Nature for New Canadians Brings Youth Camping Experience to Alberta Wilderness
Seventeen young newcomers to Canada experienced their first camping trip this summer through the Nature for New Canadians 2025 Youth Camping Trip. This initiative was delivered in partnership by Care for Newcomers (Care), the Waskasoo Environmental Education Society (WEES), with partial funding from the Community Foundation of Central Alberta.
This year’s campers, from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Jordan, Kenya, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, and Vietnam, spent multiple days at Aspen Beach Lakeview Campground, where many saw mountains up close and shooting stars for the first time.
Building Skills and Shifting Perspectives
The multi-day immersion gave participants hands-on experience with hiking, campfire cooking, camp chores, and wildlife education. Campers learned practical outdoor skills and gained a new sense of both independence and interdependence while experiencing many of the well-documented benefits of connecting with nature.
“Programs like this highlight the importance of making nature accessible and welcoming for everyone. By introducing new Canadians to Alberta’s parks and protected areas, we are able to foster a stronger connection to the land and create opportunities for people to build meaningful relationships with the environment—and with each other,” said Alberta Parks Staff involved with the program.
“Interpretive activities play a key role in building comfort and confidence in outdoor settings, helping newcomers feel informed, empowered, and inspired to return to these landscapes and explore further developing a lasting appreciation for Alberta’s natural spaces.”
Creating Common Ground
Beyond practical outdoor skills, the program addressed a less obvious but potentially more significant outcome: cultural integration.
Camping is a widespread childhood experience for many Albertans, creating a shared cultural reference point. By participating in this tradition, newcomer youth now have common ground with their Canadian-born peers—a foundation for connection, belonging, and mutual understanding.
The transformation was documented through staff observations and post-trip survey responses, which showed growth in both independence and group cohesion among participants.
The Nature for New Canadians program is planning another trip for Summer 2026, where it will provide more newcomer youths with access to experiences that foster both practical skills and social belonging in their new home. This powerful experience will continue to open doors to new relationships with nature—ones built on respect, curiosity, and a growing sense of comfort in a new country.
