215 results for author: Colin Harris

Day 155 – 42.6 km (total – 3296.8 km)

“The plain fact is that the planet does not need more “successful” people.  But it does need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of every shape and form.  It needs more people who live well in their places.  It needs people of moral courage willing to join the fight to make the world habitable and humane.  And these needs have little to do with success as our culture has defined it.” David Orr Thanks to my friend Melissa for sharing her favourite quote with me. And thanks to Andrea Pepe for finding us on the road this morning and dropping off an amazing care package!

The Haliburton Echo

Colin Harris loves the outdoors. So much so that the outdoor education director for YMCA Camp Wanakita is running across the country encouraging students to get outside. And so far it's working. In January of this year Harris began his dream to run across Canada in St. John's, Nfld. During the past five months he has run through various cities and provinces, stopping at elementary schools along the way. On June 16, Harris stopped in at Stuart Baker Elementary School to tell students in grades 2 and 3 just how important it is to enjoy all that nature has to offer. The desire to run was instilled in Harris at an early age, when he ...

Day 154 – 39.7 km (total – 3254.2 km)

It’s  hard to believe we’ve been in Ontario for over 6 weeks now.  We have  visited 36 schools in that time and have really enjoyed the interactions  we’ve had with students!  With the end of the school year upon us, the  focus is back on running and trying to cover some good distance over the  next couple of months.  We hope to find speaking opportunities along  the way, including some camps and provincial parks.  If you live between  Hunstville and Thunder Bay, please let us know if you think there might  be an opportunity in your neck of the woods. Because the focus has been on school visits over the last month and a ...

Day 149-151 – 28.9 km (total – 3214.5 km)

A quick catch up on the last few days… On Wednesday, I ran into Barrie.  Just shy of 30 km, there was significant pain at the side of my left knee so I decided to call it a day.  Since we’ve been in Ontario, the running has been inconsistent as we’ve been stopping for long stretches to do school visits.  So I think my legs just need to get back into a routine – at least that’s what I’m hoping!   We drove back to Haliburton and the last couple of days have been quite busy!  Thursday morning was spent chatting with school groups that were at YMCA Wanakita, the outdoor centre I used to work at.  In the afternoon, I went ...

Day 148 – Teaching friends (total – 3185.6 km)

It’s been pretty fun over the past few months to visit schools, but particularly fun to visit schools where the teachers are our friends. There is something eye opening about seeing your friends interacting with and shaping our future. Today was such a day. We visited St. Thomas School in Keswick where our friend Roslyn Deegan teaches Kindergarten and Alcona Glen P.S this afternoon with Brenda Hotton who teaches grade 8. Both are friends from our former days at YMCA Wanakita in Haliburton. Some people aren’t cut out to work with students day in and day out. There is usually much to be said about teachers who are overworked and underv...

Day 147 – 20.9 km (total – 3185.6 km)

Today was a combo day that included running in the morning, a presentation at Summitview Public School in Stoufville, and then back out to run a few more k’s. The trip to the school made up for the fact that my legs were not having a good day! The students at Summitview were fun to chat with… one student talked about the importance of exploring outside. A couple of weeks ago, we were at a school in Ajax – Vimy Ridge P.S. Ms Ellwood’s students in grade 7 wrote in essay on why outdoor and environmental education is important and why it should be implemented into the school system – in part, the importance of exploring outside. This ...

Day 146 – 38.6 km (total – 3164.7 km)

Just a brief summary of the last few days as I run up Yonge St... the longest street in the world (at least last time I checked!)

iRun

When the Olympic torch relay came through Winnipeg en route to the 1988 Calgary games, 13 year old Colin Harris was in the crowd. Holding a small replica torch in his hand, Colin remembers running with the torch bearer, leaving his friends behind, running to the city limits until the torch and the runner got into a van and drove away. I don’t know what possessed me to run that far on that particular day,” writes Colin on his blog, “but… that was the beginning of my dream to run across this country.” Since that day, Colin has completed more than 30 half, full and ultra-marathons. He also developed a passion for the outdoors and became ...

Day 142/143 – We are the World

I’ve been asked in some interviews recently what impact I think I’m having on the issue of getting kids outside. I find it a tough question to answer and usually fumble with my words a bit to come up with something coherent. To be honest, I don’t know the impact that this project will have on students, teachers and parents across Canada. It is a message that has been welcomed by the schools we have visited – all 3 schools we were at yesterday have staff and administration who feel strongly about exposing students to the outside world more. It is also a simple message. I’ve shared before that there is no magic formula or program to get ...

Day 140/141 – East to West… of the GTA

Cornell Public School is located in Scarborough and they welcomed Sarah and I yesterday. Jane Wadden works for the Hillside Outdoor Centre and helped set up the visit. The school and the centre is a great example of a school board that is still committed to outdoor education. Students visit the Rouge Conservation area, which is on the brink of becoming a National Park! Maureen Boyle, the principal of this culturally diverse population, sees a real issue with kids staying inside. So this issue needs to continue to reach out to parents and these trips to Hillside certainly help expose the students to getting dirty and hands on with nature. So the ...