October 22, 2026 – Love this Place

Whoa… it’s been awhile since I’ve been blogging on this site. There has been a lot that has been happening at work and not-work such that every minute is spent either keeping on task, catching up, or throwing in the towel and accepting the consequences. It’s been a challenging couple of months, and prioritizing sleep, for example, is a huge victory for me. My body needs the sleep and I find that when I do, my productivity the next day is so much better. Anyway, this idea of slowing down and being present brings me to one of my favourite places in Prince George… West Lake Provincial Park. I love how accessible West Lake is to me, and I love how the slapping of the water reminds me of the ocean. I am so connected to the idea of place and identity. I was born and raised in Prince Rupert. You don’t seem to understand the impact of place until you move to a different place. In most of my adult years, I lived in the Lower Mainland or the Sunshine Coast. Both places are near the ocean. Even though the mainland and Sechelt are not the same as Prince Rupert, they are both by the ocean. Admittedly, I would consider myself a #CoastalGirl and I identify with the ocean.

Living in Prince George has been good, and I do appreciate the confluence of the Nechako and Fraser Rivers. There are so many beautiful places in Prince George, and I love how the colours change in the fall. It’s just beautiful. But, there is something about how the ocean speaks to me in comparison to the rivers, it’s like a foreign language. I am learning how to love the river and the big, beautiful blue skies, but there is something about the slapping of the water at West Lake that makes me feel like I am at home. My EDUC 394 class went to West Lake Provincial Park on October 5, 2026. Wow. That’s been awhile ago, and we learned about land acknowledgements, land as teacher, the First Peoples Principles of Learning, and a walking curriculum. I love experiential learning. My mom would say, “you like learning how to do things the hard way.” What I am realizing is, I like to learn experientially versus being told what to do.

Learning experientially can result in positive outcomes and not so positive outcomes. Either way, I am learning. That day, I tried something new. I am often astounded why I spend so much time on planning and prepping, thinking about new ways to do something. And with experiential learning, you don’t know until you try. This year, I wanted to use Ziploc bags and put the handouts and a journal in each bag for small groups to use and refer to. As you could see in the previous paragraph, there were a few learning objectives for that morning. So, I put different handouts, ordered in sequence, into the bag along with a workbook. In my head, it seemed like a good idea. In previous years, I would just pass out pieces of paper, if needed, per activity. I thought that took a bit of time, so the bag may offer some agency, autonomy, and independence. To make a long story short, the use of Ziploc bags did not meet expectations. Well, I tried. 🙂

I love West Lake and it was a gorgeous day that day. Sunny, a bit cool, and windy. I just love the wind. I feel that it’s talking to me, and caressing me, in a way that is comforting and reassuring. It must be a coastal thing, because when I mentioned the wind to one of the students, they felt the exact opposite to me. They felt that the wind was getting in their way and blowing their hair into their face. I could see how that would be annoying, but I also understand that it’s not that windy in the central interior (or rainy). Truth… I love it when it rains!! Now that’s the Prince Rupert / Vancouver person in me. You’ve got to love the rain.

I am so grateful for West Lake and having the opportunity to bring my class outside and on the land to learn about concepts with the land. I feel very lucky.