Thimbleberries taste like raspberries. And they’re a little bit crunchy.
Kids who attend the Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre’s homesteading summer camp already know this. They learn how to make jam with thimbleberries, as well as huckleberries and salmonberries, all found out in the forest of Lynn Canyon Park.
The homesteading camp is one of the many being offered at the centre this summer and focuses on domestic survival skills, according to Tricia Edgar, education programmer.
There are a lot of edibles in the forest, notes Edgar, but it’s important to know what’s safe to eat and what isn’t. Certain roots and tree bark are edible, especially in the form of tea, but while kids participating in ecology centre camps get a sample of these forest feasts they also learn not to harvest great quantities of the food as the animals need it too.
And while homesteading may not seem like a typical topic of conversation at the ecology centre, Edgar explains that it is used as a platform to talk about broader subjects such as the local ecosystem and how to grow plants for pollinators.
“Kids love learning new skills whether they’re making a garden planter out of recycled wood or they’re going out into the forest and learning about how to build a shelter,” says Edgar.
The centre’s long-running Survivor Skills camps are popular every year. Participants in this camp learn how to build shelters, how to stay dry and warm in the forest, and other skills they need to know whether they are out in the woods for a day or staying overnight. When kids go outside and connect to the forest through sensory activities it makes them feel more comfortable outdoors, says Edgar.
Nature Inspired Art is another camp being offered at the centre this summer and features creating things with natural materials, observing, drawing, painting and sketching.
Participants also make maps for scavenger hunts and do land art, which is using found materials from the forest, such as leaves and sticks, to create an art piece then returning the items back around the forest floor. It’s an ephemeral type of art, notes Edgar. She says the programs at the ecology centre are mainly focused on education but “also having fun outside because that’s a big part of summertime.”
Summer camps at the Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre are for kids ages five to 12. Weekend parent and preschooler programs also run throughout the summer with many of the same themes as the summer camps.
For more information visit the website at lynncanyonecologycentre.ca.
