Connection is at the heart of every Power To Be program; connection with nature, ourselves and others. This has been the impetus behind our program planning. Over the last year we have met and had many conversations around how best to serve our community. We have been exploring questions around what are people needing at this time and how can we best support them? As a result, we’ve created new program offerings that might look much the same as we’ve offered in the past but are designed with the intention to foster a sense of connection, help grow people’s skills, and provide a social program where everyone involved feels a sense of excitement, belonging, and achievement.
On a nice sunny day, a group of youth and adults met in a park in North Vancouver nestled in an inconspicuous place off the highway. I have lived in the area for a decade and had never ventured to this special park. This was the 2nd of 3 “Activity Sampler” programs offered and focused on Hiking. We set, heading north, along Lynn Creek under the canopy of green as far one could see. One of our visually impaired participants commented that they could smell the change in vegetation when we started on the trail.
Arriving at a big clearing we stopped to discuss specific considerations when heading out on a day hike; preparing a trip plan, trail selection, what to bring on a hike and even a bit about how we prepare as guides. Sharing our collective knowledge was fun and everyone was keen to listen and learn in order to stay safe on other adventures.
As we headed down the trail to a pedestrian bridge we laughed, danced and, of course, snacked! The new progressive programing has offered a chance for folks to engage more deeply with individuals as you participate with the same group of people, meeting multiple times over a 6 week period. This structure allows more time to delve deeper in to skill development and make lasting connections.
As a facilitator is has been great to see folks in the program laugh and talk together, push themselves in a safe environment to learn and grow their outdoor adventure toolbox.
