Alumni

Alumni Reunion marks 35 years of OEE

Saturday the 24th of April 2004 was a gorgeous spring day in Kingston, made all the more so by all the OEE alumni who turned out for our reunion celebrating 30 years of the Outdoor and Experiential Education program at Queen's.

How fantastic it was to be re-united with those special folk with whom we shared our year at McArthur. Many members of the class of '94 appeared! And many grads brought along spouses and offspring. Many of the latter seemed to particularly enjoy the "low-ropes" course set up by members of the class of '04.

After a filling brunch of fruit and pancakes, cooked on hot plates at various locations throughout McArthur Hall, we started celebrations with welcomes and congratulations from current OEE director Zabe McEachren and Faculty of Education dean Rosa Bruno-Jofré just outside the program's new facility, a portable classroom in the form of a yurt (Mongolian ger). Our version is 24' in diameter with a traditional wooden frame and non-traditional canvas, rather than felt, covering.

In the afternoon, alumni pursued a variety of activities, including canoeing on Lake Ontario and at Gould Lake, site of Kingston's Limestone District School Board's Outdoor Education Centre, super Frisbee, and a self-guided walk through the adjacent historic village of Portsmouth.

By late afternoon, everyone began returning to the main foyer of McArthur Hall with contributions for the evening's feast. Yum, yum!

In true OEE fashion, we used, washed, and shared non-disposable dishes and cutlery, and had a container for compostibles at both supper and brunch.

Following the potluck meal, OEE alumna Pascale Baillargeon, '93, and a 2002 winner of the Prime Minister's Award for Teaching, entertained us with slides of her experiences teaching in Nunavut, where she has lived since graduating a decade ago.

Next day, as alumni dispersed to points throughout the country, members of the class of '04 quickly took down the ger as the previous day's loveliness disintegrated into raindrops. We then finished planning for our year-ending canoe trip, which started the following day. Now, we look forward to our return as alumni at the next OEE reunion!