This past summer, 11 Canterbury seniors and I had the amazing opportunity to participate in a wilderness program in Montana hosted by Mr. Donovan ‘59 and his wife, Dana. The purpose of this trip was to learn about a special part of our planet and how and why it is so important to take care of Mother Nature.
Not only did we learn about the landscape, plants, trees, etc., but we also focused on the different types of animals we saw. Our daily routine was to wake up early and prepare for our hike or activity of the day. Before dinner we would fill out the animal sightings chart.
We never went a single day without sighting an animal, whether it was a tiny critter or something as large as a moose. However, we did go ten days without seeing a bear, which everyone had been really looking forward to seeing.
Throughout the program we were also assigned chores which included breakfast set-up, dinner set-up, dinner cleanup, and maintaining the birdfeeder. Four chore groups rotated daily and the chores really taught us how to be responsible and how to work with a team.
Overall, themost important thing that I feel myself and my fellow Canterbury Saints got out of this trip, was how to be a leader in the communities we are placed in and how taking responsibility is so important to the world we live in. The Montana Leadership Wilderness Program was an amazing opportunity for members of the senior class to grow closer with one another and bring that unity back to campus to share with the rest of the community.
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