Podcast Season 1 Ep. 2 - How Outdoor Education is Revitalizing a Rural School

In the second episode of the 21st Century Teacher, Principal Mike Hurley shares how a wilderness education program is rethinking rural education and helping his remote mountain community school thrive.

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Podcast Transcript

Hi, my name is Blue and I'm the host of this new podcast, the 21st century teacher with Live It Earth, and my job is to ensure that our teachers and students get the most out of our programs. This new podcast series is just one of the ways I'm going to be supporting our community of educators, with a monthly conversation with a special guest educator discussing a different aspect of 21st century teaching and learning.

Today, I'm talking with Mike Hurley, principal of the W.E. Graham School in Slocan City, the gateway to the Valhalla Provincial Park on Slocan Lake an hour north of Nelson, in the interior BC. Slocan City is an old mill town that has recently seen a resurgence as a commuter town to Nelson, and a remote worker's paradise. I'll be asking Mike about the challenges of keeping our small rural school alive, and the role of its flagship wilderness school program. So Hi, Mike, thanks for joining me on the podcast today. Great to see you. Can you give us a little bit of background about yourself?

Sure. So started actually working in the world of people with severe physical disabilities, and then made the move into teaching for a number of years around the Kootenay area, and then went into administration and I've been an administrator, in all the rural areas like Castlegar and Salmo.

And now and so again, you're not a stranger to working in a rural school? What are the challenges of a school working in a school in a remote area? I mean, this used to be a logging town, in its heyday, what are the challenges?

Yeah, I think, you know, the biggest challenge is to attract students to your school, in a rural area, because families might feel that there's, you know, perhaps a better education or something in the bigger cities that they could go to, and put their children into. And so I think it's finding ways to attract families to your school. And then also make sure that you're providing a good education within the school. And so that's, that's tricky. And then a hard part is, you know, as each child that you get in your school, it impacts the staffing that you have in a school far more dramatically than in a big school. So in a big school, if a couple of children leave your school, you don't even notice it. But in a small school, if children come or go, it's really noticeable on your budget.

So that being said, your school runs a long standing wilderness program, which I'm sure has a big pool for the community for the families in this area. So can you tell us a bit more about this?

Yeah, well, you know, it really sort of is the anchor of the school, if you will, and it is called the Valhalla wilderness program. And it really is for students in grade 9 and 10, who really, really embrace the outdoor life, hiking, biking, camping, skiing, canoeing, those kinds of activities. And so when you look at where we live, it also fits in with many of the families who live in this area, they do those kinds of things. And so to have their children's sort of go through a formal training, learning about being in the outdoors, and you know, we just had a child hurt their arm and you know, learning about risk versus reward when you're out in the woods and taking risks when you're a long ways away from help, you know, what are the decisions you need to make? So certainly, that program has been a real cornerstone of the school. And then in recent years, we've kind of pushed it down into our younger grades as well. So actually, all of our classes are out and about on a really regular basis. And so we're outside in the rain, and we're outside in the snow, and we're doing things that involve being out in nature.

That's fantastic. And is there a set program each week that all of the year groups, so they all participate in a wilderness program of some description.

They all do, but they're all on their own programs. So the Valhalla wilderness program, you know, they're out for four day trips, and, and they go away. They go away on the top of mountains and they go out on the lakes and they they are, you know, well into their trips. Then our younger class, which is great sevens and eights, we will do an overnight trip. And that's as far as they go. They'll do a camping trip. Maybe they'll cross country ski and go to a cabin and stay overnight and cross country ski out. And then our youngest of kids, they're more just taken hikes along the way. But even the hikes they take, you know, in other schools that I've been in, there's no way I would put my kids out on a hike that some of these young kids do, and they come back. They're just used to doing this kind of stuff. And so it's pretty cool. And then even our little guys, K1 and 2, even right now, it's raining outside and they've walked over about a kilometre to an Owl Sanctuary here. And so they're over there right now. And they'll come all trawling through the rain, right at the end of the day of school to get on the bus from home.

So what are the challenges? Given you’re the principal overseeing all of this? What are the challenges of running an outdoor program that you've seen?

