Last week, a tiny two engined plane on a grey windy day lifted off in to the clouds with six MDM students. Our MDM project team was on its way to Bella Bella. The place has been the focus of our work this semester.  It was a short flight from YVR to Port Hardy, on the Northern most tip of Vancouver Island, then a 30 minute hop further north to Bella Bella.

Bella Bella is a First Nations community of 1500 located about 750 km's North of Vancouver. This semester for our industry project we have been working with Pacific Wild, a conservation and education group based in the region. Pacific Wild has a series of remote control cameras located throughout the wilderness to observe wildlife behaviours. We have been using the material from these cameras to design and develop educational material for the local school in Bella Bella.

This trip was our chance to experience first hand the area and demo some of the activities with the students. The area around Bella Bella is famously referred to as the Great Bear Rainforest. It is an area of pristine natural beauty. The scenery carries  the intense, graceful, energy of pure wilderness. Little forested islands litter the coast line, huge, snow capped mountains stand as sentinels over the ocean. The majority of the forests have been untouched by the human hand, unmolested old growth ecosystems.

We stayed at our client, Ian McAllister's home. Ian's home rests on a bluff across the water from the town of Bella Bella on Denny Island. The island is home to about eighty residents. We stayed in a cabin tucked behind the woods overlooking the ocean and mountains. Eagles swept through the air. A wood stove heated the living room which acted as our makeshift project room. Our laptops hummed and the wood crackled as we prepared for our presentation at the school.

On our second day, we were treated to a tour of the area. We packed up in to a sailboat and headed out on a sunny, calm morning. Upon reaching one of the creeks where the cameras are sometimes located, we disembarked and were given a walking tour of the dense bush. We followed a narrow trail cut by packs of wolves that frequent the area. Fresh wolf scat littered the ground. Ian expertly dissected the scat to analyze what the wolves have been dining on during the winter. We used the opportunity to take photos and video and just absorb the power of the place.

After a couple hours walking through the bush and prancing through creeks in our oversized rubber boots, the weather started to turn. The clouds covered the sun and the wind picked up. We made our way back to the sailboat. Unleashed the sails and let the wind take us home. It was the first time on a sailboat for two of our team members, Xiaorui and Anshul. Traveling downwind and the jibing of the boom made the experience exhilirating and complete.

Back at the house, we warmed up and added some finishing touches to the material we were to present at the school the next day. We also introduced Xiarui and Anshul to the North American delicacy of roasted marshmallows. Dinner time arrived and we were treated to a wonderful salmon dinner and a table full of children and visitors. In a place so rural, so quiet, the human connections are strong, the warmth and graciousness ever-present.

Our final night there was stormy. Thunder boomed and lightening flashed. We woke up to hail and wind. We piled in to the boats to get to the school in Bella Bella for our presentation. The waters were rough. The students arrived with weary eyes. It was their spring break. They were making a special trip to school for us. There was a sense of confused excitement in the classroom. Everyone wondered why we were there. I quickly explained what we were up to and that we needed their help to test our activities. The students eagerly gathered around the two laptops and started working away. Collaboratively and competitively the students, who ranged in age from seven to twelve, spent over an hour going through our activities. We watched and listened, helped when necessary, took notes, photographed. The testing phase of production is always a little nerve-wracking and exciting. It proved a great success.

Our flight out of Bella Bella was nearly cancelled due to bad weather. Another day in that peaceful place would have been welcomed by all. The flight home was choppy. But no turbulence could drain the energy and enthusiasm we gained from the excitement of the trip and the new experiences shared.