officer Scott Nesbitt said the ultimate goal of the program was to help promote some of the country’s most beautiful sites.

“We hope that by doing this we can inspire the next generation of stewards for Canada’s protected places,” he said.

All of the basic camping equipment required for the group is provided by Parks Canada. The participants are only required to bring sleeping bags, and the meals they plan to cook.

“That’s part of the learning process, learning how to cook in an outdoor setting and how to clean it up after they are done,” he said. “Whether it’s a larger animal like a bear or a smaller animal like a skunk, they can all ruin your day if they try to get into your tent to find that tube of toothpaste.”

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panews@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @princealbertnow