Hazeltons On-line
Smithers/Telkwa On-line
Houston/Topley On-line
Gransle On-line
Burns Lake On-line

PAGE ONE
OF THREE

HomeSearch past articles

A New Way of Learning
by Debi Osborne
The Northwest Community College in Houston offered something unique on its roster this Fall; a course that pays students to come and learn in a new way.

The nine youths, aged 17-24, that qualified for this program, appear Monday to Friday to spend 5 hours learning by experiencing rather than from books. To date, they have not spent a lot of time in their classroom. They enjoy working outdoors, rain or shine.
Gaining work experience: seining the Bulkley River with Fisheries employees
Youth Experiential Learning (YEL) is funded by Human Resources Development Canada and Fisheries Renewal B.C. It has a long list of partnerships with other community groups and agencies (Houston Link to Learning, Ministry of Forests, Ducks Unlimited, etc.) and attracts volunteers from the community.

Projects that students will complete during the course this year include upgrading the Duck Pond area. They have already built the main boardwalk and viewing platform. Concerned about safety, the group modified the construction plan to include a railing which will be placed around the perimeter.
Building a boardwalk at the Duck Pond
Already integrated into the regular school systems in countries like Scotland and Australia, YEL was first attempted in Northwestern BC by Ann Docherty of Hazelton. Run as a pilot project, her course proved promising with fifty percent of the students deciding to continue on with their education or to find suitable employment with their new work skills and confidence earned during the course.

Hazeltons On-line
Smithers/Telkwa On-line
Houston/Topley On-line
Gransle On-line
Burns Lake On-line
copyright © 2001, Northwest Design, Smithers, B.C., Canada