It was so lovely to be out in the snow today! We had a great day full of lots of snow-related hard work. As students arrived, we got right to work, excavating a circle from the snow for our morning activities. We piled the snow in a ring around our cleared space, as well as in heaps that we turned into mini snow chairs.
Once our space was cleared out, we circled up for a game of Head Honcho—dance style! Essentially one person—the Head Honcho—does repetitive dance moves, periodically switching their dance. We all copy the dance moves, and a guesser must figure out who the Head Honcho is. Then we shared some gratitude—ranging from the snow, to the people who plow our roads, to health and safety.
Next, a relay race! Two teams each pulled a sled bearing their stuffed animal mascot back and forth, racing to see which team could get their mascots back fastest. After an exciting finish, we settled down for snack and a story about how Rabbit lost his tail, elongated his ears, and shortened his legs. After our snack and story, we circled up to learn about our next activity—Quinzee huts!
Quinzee huts are a form of Canadian survival shelter built out of snow. The process is surprisingly simple, but the result is amazing! Since snow is an insulator, the inside of the shelter can warm up considerably and the finished structure (depending how well it’s built) can support the weight of several people.
To build our miniature versions, we shoveled snow into a large pile about waist height (hiding our stuffed mascots inside to retrieve later during excavation), then shaped it into a smooth dome. When our domes were done, we collected sticks and golden rod stems, which we stuck six inches deep in our mounds. They started to look like white porcupines! These sticks would indicate the minimum thickness of the walls during excavation. Finally, we left our mounds of snow to settle. This is one of the most important steps in Quinzee building, because it allows the mound to solidify and strengthen.
While we were collecting Goldenrod, we noticed strange bulges in many of the stems, called galls. We broke one open and discovered a small grub-looking critter, which we learned was called a Goldenrod Gall fly! These larvae were over-wintering in the stems of the Goldenrod plant.
With our snow mounds settling, we collected firewood, then split into two groups. One group bult a fire, decorated the Quinzees, and built miniature snow animals, while the second group disappeared into the marsh for some bushwhacking and tracking. They discovered the footprints of a mink, and noticed a trail left by two coyotes. Intrigued, they got down on hands and knees to follow in the two canine’s footprints (literally!). Along the trail, they discovered coyote urine and some blood!
Both groups reunited for lunch and a couple games—the Story Game (the group helps one person guess the plot of a story) and the Yes Game (the group guides an individual through a task using only the word yes)! Then we got back to work on our huts. We used trowels and our hands to carve out a tunnel-like room through the center of our mound, and we rescued the mascots we originally buried. Then each group showed off their work and tested how much weight each hut could hold by climbing up on top of them. The answer was a LOT!
While students worked, the staff built a tripod over the fire, and began to boil maple syrup for maple candy. We wrapped up our Quinzee hut weight tests and gathered around to watch Chris delicately spoon dollops of boiled syrup onto hard-packed snow. The syrup quickly hardened to disks, which we sucked on as we listened to the rules for a final game—Dead Ant. In this tag-like game, “ants” flee from “aunt lions” and rely on sled-pulling teammates to rescue and heal them. After a couple rounds, we packed our bags up, then scream-ran our way into the woods for a sit spot. After our sit spot, we wrapped up our day with a bit of reflection and headed home!
—Alana, Chris, Josh, and Quinn, February 3, 2021