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Our purpose was to invite young people to participate as full members of their community, working together to make positive changes locally and globally.

This meant creating real-world environments for engagment, exploring relevant topics , and enhancing skills to tackle both present challenges and the unpredictable obstacles of the future.

Key practices embedded in the work ensured that young people were immersed within and contributed back to the people, spaces, and values of their community. We built projects together in the shape of the community, and by continually monitoring our work we had a process for improvement and adaptation.

The Sandbox Workshops at the were part of our out-of-class programming meant to foster education outside of mainstream learning environments. Designed to stimulate creativity and innovation, these were hands-on workshops focused on design thinking and problem solving. Each workshop at KYC engaged high school youth in topics related to different design cycle components (see our鈥�鈥痜or more information).

Hosted by the in Verdun, our in-class activities complemented a Project Based Learning (PBL) curricular approach. Workshops were designed to inspire increased personal connection and project creativity while learning about the world through the lens of various PBL topics. Following the Action xDesign Cycle, students were guided to explore different considerations they could apply directly to their school projects. Action xDesign outlined a series of workshops which supported students to think critically and act locally.

In collaboration with the environmental film festival Planet in Focus and local Kanien鈥檏eh谩:ka filmmaker Courtney Montour, we supported teachers and youth at Kahnawake Survival School (KSS) to engage in a film-making project. This opportunity weaved culture, history, identity, storytelling, film-making technology, community care, and activism together through a film-based medium. Students had a chance to voice/explore their lived experiences in dynamic ways using live-action or stop-motion animation techniques.

This project encouraged students to engage in processes of storytelling to help develop their point of view, examine their lived experiences, organize their thoughts, enhance their literacy skills, and share and listen to stories in community. Multiple guests came to the class over the span of several weeks to diversify the learning. This exploration introduced students to the foundations of oral, narrative, and written storytelling. Students, teachers, volunteers, and guests had a chance to share life experiences, wisdom, learnings, triumphs, and tribulations in an open and inclusive environment.

This project was brought to life with the help of McGill鈥檚 Engineers Without Borders Youth Engagement student group, who worked with our E-IDEA team and teachers at KSS to create hands-on learning activities that showcased the engineering design cycle. Thanks to David McComber鈥檚 incredible shelter-building experience, we all got to go out in the forest and make debris shelters. Building the shelters allowed students to put the design cycle into action (while also practicing teamwork skills and having fun outdoors), reflecting on successes and challenges along the way.

With grades 7 and 8, we explored the difference between inorganic and organic waste in relation to the lifecycle with the help of red wiggler composting worms. Students got to test out how different materials would break down and decompose. Each class became responsible for their own vermicompost bin, needing to feed the worms and tend the soil throughout the year. Once ready, this soil is used to build healthy gardens at the school.

This cross-curricular STEAM project brought math, science, history, and English language arts together as we explored the long-term relationship between the Kanien鈥檏eh谩:ka people and the land and waters upon which they live. The Mohawk word Kahnaw脿:ke means 鈥減lace on the rapids鈥�, so it made sense to start our learning journey with the water. The unit was influenced by students鈥� curiosities. Each workshop was inquiry-based and encouraged questioning the 鈥渉ow鈥檚鈥� and 鈥渨hy鈥檚鈥� of our current actions as well as those who came before us.

The Kanien鈥檏eh谩:ka people are known for their skilled navigation of the St. Lawrence river via canoe. We looked at the waterway from ecological and economical lenses, examining the roles and impacts of colonialism and capitalism in the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway.

With the help of a local expert canoe-builder, students built their own model birch-bark canoes from scratch. The technical aspects of this project involved: precise measurement, preparing the birch bark (soaking, softening, stripping, and slicing), careful attention to detail, and arranging and solidifying the bark without compromising the buoyancy of the canoes. The canoe-building project required teamwork skills such as collaboration, trust, communication, taking risks, coping with failure, and managing shared responsibilities.