Here? You know, I think the biggest challenge is to make everyone understand that, it's, it's the kids who go into these programs, particularly the Valhalla wilderness program, it's what they love to do. And it's, it's their jam. And so it's sometimes hard when some folks want to get into the program. But the truth is, the kid’s not really into that kind of thing. And Mum and Dad might be into it. But the child might not be really into it. So sometimes it's hard. When we're trying to fill the spots in Valhalla wilderness program, there's only 16 spots, by the way. And sometimes it's hard to kind of fill those spots, the way that they should be met. And for the younger kids, you know, I was walking with a kindergarten kid the other day, and same sort of thing. Like, you know, most of the kids are out there, but some of the kids aren’t loving it. And he was telling me how he hates hiking. And you know, so, you know, that's a bit of the problem when you maybe are putting much of what you do in one basket. And so we try to still offer everything for other kids, but our focus is getting outside and doing outdoor things.

How about the financial aspects of a program like this? Do you get funding from the Ministry? Does this have to be funded by the families? How does that work?

Yeah. So to get into the Valhalla wilderness program, three years ago, you would have had to pay as a parent, you would have had to pay $1,000 - $1,050. And, and then what has happened is, over the last few years, the school district has said, no, we, we want to support these kinds of programs. And so for ours, $1,000 is paid for each one of the children by the school district. And so parents don't need to put that cash out. However, there are other costs. And you know, you can't come riding in on your, you know, bike that has, you know, doesn't have disc brakes, and doesn't have some sort of suspension. Because the trails, these kids are riding our trails that I can't ride. And so you need a better bike may need some equipment that needs to be able to withstand the weather. And so those are costs that parents do have to bear to be in the program, we do have some stuff to loan out. So if there were a family that couldn't manage it, then we loan out to people. But there are certainly some extra costs that are part of that program.

Are there any fundraising activities to try and get some money together?

Yeah, so even though the board pays in $1,000. The other thing the board does is they support a teacher that's working with 16 kids. That's pretty amazing. You know, in other classes, there's 30 kids, right, so they make a real effort to support the program. And that's for safety reasons, when the kids are out on the top of a mountain 16 Kids feels like a million kids, when you're making safety decisions, and so on. And so they do a huge fundraiser in the valley. And families in the Valley have been for years supporting them, and they'll save their bottles, for months waiting for these students to come and collect the bottles. So they do that kind of a big bottle drive. And then that basically gives them enough money to pay for extra things like they needed a new snowmobile, believe it or not. So they borrowed money from the district. And then they've been paying it off. And yeah, pretty amazing, right? And so all of those kinds of costs are covered by their fundraising.

Wow, what an amazing community to support such an amazing program.

Absolutely. And we have families who show up at our office and they just give money.

Wow. That's amazing. That's fantastic. Really interesting to hear. So the Valhalla wilderness program. I mean, it's really one of the early flagship outdoor programs. I know it has inspired others like it. So how relevant do you think an outdoor program like this is? You know, now that we're in the 21st century? Does this, you know, with all the screen time that kids are exposed to? Have you seen, like, does it feel like there is a direct impact on the success of the kids, certainly in this school anyway?

Yeah, the, you know, the students who leave the Valhalla wilderness program are, you know, so sort of emotionally kind of connected and grounded, they tend to, you know, just because of the experiences that they've had, just around leadership and safety, they get first aid training, they get avalanche training, they hit, you know, a lot of these extra pieces that really helped them to kind of just bring some awareness to teamwork, what it's like to be, you know, part of working together rather than just worried about my own individual success. And so we absolutely see that our students go on to other schools and, and have the ability to get down and work hard and try their best, and think that they can do it. And that's amazing. As far as screen time and stuff. Yeah, I mean, our kids still do have screen time. But I also think that they become enlightened to all the opportunities that you know what they can do, in their spare time, that don't involve screen,

I think it's a really good point that you make around teamwork, and leadership, because so many of the kids do such an independent thing being on a screen. But knowing how to work well, in a team, I think that's such a good balance, you know, with all the screen time that they're really getting. Another question I have, that really relates to this sort of outdoor experience that your school offers the kids, your school has the pump track that's been developed. So there is a pump track. And for any listener, that isn't quite sure what a pump track is, this is a, maybe you can explain it better than me but it's a it's a biking track, basically, with lots of bumps and jumps, incorporated into it. So it's very physical, it's a great way for kids to learn, you know, they're balancing, it's a great way to burn off steam. So how did that come about? Like is that a school funded project? Is that the village supporting it, like, how did that come about, and where was the inspiration from?

