Ten 4-H members from across Rainy River District returned home from New Brunswick last week where they had been taking place in the first part of a Canadian exchange.
The youth, ranging in age from 13-17, left July 1 and spent one week in rural areas near Hampstead. The second part of the exchange will occur at the end of the month when their counterparts visit the district for a week.
“The trip went really well,” enthused Kathy Bodnar, who was the adult chaperone for the trip and had two children travelling. “Everyone had a really good time.”
She explained each participant was delegated to stay with a host family when they were there, and vice versa when the New Brunswick participants visit here.
Bodnar noted they were kept quite busy during their trip, visiting the ocean, St. John, Fredericton, art galleries, legislative buildings, and the market.
“We were right on the St. John River and they have ferries that are part of the highway, so to cross the highway they had to ride the ferry,” she said.
4-H member Mitchell Haw was thrilled to be able to see areas of New Brunswick.
“And the family I was staying with showed me Prince Edward Island one day,” he expressed. “It was awesome. It was so great to see the sights because I had never been to the Maritimes before.”
Bodnar explained she found the lifestyle there much less hectic than here in the Rainy River District.
“The scenery is really hilly and pretty and it’s on the river. And they have lots of trees and farmers like us, but I think they may be a little more relaxed there than we are,” she voiced.
“We’re always hustling and bustling, but maybe it’s because they were off for a week,” she reasoned.
Haw, on the other hand, found New Brunswick wasn’t as different as he had expected.
“Although some of us did not live with a family who lived on a farm it was very interesting to learn and compare their agriculture to agriculture in the Rainy River District, such as methods of haying, land formation, and varieties of crops grown,” he indicated.
The participants stayed in small villages along the river and many of the families had different livelihoods, such as a poultry farm, a pottery studio, and an apple orchard.
Bodnar noted she also found everyone in the maritime province very friendly.
“When we went to Fredericton, we went to the legislative buildings and it was in session. We sat in the gallery and they stopped the proceedings to welcome us all,” she said.
She said one of the highlights was their visit to the ocean.
“It was cold, but they all jumped in,” she remarked. “Then they all went searching for shells at the ocean’s edge.”
They were also able to see a cruise ship docked in the St. John harbour, visit King’s Landing (a pioneer village), and an old cathedral in Fredericton.
“There’s lot of history there,” Bodnar voiced. “Because it’s an older city and it was settled before ours was, there’s a lot of history and that I found very interesting.”
She noted all of the participants got along well and developed friendships with their counterparts.
“It was really nice to meet new people and make new friends,” Haw stressed, adding he can’t wait to show them the sites in Rainy River District.
The 4-H group is making plans to take the New Brunswick visitors to many interesting locations in the area, such as camping, Pither’s Point Park, the Fort Frances Museum, Kay-Nah-Chi-Wah-Nung Historical Centre, and several local farms.
The participants will also have one free day to spend with their host family.
“The last night they’re here, we’ll do a big wind-up get-together at the park in Stratton,” Bodnar added. “Other kids from 4-H or the community can come out that Friday night.”
The exchange program is organized through Canadian 4-H, in conjunction with Connections Canada.
The local 4-H group has participated in a similar exchange before, but not in recent years. This year just 30 groups—that’s 15 exchanges—were selected to take place in Canada though this organization.
The 4-H members would made the trek to New Brunswick included Haw, Cody and Theo Heyens, Joe and Cody Bodnar, David Donaldson, Jolene Stahn, Tegan Miller, Tyler Neilson, and Andrew Morrish.
“It’s definitely a worthwhile experience to see other places in Canada,” Bodnar said, adding she hopes the local clubs can get involved in the program again in the future.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
