Case 1: H₂O Adventures meeting MELS curriculum requirements

Background: A Montreal area Cegep required an alternative form of physical education that would help to reduce the amount of students who were dropping out of the course. The goal was to provide new experiences while meeting the College level physical education requirements set out by the MELS.

The Solution: A background in Education and 15 years of experience working in the outdoor industry allowed the staff of H2O Adventures to review and understand the curriculum requirements, while developing multiple outdoor adventure programs that met both the needs of the students and the mandates set out by the MELS.

The result: The number of students dropping out of the course decreased dramatically while simultaneously the programs teambuilding and leadership components had a positive impact on the student community as a whole.

Case 2: The Underground Railroad: A Cross-Curricular Approach

Background: A public school was looking for ideas for their Grade 5 field trip. They wanted something that was “wilderness-based” and were initially attracted by a proposal inspired by the popular reality TV show Survivor.
Upon further review it was determined that Survivor lacked the true essence of teamwork, since ultimately, there can only be one winner.

The Solution: The mandate was thus to create a program that would be enticing to the students while exploring essential themes of “surviving as a team.” H2O Adventures discussed the topics that students were studying in class to see if there could be a meaningful link between the in-class learning and the outdoor experience.

The result: Students had been studying the Underground Railroad so a survival theme fit perfectly. A meaningful link was thus established to allow students to explore the themes they read and discussed in class! The three-day program evolved around the themes of perseverance, communication, trust, and problem solving. Students engaged in exciting activities such as canoeing, hiking, camping, shelter building and fire building. To add to the cross-curricular benefits, students also took pictures to help them complete a module in photography back at school.