BOOTCAMP 2024 – MAKING FLIES OUT OF MAGGOTS

As we say farewell to our busy field season and welcome the arrival of fall and soon to be winter, the team has come together for a season-end gathering focused on team bonding and training. Staff has travelled from all over Canada and gathered for our annual training event which included a week of camping, team building, refreshing old skills and learning new ones.

We were once again hosted by the Dale and Collen Kiselyk at Nature Alive Adventures and Retreat. The week was filled with hands-on learning, where we honed a variety of survival skills. From mastering fire-making techniques, building shelters, crafting rope from grass and roots, tracking techniques, and refining our gathering skills, we gained valuable knowledge in outdoor self-sufficiency.

Black Fly staff presented a range of informative sessions to showcase the diverse roles we each play within the company. This helped everyone gain a deeper understanding of the unique specialties and expertise that each team member brings to the table.daily contests kept the bootcamp competitive and engaging. Participants earned points through a series of challenges designed to test practical skills and teamwork. These included backing up and hooking a trailer, performing trailer inspections, ATV safety, towing and extracting a stuck vehicle, writing safety plans, playing Jenga (to test strategic thinking), and tackling a variety of mock scenarios looking at QAES assessments, wildlife sweeps, soil sampling, and vegetation plots.

After a week filled with delicious meals along with valuable skill-building and meaningful conversations, the team departed bootcamp energized and eager to embrace the challenges of the 2025 field season.