Construction is moving ahead on a new $3.8-million Outdoor Education and Indigenous Centre in Minden that will provide 17,000 students across the Trillium Lakelands District School Board (TLDSB) with year-round land-based and environmental learning opportunities.
On Friday (October 30), the school board held a groundbreaking ceremony at a 90-acre property where the purpose-built centre will be located.
When the project was first announced in January after receiving provincial approval, TLDSB had anticipated opening the centre in spring 2027. It is now expected to be completed in the winter or spring of 2028.
Located in Minden because of its central location within the geographically large school board, the property will be used for hands-on learning linked to the Kindergarten to Grade 12 curriculum and encompass outdoor education and Indigenous ways of knowing and being.
“This new centre will give students the chance to explore the outdoors, learn from Indigenous perspectives, and develop skills through hands-on experiences,” said Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock MPP Laurie Scott, who attended Friday’s groundbreaking.
“I want to thank the school board, Indigenous partners, and everyone involved in making this possible. I look forward to seeing the opportunities it will create for students for years to come.”
The $3.8-million project is being funded entirely from an accumulated surplus held by TLDSB, with money placed in a dedicated reserve for the project. The board said the procurement process for construction contracts is underway.
The new building will include a large instructional area, mezzanine, offices, storage, kitchen, and washrooms, along with an oversized outdoor patio, and surrounding trails will allow students to hike during warmer months and snowshoe through the property in winter.
When the project was first announced, TLDSB said programming could include orienteering and mapping, identification of plants and wildlife, ecology, skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, collecting maple sap, studying animal tracks, and exploring the Canadian Shield.
Leadership, team building, social-emotional learning, environmental stewardship, and the mental and physical health benefits of spending time outdoors are also expected to be incorporated into programming.
A central component of the centre will be land-based Indigenous education guided by Elders and Knowledge Keepers.
“This initiative is unique and the work is a direct response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Calls to Action,” said TLDSB chief executive officer and director of education Wes Hahn.
“It’s about trust and collaboration to ensure all TLDSB students have the opportunity to participate in Indigenous ways of knowing and being through land-based learning.”
Hahn thanked Indigenous partners, students, and staff “who have challenged and motivated us to be better learners of the land.”
Before Friday’s ceremony, tobacco was laid at the site. The school board said a sacred ceremony to honour the land will also take place in the near future.
Speaking on behalf of Curve Lake First Nation Elder Dorothy Taylor, TLDSB Indigenous Education curriculum consultant Kelly Moore said the centre will allow students to develop a closer relationship with the land.
“The Outdoor Education and Indigenous Centre will be an important part of the educational opportunity for our students — they will have a closer walk with the land,” Moore said.
“Congratulations on this momentous occasion. The students and faculty will thank you for this wonderful facility being built here on our mother earth.”
Also attending the groundbreaking were outgoing Minden Hills mayor Bob Carter, Oshkaabewis Dave Rice of Wasauksing First Nation, TLDSB trustees, senior administrators, and members of the board’s Indigenous Student Success team.
TLDSB has described the centre as the next step in its longstanding commitment to outdoor education. Grade 6 students across the board already participate in an overnight curriculum-based outdoor education experience at Camp Muskoka in Bracebridge.
The school board encompasses the City of Kawartha Lakes, Haliburton County, and the District Municipality of Muskoka, covering approximately 11,500 square kilometres. It operates 40 elementary schools, seven secondary schools, and six alternate education and training centres.
The new centre is intended to give students from schools throughout the region equitable access to a dedicated outdoor learning facility.
When announcing the project in January, TLDSB said the centre would support its goals of meaningful learning and student success while creating learning environments that foster equity, inclusion, and belonging.
“By utilizing the area’s natural environment as an enriching learning space, TLDSB is looking forward to providing a new location for learning opportunities and will be seeking support from local Indigenous Knowledge Keepers and Elders,” Hahn said at the time.
