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Specialist High Skills Major Programs


At Leaders of the Day, the goal of our Specialist High Skills Major Certifications is to provide students with valuable opportunities to engage in some unique activities that they might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience in their lifetimes. These carefully designed programs help students to excavate essential concepts about personal Leadership and the keystones of communication, while exploring their own emerging talents.

Additionally, these programs help students to develop some of the fundamental skills that serve as strong foundations for their future careers. Employers recognize these skills and traits as tangible assets that definitely help to position students positively and help them rise to the top of the resume pile. Our programs have been intentionally crafted to help promote the aptitudes and character strengths required to confidently take on the challenges of today’s rapidly changing world.

At Leaders of the Day we offer the compelling invitation to students to step out of their everyday situations and surroundings and into the heart of some unforgettable adventures. During the program students are immersed in a fully experiential learning environment in our “wilderness classroom” where they will learn about: team building; effective communication, critical thinking, creative problem solving and personal leadership.

Our unique approach to experiential learning provides space for our faculty of Instructors to help your students acquire some tangible skills that will helps set them apart from the rest as they begin to make their way in the wider world.  For us it is not simply supporting students to discover “what they want to be” but also “who they want to be”.

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G.P.S. Basic Operator and Navigation Program

A One Day Certification Experience


This is an introductory program aimed at equipping students with the foundational skills of navigation. This one day hands-on experience led by industry experts and professional Guides focuses on the important essentials of map, compass and G.P.S. technologies. Back-country navigation and proficiency with map and compass is beginning to become a declining art form and yet it is foundational knowledge required across countless fields and disciplines: Eco-tourism, Geology, Forestry, Mining, Search and Rescue the Armed Forces etc.

1/3 of the curriculum for this program is delivered in a traditional classroom setting as we lock down the fundamentals of topographical maps and coordinate systems and the balance occurs outside with the students engaged in very hands-on, experiential learning. Upon successful completion of the day, students will have earned their G.P.S. Basic Operator and Navigation Certification. This program can be “bundled” with our Canoe Tripping Certification and take place entirely on expedition or alternatively with our Core Elements Survival Program to enrich the experience with some additional life-saving skills and knowledge.

Click here to contact us about our current pricing guide

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Wilderness Skills and Survival Program

A One Day Certification Experience


Regardless of our cultural backgrounds, our Ancestors were all experts at the art of survival or we simply wouldn’t be here. This program provides rich opportunities for students to be mentored in some skills that are fast becoming forgotten art-forms and to foster a sense of confidence and self-reliance . This is a “crash course” in the essentials of not just surviving but thriving.

Earth-based skills such as: shelter building, knot tying, harvesting wild teas, tool making or traditional fire-lighting (with bow drills or flint and steel) are the focus of this hands-on program. For those who may go on to careers that may have them working in remote settings and “off the beaten track”, knowledge of these skills may someday potentially save their lives or the lives of others that are with them.

No one ever plans to find themselves stranded in the middle of nowhere, but it is a potential occupational reality for many.  Understanding what to do and how to do it with limited equipment and supplies is the name of the game. Come take a step back in time and learn some of the arts of innovation and self-reliance with our experienced faculty of Wilderness Educators. This program is available in both one and two day formats.

Click here to contact us about our current pricing guide

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Communication in Leadership Program

A Two Day Certification Experience


Our Communication in Leadership Program led by experienced Facilitators invites students inside a powerful forum for personal development. Through a progression of very intentionally designed activities, students have the chance to experience the value of high performance Teams, to embrace challenge as opportunity and to discover essential understandings about the power of communication. These living concepts are incredibly valuable skills that have enormous value out in the world.

The program takes place at a beautiful Lodge situated on a private northern lake on the fringe of Algonquin Park. During their 2 days on-site students engage in program elements designed to promote, co-operation communication, critical thinking, leadership and creative problem solving. They build trust in one another, accomplish things they weren’t sure they could do before and are celebrated for their achievements. This rich atmosphere of shared learning has tremendous impacts on youth resulting in powerful outcomes for all.

Our activities include: strategic games, innovative problem solving tasks, opportunities for reflection, challenges on our low ropes course set in the forest and an unforgettable high ropes experience. An engaging debrief of the program will take place to help harvest transferable learnings for the students as they prepare to make the transition back home.  Students continually tell us that their two days with us felt more like Five incredible days that they will never forget!

Accommodation at the Lodge and a delicious meal plan are included in the tuition for your Adventure.

Click here to contact us about our current pricing guide

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Introduction to Canoe Tripping Tandem and Solo

A 5 Day, Expedition-based Certification


This is a official Paddle Canada expedition based certification program whose curriculum unfolds over 5 days in beautiful Algonquin Park. The program explores a number of core competencies which help orient novice travelers to the art of living and journeying in the back-country by canoe. Lesson topics include items such as: paddling technique, camp set-up and selection, safe travel practices while in the back-country, wilderness cooking and baking on both fires and stoves, emergency communications, risk management and route planning, canoe outfitting, basic flat-water rescue principles, reading weather patterns, and harvesting wild edibles.

Upon completion of the program students who can properly demonstrate the highlighted skills will be awarded their Paddle Canada Certification. *We also run certification programs at the Advanced Level which is equivalent to the ORCKA level 3 which is required by Teachers who wish to lead their own expeditions.

This is an all-inclusive program led by skilled Senior Instructors from our faculty of specialists. We provide professional instruction and skills mentorship; delicious meals and snacks, high quality group equipment, (including tents, stoves, sleeping bags, tarps, canoes, paddles canoe packs, P.F.D.’s, professional series First Aid Kits, Satellite phones, etc..).

At Leaders of the Day, we hire talented Instructors with vast teaching experience and deep log books. They hold the highest industry standard certifications and are practiced guides, mentors and role-models. They are experts at living, teaching and traveling in the wilderness where we make our “classroom”. At Leaders of the Day, program quality, safety and positive educational outcomes are our chief focus. Our Instructors continually upgrade their training in the latest instructional, and risk management practices.

Leaders of the Day specializes in training programs for professional Educators and world renowned Leadership experiences for high school aged students. With over 2 decades of professional experience in the Experiential Education Industry, we have led, designed and developed programs and training experiences on 3 continents. Leaders of the Day designs programs for clients around the world and as far north as the Arctic Circle.

Click here to visit the full information page for this program

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