CYC 391 occurs over the month of August 2022. .

The course includes two weeks of online asynchronous learning activities starting August 1, 2022. The material covered will include Leave No Trace principles, facilitation theory and techniques, and the naturalist project that must be completed and brought into the field.

The bulk of the course will be delivered during an 11-day back country canoeing  expedition in and around Strathcona Provincial Park. We will meet on VIU’s Nanaimo Campus on August 15 to pack food and equipment and head to the field. Students are responsible for their own transportation to the field. This will include completion of the Sayward Lake chain and Buttle Lake by canoe. There may be an opportunity to backpack into the alpine around Mount McBride. Days will be structured to allow for a balance of travel time and field-based course work. The course route is subject to change to accommodate weather/snowpack. There will be a half day practical exam at Westwood Lake in Nanaimo the afternoon after we return from the canoe trip to complete the paddling assessment for RCABC lakewater paddling certificates.

This course includes living, studying, travelling, and eating outdoors without access to running water, electricity, or communications technology for 12 consecutive days. Weather conditions may range from warm, sunny, and calm to windy, rainy,  or snowy and cold. Participants may need to carry up to 40% of their body weight over varied terrain that may be muddy, snow-covered, uneven, and steep. Participants will be required to submit a statement from their healthcare provider that they are physically and emotionally fit to participate in all aspects of the course.