Arriving from Vancouver off the ferry on a sunny autumn day, Aliannah Earth School formerly Pender Island Nature School mentors accompanied a group of 40 homeschoolers to our 'Creating a Village with a Purpose Event' held in a lodgepole pine forest.

The opening ceremony started with a demonstration of bow drill fire from a local parent of the Kinosao Sipi Norway House Cree Nation. Splitting into three elemental tribes, each team was then assigned a post box and letter from the forest guardians to follow a scavenger hunt. They had to outsmart trickster ravens and trolls running amock in the forest, so they could find their way to their tribal homes in the pine forest. Each group created a call and chose their leader, then found swords, foraging, baskets, coloured tribal 'elemental' bandanas while answering riddles from ravens jumping out of trees along the hunt. After an educational plant identification, they were surprised at their village market place by arbutus leaf confetti and a warm welcome. In the forest, there was individual fort building that families participated in, sign painting and wood carving as well as pine cone currency. The last activity was to uncover a hidden deer antler but first design a mandala nature art piece, with material found in the forest and mark compass orientations on it. A mentor then placed a clue to where the antlers where hidden in each groups section of the forest. When the antlers were found, it was returned to the ravens as a peace offering and harmony was restored at the village. The event ended with a sharing circle and a shuttle taxi to the ferry terminal and across the mighty ocean back home!

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Photos by Brea Gunson Photography and parents