What better way to help bring Newfoundland’s rich history and culture to life than an overnight trip to Woody Island! There, students can step back in time as they experience the environment of a small outport community. Learning activities are limited only by your imagination.

On a walking tour of Woody Island, students will be able to experience first-hand how the people of outport Newfoundland lived and observe the ruins of churches, schools, houses, and wharves. Explore the three small graveyards located there. Visit the Store Loft Museum. See how many of the over 100 artifacts and collectibles your students can identify and then learn their use.

Chat with some of the local fishermen, many of whom once lived year-round on Woody Island. Play some of the games that were the main pastime for children growing up in outport Newfoundland. Participate in an Outport Relay Race, (coiling rope, casting nets, dory race, etc.) or a Scavenger Hunt (sand dollars, sea urchins, skates wings, etc.). Experience the past through traditional music, learn a traditional dance, try your hand at the spoons or the “ugly stick” and feel free to take along your own music.

• Bringing resettlement to life by writing/dramatizing conversations of family members as they discuss the pros and cons of leaving the island.
• Finding perfect settings to present selected pieces of poetry or prose.
• Perusing books and pictures depicting the history of communities around Placentia Bay and having students write a description of Woody Island before and after resettlement.
• Visiting the Store Loft Museum and using the Newfoundland artifacts and collectibles to stimulate discussion and creative writing.
• Writing a tall tale or a ghost story set on the island to be read later in the evening around the bonfire on the beach or in the comfort of the lodge.

A trip to Woody Island offers teachers the perfect opportunity to get their students out of the classroom and into the natural environment with various Eco-systems, including:

Intertidal Marine

Sandy and rocky beaches provide samples of marine algae and other elements comprising coastline profile. The occasional glimpse of an oil tanker in the distance stimulates lively discussion.

Bogs

Close to the lodge is an ideal place for students to do a bog field study, examining the microscopic community in a picture plant and in bog water.

Boreal Forests, Meadows and Streams

The walking paths that connected the original settlers of the island provide easy access to the best of the island’s natural habitats.

Ocean

On the boat trip to the island and the tour of the bay, students may see whales and sea birds or even a caribou swimming from one island to another.

Woody Island Resort is an example of an entrepreneurial vision come to fruition.

Following the resettlement of the island in the early 1970s, only seasonal fishermen and those with summer homes were able to return for extended visits.

The Resort began with an idea, followed some painstaking years later by the main lodge, and has grown to encompass four buildings, including meeting and dormitory facilities.

During the trip and back in the classroom, students can be challenged to consider the difficulties the owner may have encountered, to suggest ideas for improvement and expansion, to anticipate obstacles and devise marketing strategies.