AN ARCH TO CELEBRATE CANADA’S 150TH
Gonzaga University graduate, Stephen Larsen (‘17), was attracted to the M.Ed leadership and administration program in Fernie, British Columbia (BC). As an educator, a cohort model program offered access to a collaborative learning community that would continue to exist after completing the program. After graduation, in recognition of Canada’s 150-year anniversary, Stephen hoped to create a lasting symbol of the land and the people in his community, which
would welcome tourists to the Elk Valley. This symbol, later named the Arch, would be installed in conjunction with Canada’s sesquicentennial and the conversion of the TransCanada trail to the Great Trail. The Arch project was a direct result of the inspiration and collaboration offered through the leadership and administration program. While the Arch project was not directly linked to any one class or project, it became a theme in many of the Fernie cohort’s projects
and was the result of the collaborative efforts of a quarter of the members in the cohort. The Arch was constructed from three local cedar logs, each weighing roughly 1000 kg (over 2200 lbs) and placed at the three-way intersection of the Alberta/BC border, TransCanada trail, and the high point of the Elk Pass. Assembled by a team of students from school districts in Fernie, Sparwood, and Elkford, the Arch is a symbol of the
students’ work, collaboration, and service contributions to their community, and it represents their connections to the local environment. The sculpting of the arch was facilitated by chainsaw sculptor Michael Penny and was made possible by the ArtStarts in Schools grant. The unassembled logs were delivered by truck to the Elk Lakes Provincial Park. Grade 12 student, Dana Barclay, reported, “Everyone helped bring the logs 5 km and 300m up to the top of the Elk Pass by pulling them on a cart designed and constructed by students.” At the time of the Arch Project’s inception, the curriculum in BC was changing to encourage more projectbased learning. This project provided the engagement piece that can be so challenging in a project-based environment. Stephen explained that the, “…project is intended to be the first step by a regional service learning team that will create in-class, curriculum-linked, PBL tasks that support extra-curricular outdoor education events yearly. The Arch Project just completed its second phase; a second group of students from Fernie, Sparewood and Elkford returned to the Arch this past June to reroute the trail, replace signage over 70 kilometer stretch of trail, and continue geo caching in the area.
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