One of Camp Kawartha’s many community initiatives is the Pathway to Stewardship and Kinship collaboration. With over 50 organizations involved in its design and launch, the Pathway Project has entered into an exciting pilot phase this fall.
Children hatching and releasing Monarch butterflies; volunteers learning how to be nature mentors; Early Years educators learning nature songs, rhymes and stories for preschoolers – these have all happened this fall under the umbrella of launching the Pathway project in local centres.
The Pathway to Stewardship and Kinship is built around a series of 30 ‘Landmark’ experiences that nurture caring, connection and responsibility for the wellbeing of each other and the world we share. It has generated a great deal of interest amongst educators, health professionals and environmentalists across North America, and it all started in Peterborough – under the leadership of Camp Kawartha!
47 elementary classrooms and several Early Years Centres have agreed to weave the Landmark activities into their programs this year. That’s more than 1500 children and their families who will have memorable outdoor and community-linked experiences to foster physical and mental health, meet inspiring mentors and work on projects to enhance environmental health.
Our thanks to the good folks at Queen Elizabeth, Immaculate Conception, St. Joseph’s and Millbrook South Cavan Elementary Schools, Compass Early Learning and Care, and Early ON Child and Family Centres for agreeing to pilot the project, and provide feedback to help fine-tune as we move forward. Many talented people have offered to support teachers as we work together to make these simple, but important experiences part of the culture of childhood, both at home and at school.
The Ontario Trillium Foundation and local donations are supporting this pilot phase, and we hope to expand next year. For more information, visit the project website, or contact Cathy Dueck at cathy@pathwayproject.ca