Well, funded by Columbia Basin trust, and the village of Slocan and then supported by the school district. So three big partners there. And then, you know, local contractors do the work and they, they basically did much of the work for minimum wage, they were helping us out so much. And, you know, the, the inspiration was that, and this doesn't, you know, this is not negative at all, but our kids are more individual sport athlete kids, they just are so they ski and they bike, they hike, you know, and but, playing volleyball or something like that, we weren't so good at that. And, to me, it's just pointed out that that's kind of a little bit what it's like to be in a rural place, you know, sometimes it's hard to pull together a team. And so kids gravitated to the thing that they can do individually. And so it was pretty apparent that we needed another activity that our kids could burn off energy and get good at. And so the pump track idea kind of came up and then, you know, we just kind of rolled with it. And we got kids semi-involved in designing it. The designing of a pump track is actually way more complicated than I ever thought. So we were very lucky to get in some excellent designers. And they got the right materials. And they put it together in like, just over a month. And yeah, if you come here and hang out, which I invite you to come, you know, you're gonna see kids in the skateboard park, you're gonna see kids on the pump track you're gonna see ages K to 10 in those places, doing those things, and they're doing it remarkably well. And cool today, as I watched, you know, two kids teaching another kid how to skateboard and teaching another girl who brought her bike to school, nervous, worried, and the other kids were showing her “Oh, this is how you take the berm, this is how you turn in a berm. You got to turn a berm this way. This is the way you do it.” And yeah, pretty, pretty cool opportunities for kids to be leaders and helpers.

Yeah, that, that's amazing. That's such a lovely thing to hear. And so with that, it's obviously become a big part of the school culture to have the skate park and the pump track right there. So where does the risk management line get drawn? For you as a you know, as a principal and the other teachers, how much freedom do the kids really have with that?

Well, yeah, so, you know, in a place where kids have an opportunity to practice a lot, you watch them improve immensely. And so the risk management lies within, at the school level where, you know, I mean, in other schools, quite honestly, where the kids don't have the skill to skateboard and bike, like our kids do up here, and just simply because they've become attuned and spend hours doing it with their families, and then also during school time. And so basically, we have an “if you can do it, you can go there” approach. And so we don't cut it off at a certain age, because quite honestly, I have some kids who are quite young and who can, who can skateboard better than some of the kids in grade nine. And so it's more about, if you can do it safely, then you can go and do it. And then we always have our supervisors on hand nearby. And, and I don't want to, I don't want to jinx myself, but quite honestly, we've had very few injuries. Because our kids can actually this is what they do this is, you know, they know how to jump. They know how to skateboard, they know how to pump track, they know how to ride their bikes. It's pretty cool. Now other schools, maybe it's soccer, and the kids are amazing soccer players, and you know, you just let them go. Our kids would have a hard time organizing around some team sports the other day, we tried to play basketball, and it was hilarious. But you know, I put us out on a pump track. We're gonna, we're gonna send some people to the Olympics.

What a fantastic school. And I really, I love the fact that you're fitting into the needs of the kids, as opposed to them having to fit into the school and the activities. It's just, it's amazing. And being someone that lives in the area. Yeah, I can definitely speak to that as well. The level of skill at such a young age. But the school, you know, itself is allowing those activities and the exploration, and encouraging the leadership, which is fantastic, to bring up the younger kids. They're learning so much from that. It's amazing. It's amazing what you're doing. I love the fact that you guys, particularly the pump track that's just been developed, and the outdoor programs continue to thrive at your school. Really appreciate the you sharing your thoughts today.

Great. Well, thanks for, thanks for even noticing us.

I'm sure the the Valhalla wilderness program will be an inspiration to many around the province. Well, Mike, we'll see you again soon. And thank you so much for taking the time today to speak to us.

Thanks, Blue.

Thanks for joining us on the 21st century teacher. And we look forward to seeing you next time. Please do subscribe so you don't miss out on the next show. And also don't forget to check out our fantastic online learning platform which is app.liveit.earth. Thanks again and we'll see you soon.