Once we arrived at Bear Mountain, the children ate lunches by the side of the lake. It was a beautiful view!  Following lunch, they made their way over to the skating rink. As we all helped them lace up their figure skates with faces beaming, smiles wide, they made their way one by one and in small groups on to the ice.  It was beautiful to watch them cling to the rink walls, and take their first steps, and perhaps a few tumbles. You can’t walk until you learn to crawl. And it’s bound to take a couple of tries until you get the hang of anything in life.  We still had time after the skating to take a lovely walk along the forested side of the lake; a train of 120 people, 108 middle schoolers, and 10 volunteers snaking their way along the path to an rock cliff with views of the mountains in the distance. The sun shone brightly this day, and no one could avoid admiring the majesty of nature.  With little time to spare before we made our ways back to the buses, the children were greeted with ice cream to wash down the delicious experience they had just spent in the silence of nature.  I know my heart was at peace while the healing power of nature washed over me. The trip back to school was a quiet one. Most of the children were resting, on their phones, or chatting with their friends.I’m happy I was able to a part of such a beautiful experience. It was memorable to me, and I’m certain it was memorable to the other 119 people on the trip.

Written by Chris Treiber