boys standing on the edge of a cliff

Duke of Edinburgh

I was lucky enough to participate in this year’s Duke of Ed. Bronze expedition. The Duke of Edinburgh program is an internationally recognized award with the goal of encouraging young adults to try and pursue new activities.
The program has three awards: Bronze, Silver and Gold. With each progression, the difficulty of each award increases. I wanted to complete this program to expand my own interests and to get the actual award.

This year, we traveled to Lion’s Head, Ontario, to hike on the beautiful trail. Mr. Stevens, Ms. Hubbs, and two alumni were our guides. We were very lucky to have such great teachers and mentors with us. During the trip, we were required to complete several tasks. This included preparing and cooking a meal, planning a hike, completing the hike and learning about navigation.

The first day we stayed at Lions Head, we cooked one of our planned meals. For dinner, we grilled burgers with chips on the side. Afterward, we made smores and then took a short hike around the campsite. After the hike, we broke off and went to sleep in the yurts. We told scary stories and played cards - it was a great way to bond. The next day we got up early, made eggs, sausage patties, and hot chocolate. After breakfast, we hiked on the Bruce Trail. The whole hike was about 15 km, and, as a group, were able to do it in about 5.5 hours.

Throughout the hike, we stopped at various points to admire the scenery and appreciate the landscape. During this hike, I was given a chance to get to know and become friends with the Grade 9s who were also on the trip. It was a great opportunity to give them advice on high school life and how they might be able to better succeed in academics, athletics and social life.

Overall, the Duke of Ed trip was a fantastic way of getting away from technology for a while, bonding with the Grade 9s, and an excellent opportunity to get to know and talk to some alumni about their experiences.

By Justin Eng, Grade 10
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