A new physical activity program called Mountain Adventurers has been underway since the middle of September through the Town of Banff.
It’s for Grade 4-6 students of Banff Elementary and runs on the half-day Fridays from noon to 4 p.m. Students participate in activities such as canoeing, hiking, rock-climbing, cross-country skiing and more.
It’s a program funded by the Wim and Nancy Pauw Foundation and it’s so popular the Town has had to open up the program to more students. They currently have two groups that do activities on the Fridays, totalling 40 students.
The new program took place Friday (Nov. 4), while the next date will take place Nov. 18.
Last week, the two groups of students spent the afternoon climbing at the Banff Centre’s Sally Borden Recreational Centre, as well as hiking up Tunnel Mountain.
“We felt there was an opportunity, with CRPS, because the way the school schedule works, roughly every second Friday throughout the school year is a half-day for students, with teachers taking part in professional development. But it leaves a bit of a gap with parents obviously having to work,” said Town of Banff Community Services Colin Harris.
“In conversation with the Pauw Foundation, they were willing to explore the possibility of starting a program focusing on Grades 4-6.”
The Town of Banff runs an out-of-school club, which is essentially a program for whenever school isn’t in, offering childcare from 3-6 p.m. everyday after school for working parents.
“Parents find as their children get older they want to try different activities, so with the partnership with the Pauw Foundation we thought it would be a great opportunity to explore and try out a variety of mountain activities,” said Harris.
Throughout the school year, along with rock-climbing and hiking, outdoor activities have included canoeing and mountain biking. Winter activities will include cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and ice-skating, to offer students as wide a range of activities as possible.
“Our initial thought is we would max out at 20 students, and that sold out within an hour, so the Pauw Foundation has funded a very low registration cost,” said Harris. “For the whole year, for every half-day Friday from September to the end of June, if you wanted to sign your child up for the entire program, the cost is $50.”
According to the Wim & Nancy Pauw Foundation, it’s working hard to fulfill its goal of contributing to a more active, vibrant and happy community.
“Our focused interest is to support healthy and active opportunities for local youth. The foundation’s sponsorship of the Mountain Adventurers program offers opportunities for kids to try new mountain-based recreational activities on scheduled Friday afternoons out of school,” states the foundation. “We’re thrilled that this partnership with the Town of Banff came together and happy to help fill a childcare gap with an exciting and affordable program that keeps kids moving into the outdoors.”
Established in 2013, the Wim & Nancy Pauw Foundation has disbursed more than $300,000 to support athletics and outdoor education at the Banff schools, as a community champion with the Banff Canmore Community Foundation, for local athletes, local sport clubs and associations and many other initiatives and partnerships.
