This year UNBC “Bachelors of Education” students took on Barkerville! Both cohorts were lucky enough to go on a field trip to Wells and Barkerville during Block 3 which will forever be a core memory during my time in this program. We shared so many laughs, our practicum experiences (both the good and the interesting) were reflected, we learned a lot of history and had lots of bonding time with both the Elementary and Secondary cohorts as a whole group. I am so glad that we were offered this field trip during our time in the program, and it was great to take our learning outside of the classroom.
Our field trip was an overnight stay at Barkerville, and we had many educational stops along the way. Our first stop was “Blessing’s Grave”, where we learnt about the history of the site and its importance to the town of Barkerville, and we extended our learning by thinking in groups on different lesson ideas we as future teacher may include in our own field trips to Barkerville with stopping at Blessing’s Grave along the way. It was interesting to hear the various perspectives and lesson ideas that each group came up with as it was spread across the K-12 system. After our learning activity at Blessing’s Grave, we then made our way to wells, where we had a local lead us in an outdoor art activity. We walked through the town of Wells, and even got to take a peak into their local elementary school! After our visit to the school, we walked through the forest along a boardwalk to end up under a beautiful gathering spot where we made mandalas using various items from the forest. It was such a lovely, calming activity that allowed to be creative with nature. After our time in wells, it was time to make our final trek to Barkerville. We got sorted into our cabins and enjoyed dinner with classmates before heading off to the evening fire circle. This was probably my favourite memory from the entire field trip. We shared highlights from our practicum, laughed, and enjoyed each other’s company. It was such a great way to end off block 3 and recap our amazing memories and learning that has occur so far in the program. Then before we knew it, it was the next day, where we got to explore all that Barkerville had to offer. We shopped around at the many different stores, tasted the yummy baked goods at the bakery and took home the famous sourdough bread. I attended a few different events that were held during the day, such as the school hour lesson and the town tour. During our time in Barkerville we had a few activities that we needed to complete such as a sound walk, which was interesting to do in an historic town like Barkerville. All I could do was reflect on how much the times have changed and wondered what it would have been like back in the day. This activity really allowed me to connect to space and place. And just like that after a day spent in Barkerville, it was time to take the bus back home!
After this field trip, I am looking forward to the day when I can take my own classroom and have them experience the history and fun that we were able to as a cohort. This field trip showed that learning can be done in any place at any time. The learning never ends, and for that I am grateful.
