Megan's Speech

The following is a speech composed by Megan Z. for a school public speaking competition:

"Hello Judges, ladies and gentlemen, and fellow students.

How many of you know of a youth organization that encourages you to carry knives and play with fire? I am in that group, and it is called Junior Forest Wardens.

In this club I have had many fun experiences. We go camping lots and do many outdoor activities.

Once when we were hiking in the St Cyr Hills, one kid pretended to have a sprained ankle, and we had to pretend to treat it. Our leader asked us what to look for when somebody gets injured, and the leader's son said you have to watch for 'eternal bleeding'.

Every year we go camping at Matheson Lake. One year, one of our leaders thought he'd be really cool and drive right up onto the beach. So he turned his boat towards the beach going really fast. Instead of driving right up onto the beach, he hit a sandbar about two feet off the beach. The boat stopped, but him and his son didn't. They both went flying onto the front of the boat. Neither of them were hurt, but the son was kind of mad at his dad.

That same campout we went hiking and canoing. The Junior Forest Warden group was split into two groups. One group canoed across the lake and another group hiked around it. Both groups met at the other side of the lake. Since the group I was in walked around the lake, we got to canoe back. But I think we would have been smarter to walk back around because the canoes were docked on a beach of lumpy loathsome loon droppings. It was almost like quicksand in some places because it would just grab your feet and try to drag you down. One camper got stuck up to his waist and he lost one of his shoes. He sure didn't try to get it back, though.

We also have winter campouts, which are just great if you're a polar bear. The first winter campout I went to it was -22C, although it felt like -222C. There were 5 big snow piles and we hollowed them out to make quinzees. Imagine sleeping (or attempting to) on a pile of frozen square bales. It sure gives you a new meaning of cool! Of the ten people who tried sleeping in a quinzee only five made the night outside. The other five went to the nearby cabin where all the sane people spent the night.

We don't just camp. We also learn carving, knot tying, orienteering, first aid and outdoor cooking. I have had many good experiences with junior Forest Wardens.

Join us .... if you dare!

Thank you for listening to my speech"

And thank you, Megan, for letting us post it!

Photos Wanted!

Hey there Wardens, Alumni & friends! Do you have some photos that you would like to share, to show the rest of the world the fun we have in Junior Forest Wardens, at local outings, national camps, trips and conferences?

Here's an easy way to go about it:

1. Sign up for a free online photo gallery (such as Google's Picassa Web Albums)
2. Upload your photos, organize them & add captions
3. Make the album 'public' and 'share' it with us (email the link to meadowlakejfw@gmail.com)

That's it! You could also simply email us the photos, send a CD, or even lend us prints. Any way you do it, we'll be glad to have them.

Forestry Demonstration Plot at Meadow Lake OSB

On August 11th, 2007 Allan Bell (Woodlands Manager) and a group of local Junior Forest Wardens began a forestry education project by planting approximately 200 seedling trees on the Meadow Lake OSB mill site. The Wardens will conduct yearly growth studies and learn about silviculture and forestry practices, under the direction of Woodlands staff. The white spruce seedlings are planted in three adjacent 10 meter by 10 meter plots, with spacings of 1 meter (10,000 trees/ha), 1.5 meter (4,449 trees/ha) and 2 meter (2,500 trees/ha). Next spring, the Wardens will check survival rates and do any necessary replanting. In the years following, they will measure and record a variety of data as the trees grow and mature including diameter growth, limbiness, height and volume. Forestry is a major component of the Junior Forest Warden program, and these test plots will be an excellent teaching tool for years to come. Many thanks to Allan Bell and Meadow Lake OSB for making this project possible!