Fort St. James Secondary math and science teacher Jaclyn Boyes couldn’t be more proud of the community’s newest ice safety rescue technicians.
Last week more than a dozen GEOES (geographical sciences) high school students spent two of their mornings in the classroom learning how to tie knots, deploy throw bags and the stages of hypothermia.
Later in the afternoon, the students headed out to the Stuart River with their instructors from the Overhang Education Centre Ltd. in Prince George where they assessed the ice and practiced self-rescuing through thin ice and setting up static belays using ice screws and pulleys.
Boyes said the first day was spent on the ice near the mouth of the river and the second was on the river itself.
“It was super empowering for the students,” Boyes said, noting they had previously completed around six hours of online theory.
“It really emphasized the importance of training, and personal protective equipment and ice equipment when you’re working and playing on or near ice environments but it also built their confidence and made them work as a team which was really exciting to see.”
By the end of both days, Boyes said they were cold and that the students took up the initiative to actively be warm through some exercises they had learned to get their blood pumping again and get warmed up.
“I was so impressed with how resilient they were,” Boyes said.
“It was one of my best teaching experiences for sure just watching those kids, and I’m just so proud of them.”
According to Boyes, the instructors indicated they had certified 40 biologists alone in the course last month.
“I’m hoping that they take this, and if it doesn’t save their lives, I hope they spread the messages we got out of here to their loved ones, and it also will look really good on their resume.”
Boyes said the training was made possible through vital funding by the Chuntoh Education Society and the generous support of School District 91 and Fort St. James Secondary staff.
Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email: rebecca.dyok@quesnelobserver.com
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