2015 World Renew Mission Trip

Blogged by: Jared

This year’s march break, my church youth group and I traveled to Franklinton, Louisiana for a mission trip to help people out after the disasters of Hurricane Katrina. Our journey started at the Alliston Christian Reformed Church where we left for Louisiana. During our 19 hour drive we traveled through cities such as Nashville and Cincinnati. In the morning we arrived into the warm weather of Louisiana. During the week, our group stayed at a small church called Bethel Baptist Church where we met Jo and Sharon. The next morning we went to a African American Methodist Church which was another great experience. After that we headed down to Gulfport, Mississippi for a beach day.The next day was our first work day where I went to another church called Bonner Creek Baptist church where we met the church owner Jerry and his wife. I ended up working on that church for the whole week. The job at hand was mostly painting inside and outside of the church. 

 After a week at work we had our final day out south. In the morning we left for a swamp tour. On the tour we saw snakes, herons, wild boar and alligator. After that we headed into the city of New Orleans. In New Orleans we went for lunch at one of New Orleans best restaurants, The Gazebo, where there was live music and great food. I had the catfish while a lot of others had alligator which was also very good. After that we had lots of time to roam around the city. The city has a very good culture where you will always see someone playing the blues. The next day we packed for the ride home. After another long ride home we were back in the cold Canada.

Visit Saint-Emilion!

Blogged by: Audrey

“Saint- Emilion” is a breathtaking village in south western France. This small commuity much like the rest of the country is stuffed with History, that can be seen throughout every single inch of it’s landscape.It borders the urban Bardeux, leaving this commutiy to be more rural.  Although this town is not commonly thought of when France is mentioned, it is a gorgeous part of the country. Tourists are drawn, to all the history, scenery and goods this village has to offer.

Travelers venture to “Saint-Emilion” for numerous reasons. Some seek “Saint-Emilion” for its lengthy vineyards and it’s fine wine. Others visit this community to taste their fresh baguettes and macaroons. Some might travel to “Saint-Emilion” for  it’s rustic buildings and, slanted streets. People also use “Saint-Emilion” as a shopping spot, this town has many small locally owned shops with various homemade goods. Why not find your own reason to love this french paradise.

Climate is  beautiful thing in “ Saint Emilion”. The temperature during the winter is warm and rarely cools off. However in the summer we start to get dry and hot temperature coming into play. This makes it an ideal place for those who prefer warmer weather than cooler weather.

“Saint-Emilion” is a not simply a unique town, but an vintage one as well. Almost everywhere in France has a vintage feel, but “Saint-Emilion” takes it to a whole new level. With its slanted streets, dated buildings, churches and even a castle! The large and enchanting castle that is located in this amazing town is named “ Saint-Christophe Des Bardes”.The views of stone pathed streets, and natural vineyards are breathtaking at the least. One of my favorite parts of “ Saint-Emilion” is it has many hills or pieces of land above the rest. This makes it easy to really take its scenery.  Maybe you will see rustic buildings and churches, or perhaps you will see it’s fresh green vineyards.

Overall who wouldn’t want to see such an important and gorgeous part of France. This country isn't just the Eiffel tower and Paris. It has many other small gems like this that can change the way you see France.

                                             Gros Morne

                                           it’ll take your breath away

Gros Morne national park is located on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland and covers a whopping 1805 km2. The park protects two areas of two of Canada's landform regions: the Western Newfoundland island highlands and the St. Lawrence lowlands.

  http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g580445-d1030730-Reviews-Western_Brook_ 

                Pond-Gros_Morne_National_Park_Newfoundland_Newfoundland_and_Labrado.html

Gros Morne has many exciting features and its landscape is the most unique in Canada! Because of this Gros Morne has been named a world heritage site  by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)  because of its breathtaking scenery and geographical significance, the geological diversity of Gros Morne is its main reason for its designation to a world heritage site. The table lands plateau is a 500 million year old slice through the earths crust and upper mantle and proof of plate tectonics. The sedimentary rocks of the coastal lowlands are home to countless long extinct sea creatures and the barrens of the long mountain range show rocks more than one billion years old. All these features of Gros Morne have been carved by long gone glaciers to create massive cliffs and valleys and the most dramatic landscape in canada.  

https://www.flickr.com/photos/newfoundlandlabradortourism/14131480454/

Gros Morne is not only know for its scenery it also has a rich variety of plants. A majority of the park is covered in boreal forests, with balsam fir as the dominant plant life. Bogs and fens are also common and worth exploring for beautiful flowers such as the dragon's mouth orchid.

Gros morne is also known for its wildlife although Gros Morne and the island of Newfoundland have fewer animal species than the mainland of Canada. There are no native amphibians or reptiles, Gros Morne only has 14 native species including woodland caribou, the arctic hare, moose, snowshoe hare, Harlequin duck and red squirrel.

