Uncover the secrets of the Boreal forest and its inhabitants : bears, foxes, skunks, wolves, flying squirrels and more besides...

7-9 years 10-12 years - R&D
Lieu : Quebec (Canada)
Domaines : Environment, Geology, Chemistry, Biology, Ethnology and Anthropology, Ecology, Zoology,
Participants : 10
Encadrants : 2 Sciences Educators

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The first Europeans who arrived in Québec had to learn to survive in Nature – immense, wild and sometimes hostile. All of their knowledge was gained from the indigenous people, occupants of these places for millennia, from whom they learned stalking, hunting, trapping, snares, camouflage…

The first European immigrants had to learn to survive in an immense, wild and, at times, hostile environment. It was the native peoples, who had lived here for thousands of years, who gave them the knowledge they needed : shelters, hunting, traps, snares, camouflage...

At the Center for Scientifique Living there is no need to hunt for food ! So it is solely to satisfy our scientific curiosity that we throw ourselves into the lifestyle of the Boreal Forest inhabitants.

Thanks to your educators you will discover the basics of tracking : traces on the ground, marks on the trees... You will learn all about the forest, to identify each tree, each mushroom and learn the cycle of the forest, its rhythm of life. Once you have gained this knowledge, you will be ready to start your project.

Build a shelter or devise a system of animal hair traps attached to a camera ? There is no lack of ideas and, with your educator, you can choose to invent a new system of tracking at a distance or to continue a project already begun by a previous group.

Thanks to your exploration, discoveries and documentation, which you will share with your camp Summer camps
camp Les colonies de vacances ne sont plus ce qu’elles étaient, c’est à dire énormes, anonymes et sans activités précises. Heureusement les choses ont changé et les enfants qui ont vécus il y a 20 ans les premiers camps de vacances, qui à l’inverse des colonies de vacances proposaient des stages de qualité au grand air et bourrés d’activités intelligentes, ont grandis et sont devenus eux-mêmes
organisateurs de séjours de vacances intelligentes et hors du commun. Ces
séjours, vous les trouvez sur ce site... via the internet, you will add to the existing knowledge about the unique natural environment of the Parc Naturel Fédéral de la Mauricie.

With a series of BOREALIS residencies, all the camps participate in a vast project which aims to contribute to the development of new tools for future populations. And to complete this research program, the non-governmental organisation “Objectif Sciences International” has chosen the Parc de la Mauricie.

The Canadian National Park of Mauricie is a conservation area which depends on everybody’s cooperation. In the heart of the Laurentides, with its chain of mountains following the northern bank of the Saint-Laurent River, this territory spreads over 536 km² offering a great serenity, inspired by the gentleness of the landscape. On this vast plateau, rippled with hills, interspersed with valleys and adorned by a multitude of lakes, life goes by in rhythm with nature. Only the changing of the seasons attests to the passage of time which touches the smallest of details of the landscape. This place of healing invites us to do more than just camping and adventure.

Since its creation in 1970, the park preserves a sample representative of the southern-most region of the Canadian Boudier, that is.... wolves !

Click to view larger Accommodation and Transport : Children who are resident in Quebec can travel with their parents or by Intercar ; those who live further away can fly to Montréal, or the team can come to collect them from home (for more details, please consult the Tranport page). On arrival, all the children are accommodated in a hostel situated close to the park, where they will prepare their mission, including meeting the residential scientists. Next, they will meet with their instructors in the park. Their destination will depend on which stage of the BOREALIS Research Programme is in progress at that moment. In any case, they will have a tremendous scientific adventure in the heart of the forest where they will take copies of footprints, eat meals in different parts of the forest and even make and install photo traps (motion-activated cameras) or animal hair traps ! The real hero of the adventure is, of course, the wolf. Like a sorcerer, the wolf cannot easily be spotted but he lives in the Park de la Mauricie, where he is protected and it will be possible to find his traces left on the ground or in the vegetation. Without ever directly observing him, you will know of his presence and, perhaps, if the children correctly place the automatic cameras provided by the association, they could proudly return with a portrait of a wolf !

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