(submitted photo/Jim Snodgrass)

By Nicole Reis

Outdoor Education

Jonas Samson students will spend a winter night in a quinzee

Feb 19, 2020 | 4:53 PM

Students from Jonas Samson Middle School will spend a weekend in frigid temperatures sleeping in a quinzee.

Sleeping in the snow shelter is all part of a learning experience the Outdoor-Ed Club strives to teach students about wilderness survival.

Jim Snodgrass, teacher and organizer of the outdoor education club said the student club has been in place for over a decade.

“It’s near and dear to the heart having an outdoor education program at school so kids have an opportunity to experience things like outdoor winter camping. Not a lot experience it or want to do it,” Snodgrass said. “There are a crazy few who do and it’s actually quite a lot of fun.”

Students have spent time in the Greig Lake area at the Meadow Lake Provincial Park to camp, learn fire starting, knots, first aid, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, geocaching, and are given solo-time alone in the bush.

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“For some, they love it and for others, it’s a real switch,” he said.

Snodgrass manages 10 to 20 students with other school staff and said being out in nature is part of the human experience.

“There’s a lot of fun to be had exploring the wilderness. Kids learn some independence, leadership, how to collaborate, they learn how to be team players,” Snodgrass said. “There are so many social skills and problem solving that are learned along the way.”

Building a quinzee depends on snow conditions and involves making a pile of snow to settle before digging a hole.

“We go cross country skiing for several hours and let that all set. When we come back, we pull out shovels of different sizes and start digging an entrance and a sleeping area inside it. We slowly make it bigger until it’s ready to sleep in overnight,” Snodgrass said.

Snodgrass added the temperatures outdoors could be -22 where the inside of a quinzee could be zero degrees and insulated.

Students are slated to build the quinzee March 6 to 7 at Meadow Lake Provincial Park.

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nicole.reis@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @nicolereis7722