All classes in Grades 6 through 9 at George Rogers Clark Junior-Senior High School in Hammond recently experienced a unique field trip right in their own back yard — a canoe trip around Wolf Lake located only a few blocks from the school.
The venture was made available through a partnership with the National Park Service, Dunes Learning Center and Wilderness Inquiry.
“Part of our outreach program at Dunes Learning Center is the Mighty Acorns program, which we deliver with Shirley Heinze Land Trust and the Field Museum,” executive director Geof Benson said. “This year, we leveraged the Mighty Acorns connections and others to experience the Canoemobile as part of their fall field trip for watershed education.”
After walking with her classmates the few blocks from school to the Wolf Lake Pavilion, Clark ninth-grader Jazlyn Robles of Hammond talked about her first experience with a canoe last year while on vacation with her family.
“That was very exciting and I’m looking forward to my second time,” she said “It wasn’t too hard.”
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Classmate Riley Bishop of Hammond wasn’t apprehensive about her first try with the canoe paddles.
“I’ve never been canoeing, so this is a new experience for me,” she said, as her group was instructed on the finer points of paddling. “I’ve been to concerts and fishing here at Wolf Lake, but not on a boat. It’s very exciting to see things from a different view.”
The Canoemobile is a traveling fleet of 24-foot canoes going across the nation to teach environmental literacy to urban youth. Students from 24 cities in Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties participated in the program, which also includes home schools and a Boy Scout group.
Clark teachers attended an introductory class at Dunes Learning Center before bringing the program to their classrooms.
“This (program) is really beneficial to the students,” said Clark American literature teacher Aquinas Lewis, as her class took part in nature activities before heading to their canoe. “They can take what they’ve learned in class and bring it to life.”
Before stepping into the 12-seat Voyager canoes, the students were given safety tips, instruction on how to handle a paddle, and other pertinent information.
Once everyone was settled in their seats, Wilderness Inquiry educators gave lessons to the students as they skimmed across the lake.
The water-based adventure makes a big impression on both students and educators, according to Benson, the Dunes Learning Center executive director.
“You can see how proud and excited they are as they get out of the boat,” he said. “Students leave the experience more confident and ready to learn. That’s why we do it.”
In addition to the three-day student event, Dunes Learning Center also hosted a Community Day for the public at Wolf Lake. Canoe lessons and a trip around the lake were on the agenda.
Kassie White and her son Adam, 14, were among the dozens going out in the water.
“It was very interesting to learn exactly what’s in this area,” she said of the discussion on the canoe. “Seeing the natural habitat from this view was an eye-opener.”
Sue Ellen Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.