When we reached the top of Mount Cruikshank and stepped out onto the lookout, I was in awe. The climb was fast and seemed to wash by with conversation, so when we saw the rolling mountains stretch so high and far that the end was out of sight, I was shocked by our haste. Everything around us was real and natural; there was so much air. A small road snaked along the trees below us, putting perspective on how high we were through its shocking size. I saw how nature could be when cherished and protected. Today I experienced awe.

 

 

Remember that feeling when… the moon was full and the stars were dancing around it as their reflection hit the ocean, it was a magical sight as we ate celebration cookies with whipped cream and caramel. 

 
– Lexi W. 

 

I got in the boat and got ready to set off on my adventure. As the boat slowly drifted off into the water the boat gently rocked side to side and I gazed off into the distance at the shimmery blue water. The smell of salt filled my nose as I rowed through the water and a sense of calm washed over me as we rowed further into the water.

 

 

I remember that feeling when the sun scorched through the skies, as we paddled endlessly, as we battled ourselves against weather and surroundings, confronting our limits, discovering new horizons in our home far away from home.

 
– Charn Y. 

 

The colours the lake was able to capture were ones I would think to only see in paintings. However, though the colours that I saw that morning were nonetheless beautiful, it was how they made me feel that was the most vibrant thing of all. I experienced the joy yellow brings me, the lightness of pastels, the richness of a deep blue, the youthfulness of a forest green, and the coldness of a grey. In theory it wasn't the colours I saw that made me love the sight so much, but it was how I felt, looking over at my reflection on the water, surrounded by nature. So even as I sit next to the water right at this moment, writing about how much this trip has made me experience, I am able to look up and feel the immense amount of vibrancy and contrast as I did that first morning here.

 
– Elsa B.

 

Today as we approached our next destination the soft grey-white clouds were low and cloaked over the mountains. The previously endlessly high peak of the mountain on the Mainland appeared short as the clouds drifted away, revealing it. The trees are a beautiful evergreen and cover the mainland mountains like a blanket. The scenery from this small island is stunning.

 
– Levi G. 

 

Green; that’s my favourite colour today. Although it’s my all-time favourite colour, today’s experience truly disclosed a brand-new perspective for me. Green is so much more than just a colour; it’s life. It’s moss floating on the salty seawater; it’s spindly pine trees growing vivaciously; it’s sprouts of hundreds of greens; it’s the earthy scent of the forest when birds rouse and the mist hinders your vision within three kilometers. It’s also long-lived and demise. It’s the rotten kelp attracting insects to decompose them, reeking of a stench; but that’s nature; that’s green.

 
– Anonymous