Last year I worked for Toronto and Region Conservation Authority
on the Bolton Camp site. And that's one of the reasons we started the Girls Can Too program.
I was one of the only girls who actually had a chance to be part of the
restoration team
and so I was working with tools and I was able to restore a cabin
from start to finish. Near the end of the summer I actually noticed that a lot of
other girls
wanted to join this team and we found that it was because they actually had
the opportunity to do something like this.
When we learn that TRCA had purchased the property
for redevelopment, we were really excited about the future possibilities
for this space. It was a really great learning opportunity
to have hands on experience in the field and to interact with all of the different
natural aspects on site.
So, the Bolton Camp is like this big, huge hidden gem
in the community that no one really knows about. I didn't know about it until
I actually started working here,
and what's really great is we want to bring more people into this section. We
want to bring more people
into this heart of nature where they can experience that and see what's
in our community. And what's really amazing, as we have the chance
to actually run a program on this beautiful sight,
where they're learning so much about nature and construction at the same time.
Just doing this and going through this process
and all the surprises that come with it
was a lot of fun, actually. As stressful as it could be at times, is a lot of fun,
still, working together. So, we want every
student to come out a bit with a basic knowledge of construction, a basic
knowledge of ecology,
but more than that, just to be inspired by the program and to
really understand that girls can too, and that they can do anything that boys can do.
I think it can really help because, one, it's like beautifying the space and everything,
and it also helps the community for people like us who go and
come here and learn
about what other job opportunities we could possibly have.
We're not constricted to just stereotypes
about what girls can do. You can do so much more. I think it's a great place for girls to gather and
get to know one another while doing something that will benefit the
community.
I didn't have mentors. I didn't have a lot of female mentors in my life, and so it was
just kind of trial and error. And I think having role models, having somebody come in and say
"I've done it. I'm a women. You can, too!" it really makes
a big difference.
Maybe a disadvantage is that they don't have a lot of role models to
look up to and it's very important to have those discussions that
actually,
nowadays, if you put your head to it, you can do really anything.
Our program is something that's going to get the community really involved and thinking
of more ideas that can happen. We see it just going
year after year. We plan on doing it again next year, hopefully, for years to
come, and just continue this.