Sea School will be offering ongoing Leadership and training opportunities for youth who wish to participate throughout the summer & shoulder seasons. Though COVID-19 regulations for summer camps disallows overnight adventures - we are planning to try to stay connected & engaged as best we can within safe group allowances!
There will be three sections to our summer programming; the SALTY DOGS SKILLS PROGRAM, the LEAD CREW TRAINING PROGRAM, and some great day-trips hosted by us, and by some of our AMAZING partner organizations.
SALTY DOGS SKILLS PROGRAM
This new summer program will consist of what we call our "ADVENTURE BOX", and two consecutive engagements such as seminars and workshops in the months of July & August. Workshops will be held online allowing for everyone to stay safely distanced and will be focused on providing information and skills for participants to bring with them to the outdoors such as tying knots, reading the weather & stars, and listening to some guests speak about their outdoor and marine professions, adventures, and training opportunities!
LEAD CREW TRAINING PROGRAM
For some of our older & more experienced alumni engaged in our Lead Crew program, we'll be offering an opportunity in the form of a 5-day leadership intensive in which time will be spent learning about leading a group in wilderness settings, the instructional philosophy of Sea School, skills workshops, an opportunity to volunteer services, and of course, we'll be hitting the trails!
This program extends into the fall & winter in the form of monthly meet-ups, and 3rd party certification opportunities such as the OCC Field Leader HIKE and the Marine Radio Operators Certification!
PARTNER & OTHER PROGRAMMING
Sea School will be partnering with some other local organizations in order to provide youth some time out on the water (and in the wilderness!) despite our boats being on land to be repaired!
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CAPE LAHAVE ADVENTURES - We will be running multiple day-long Sea Kayaking tours hosted by our fantastic partners at Cape LaHave Adventures! Trips will give participants an opportunity to intimately explore the LaHAve Islands here on the beautiful South Shore of Nova Scotia. Click Here to visit their website!
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ROYAL NS YACHT SQUADRON - We will be running a small dinghy-sailing course through our friends at the RNSYS - this program will be aimed at our Lead Crew candidates and alumni who are thinking of becoming instructors, or want to really advance their small boat handling skills!
KEEPING THINGS SHIPSHAPE
THE BOATS
This year, considering we are not able to run any overnight programming, Sea School is taking this opportunity & extra capacity to give some love & care to our two expedition boats, Dorothea & Elizabeth Hall. Our trusty vessels will be getting structural repairs done by our all-female powerhouse repair team led by our Programs Director (and in-house shipwright) Erin Philp. Additionally, we have made the decision to move to a boat finish which will be kinder to the environment, to our boats, and to the staff and youth who work with them! We will be working with traditional linseed & pine tar finishes which are non-toxic/VOC-free, naturally pigmented, renewable, and will protect & condition our wooden boats. We are SUPER excited to see our boats getting the attention they deserve and can't wait for them to emerge next season looking their very best!
THE BOATHOUSE
The boathouse you know and love as the place we gather, pack together, eat together, learn, listen, hug in greeting and hug goodbye will also be getting a "small" make-over. Mainly, we will be reorganizing gear, optimizing space, and culling some items we no longer need to make our time together as seamless, and on-task as possible! Reorganizing will also allow us to take an inventory of what we have, and make sure instructors are able to find what they need when they need it.
STAFF TRAINING
Sea School maintains a series of manuals for all of the positions we have here within the organization; we will be updating and taking a look at how these manuals can be the absolute best they can be, and provide clear & efficient support to our staff and student trainees for years to come!
We will also be organizing various staff training nights to keep our instructional staff appropriately certified, and well supported for their adventures with youth!
THE ADMIN STUFF
In addition to all the exciting facility repairs, Sea School will also be taking this opportunity to change databases to something which suits our needs a little bit better! For anyone who has ever worked for a non-profit or a business with many many different types of contacts and relationships, you know how important it is to be able to track and categorize the people you work with and meet in order to best serve them, and make your job easier!
