An outdoor learning experience will soon be open to the students of Trillium Lakelands District School Board (TLDSB). On Thursday, the TLDSB held an official groundbreaking ceremony for the Outdoor Education and Indigenous Centre. The 90+ acre property is located centrally within the school board in Minden, Ont. Once completed, it will be home to a 3,000 square-foot facility, which will provide a day program with hands-on, curriculum-linked learning for students from kindergarten to Grade 12. “This new centre will give students the chance to explore the outdoors, learn from Indigenous perspectives and develop skills through hands-on experiences,” said Member of Provincial Parliament for Haliburton–Kawartha Lakes–Brock, Laurie Scott. “The Outdoor Education and Indigenous Centre will be an important part of the educational opportunity for our students,” said Kelly Moore, TLDSB Indigenous Education curriculum consultant when speaking on behalf of Elder Dorthy Taylor from Curve Lake First Nation. This $3.8 million project is funded by TLDSB’s accumulated funds, the school board says. When completed, the facility will offer various forms of learning, including hikes in the warmer months and snowshoe trails in the colder months, which will allow students to do land-based learning based on Indigenous teachings. “They will have a closer walk with the land,” Moore says, addng, ”the students and faculty will thank you for this wonderful facility being built here on our mother earth.” The project is estimated to be completed by winter/spring of 2028.
