The canoe has a special place in Canadian heritage and now it also has a spot in students’ lives at Canmore Collegiate High School.
The CCHS Canoe Building Project is in its second year and organizer Hans Holthius said part of its focus is to address developing the whole child for students not inclined to group activities like sports or band.
He said as humans, we develop morally, cognitively and physically and school helps us along, with team activities playing an important part.
“One thing that we did not have here are groups that help the non-athletic and non-musical students,” Holthius said. “Partly it is about helping kids do something outside the traditional academic.
“That is one need this project is meant to develop.”
It all fits into the Inspiring Hearts and Minds project Canadian Rockies Public Schools have spearheaded and Holthius hopes it also connects the school with the community.
Developing the whole child includes having students look outside the classroom and see a community focus for the canoes.
“My hope is that, however long from now, we have a fleet of canoes and that is something the whole community can use,” Holthius said.
Canoeing is a part of the physical education program at the high school, however, it depends upon six canoes from the local Scouts group.
Holthius said by developing the canoe club, which sees students build the watercraft at lunch and after school, it can eventually supply its own for phys ed class.
It all began two summers ago when Holthius and shop teacher Rob Vanderlee did extensive training in the U.S. to build canvas covered wood canoes and learned the skills to teach that craft in the high school.
Sponsors included Lafarge, the Town of Canmore, Alberta Sport Recreation Parks and Wildlife Foundation, Graymont, Lion’s Club, Canmore Woodcrafters, Pacific Centre for Leadership and Roy Wuitschic.
With the money raised from each, the two teachers drove to Stewart River Boatworks in Minnesota and spent six days of intensive workshop time learning the craft as best they could.
“Building these things is actually very complicated, which is part of the intent,” Holthius said.
The fundraising also paid for materials for the teacher-made canoe they brought back with them and one more for students. After the work in Minnesota, the school now also has the form around which future canoes will be built, hand tools for working on it and two teachers who know what to do.
CCHS student J.P. Anderson-Young has been one of the students working regularly on the project.
He said getting the canoe’s ribs in place was a painful process and a lot of work but said, “that’s when it was really cool, because it began to look like a canoe.”
“It was fun working on it,” Anderson-Young said, adding the goal is to have it ready for the water this spring. “I think it is great and personally I am very involved in canoeing in the summer so I was eager to see the process coming together.”
Holthius also spoke about the challenges of the program, which includes consistent participation after school and at lunch hours from students not attracted to sports teams or band.
“That was hard,” he said. “The kids that were hard to engage are hard to engage.”
This year, the program has begun with a focus on making paddles. The woodworking component can be used towards credits.