Gros Morne is a great hiking destination for tourists if you like hiking Gros Morne is the place to go. the parks trails range from easy walks along the coast to steep climbs onto alpine barrens. A scenic highway through the park allows visitors to see the beautiful scenery and a wide range of landscape as they drive by and boat tours are also available to visit the parks marine areas and lakes. There are many indoor and outdoor camping grounds and Gros Morne is even open in the winter for skiing on groomed trails. If you want to learn about Gros Mornes history there is a discovery center at woody point that has interactive exhibits and interpretive programs.

        http://www.cbc.ca/sevenwonders/wonder_gros_morne.html

Overall Gros Morne is a great destination for travellers and tourists. It has a wide range of activities and things to do as well as beautiful ancient mountains. Gros Mornes wide range of plant and animal life also makes it a must see destination.Its unique geology is well preserved and hopefully will be for a long time. Visit Gros Morne, it’ll take your breath away!      

Earth Hour:

Time to turn the lights off!

Blogged b:y Kaitlyn  

 

Nottawasaga Pines Secondary School enjoys taking part in Earth Hour. All schools in Canada participate in Earth Hour to raise awareness about the climate change. Schools are not the only ones that celebrate earth hour but everyone in Canada and the world.

 

Earth hour started in 2007 by World Wildlife Fund (WWF). WWF's earth hour is a lights-off event to raise awareness about the climate change. The movement has grown to engage more than 162 countries and territories worldwide. 

Being in dark may sound unusual but there are fun ways to celebrate earth hour in the dark such as:

• Go for a walk in your neighbourhood
• Play games outside
• Play glow stick tag
• Light a fire outside (but be sure to be safe!)
• Light candles in your house (but be sure to be safe!)
• Spend good quality time with your family

Hopefully you will choose to celebrate Earth Hour with the world on Saturday, March 28th at 8:30pm.

Photo from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wolfwl/7957398258/

Yoho National Park of Canada

Blogged by: Audrey

Are you looking for an escape from your hectic everyday life? Perhaps you’ve been  scavenging for a sanctuary to find yourself. Or maybe simply searching for the perfect family vacation spot. Well look no further than Yoho National Park of Canada.

This national park is located in British Columbia, directly on the west coast of Canada.This park also has a location where you can explore the beautiful Rocky Mountains with friends and family.This park showcases the beauty of British Columbia and truly captures the nation`s history. Yoho was established in 1886 therefore is overflowing with history.

With this generation's quantity of electronics and devices sometimes we really need to remember where we came from, and explore nature.What better place do that in the park that was declared a world heritage system in 1981. Yoho is also stunning to look at, because of its flowering fields and jagged mountains. 

Visiting this national park might also be your only opportunity to see animals such as mountain goats.When visitors come to this park, they often do actives such as canoeing,rock climbing, hiking, driving through scenic paths, horseback riding and reconnecting with their inner self. 

As you can see Yoho is a perfect spot for discovering Canada,escaping from everyday life, and spending a wonderful family vacation.

Mr. Lesage’s Travel Experiences

Blogged by: Tony and Seth

  Mr. Lesage has traveled all over the world he has been in places like China, India, and London England he traveled wherever the wind took him until he was 24.

   He remembers being in India visiting religious grounds there was a river that joined many religions together and in this river the people of different religions did different things like performing sacrifices and bathing in the river.

       Mr. Lesage has also traveled to Waterhen Lake, Saskatchewan to teach grade seven where he had explained to us the extremely harsh weather conditions.

    He also recalls riding a camel along the border of Pakistan/India while there was an increasing conflict between the countries.  He said “I remember seeing all the gunmen about every 100 meters apart from each other and all the small shacks filled with guns and ammunition.  It was definitely a different experience!”

Traveling inside of Canada

Blogged by: Dylan

Taken from: http://www.slice.ca/travel/blog/seeking-out-bonhomme-at-the-quebec-winter-carnival/2824/ courtesy of ‘Carnaval de Quebec’

Zimmer, Lori. “Inhabitat Spends the Night in Quebec's Hotel de Glace Ice Castle!” General Blog. Inhabitat. 30 November 2014. 23 February 2015.

Kaminesky, Ken. “Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada.” Photo Blog. Ken Kaminesky Photography. 29 March 2010. 23 February 2015.

People always travel to other countries in the world for tourism or travel, but a lot of people don’t realize that there is already so much to do in Canada. The CN tower is always a hot tourist attraction. But if you’re looking to get out of your area then you could go to the Quebec Winter Carnival. Up to one million people attended the ‘Carnaval de Quebec’ in 2006, making it one of the biggest winter festivals in the world. Hôtel de Glace, located just 10 minutes away from downtown Quebec, it is the only ice hotel in North America. Made from ice and a metal frame, this ice hotel is completely safe. You could even travel to Alberta and visit the Dinosaur Provincial Park. This park is known for being one of the richest dinosaur fossils locales in the world. I may have only mention three but there is so much to explore and discover in Canada.