Calgary hosts the annual “Calgary Stampede”, which bills itself as “The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth”.  Each year, the city welcomes more than 1.2 million visitors to this event, which is the world’s largest rodeo. It features an internationally recognized rodeo competition, a midway, stage shows, concerts, agricultural competitions, Chuckwagon races, First Nations exhibitions, and pancake breakfasts around the city, among other attractions.

106km west of Calgary is the beautiful municipality of Canmore. Over 71 kilometres of multi-use trails within the town limits, World Class Canmore Nordic Centre, 5 major ski resorts, hiking, climbing, mountain biking, kayaking, canoeing, rafting, combine to provide an endless array of outdoor activity options.

Cochrane is one of Calgary’s largest towns and one of the fastest growing communities in Canada. Cochrane is situated at the base of the Big Hill in the Bow River Valley. Like many communities in Alberta, Cochrane is known for outdoor pursuits including paragliding and skydiving.

Strathmore is a town located along the Trans-Canada Highway in southern Alberta, 40 kilometres east of Calgary.  Their motto “Where Quality of Life is a Way of Life” can be easily understood as over 11,000 residents enjoy the ‘country-living’ lifestyle yet have easy access to Calgary.

Located half-way between Calgary and Edmonton is Alberta’s 3rd largest city, Red Deer.  Red Deer is located in aspen parkland, a region of rolling hills focused on oil, grain, and cattle production. The city is a centre for oil and agriculture distribution, and the surrounding region is a major centre for petrochemical production. Because of
the large herds of elk or red deer in this area, it was known as elk or red deer country by the first nations. The Cree called the district Waskasoo, while the Blackfoot called it Ponoka (their words for elk) country. The first Europeans saw that the elk of Western Canada were very similar to the red deer of Scotland.

We cannot forgot to mention “The Dinosaur Capital of the World”, Drumheller. Only a 90-minute drive from Calgary, the town of Drumheller is home to the best Badlands scenery in Canada, the world-famous Royal Tyrrell Museum, and the richest deposits of fossils and dinosaur bones in North America.

• Get to know Canadians
• Improve communications skills
• Share your culture

I was arranging a placement with one of our partners in children’s programs and we were discussing the summer camp program for children. He mentioned that there are many fun activities in the program calendar but that they also include an educational component too.

For example, the children in this program visit a local farmer’s market to learn about fresh fruits and vegetables and the importance of healthy eating. He said that the staff is looking forward to having an international volunteer and hope that she will teach the children a little about her home country!

Tip: Be prepared to participate and share your culture!

Red Leaf Volunteers

One of our volunteers came to Canada for a month and choose children’s programming.  Her host family love hosting volunteers and were so excited to tell me that Aya had written a 4 page letter about her experiences.  She learned so much about primary education in Canada and also about our culture that they described her experience as “transformational”!  She departed with a few tears, lots of new ideas and renewed determination to become a teacher.

I just read Aya’s 4 page letter about her volunteer experience and it is inspiring! She works with children in Japan and came to Canada to learn about our systems here.  She came with very clear ideas about what she wanted to learn and we were able to find her the right opportunity so her goals would be met.  She was an active participant in the programming and if she didn’t understand why things were being done in a certain way, she asked questions.  She wrote that she had a wonderful time and will never forget her time here.  She said that she has new confidence and thinks she will be a better teacher for having spent time volunteering in Canada.  She sent a big thank you to everyone who helped her!

Tip:  Tell us what you hope to learn when you apply to volunteer.

“All of the people I met were so nice and friendly and I got to meet and get to know a lot of new friends.  All my prospects became true, I could improve my English and learned a lot for myself.  I would always do this internship again and I really miss everybody there, especially the kids.  And thank you for all your help. It was good to know that there would be a contact partner, if I needed somebody.”

Red Leaf is proud to share our volunteers’ experiences and would like to extend our thanks to all of the wonderful students who have stayed with us while volunteering in Canada.

Canada's national symbol the beaver

Did you know that the beaver is Canada’s national symbol? The Beaver is also on our 5 cent coin (nickel).

There are so many reasons to volunteer with Red-Leaf in Canada but did you ever think of coming for the food?  Did you know that Canada is the largest producer of maple syrup in the world?!

Maple trees are tapped for only 4 – 6 weeks every year as ideal conditions call for warm sunny days and frosty nights.  The sap from the trees is boiled down to produce maple syrup, maple cream, sugar and candy.  Canadians traditionally put maple syrup on pancakes.  Many communities have “Sugarbush” festivals in March and April.  I went to a local festival a couple of weeks ago and had pancakes outside in the park.

If you haven’t tried REAL maple syrup, believe me that alone is worth the trip to Canada. Of course there are also the wonderfun volunteer opportunities with Red Leaf.  Our programs include Animal Care, Environmental Conservation, Children’s Programs and Community Support Programs. Red-Leaf Volunteers make a difference. To find out more about to you can join the global volunteer movement visit our website  www.red-leaf.com, become a Facebook Fan or download an application form now.

“I had a very great time and I would recommend it to everyone who likes kids. I spend four weeks volunteering, where I had a lot of fun with the kids and also with the people working there. Most of them are very outgoing and like to talk with you. I think they’re the best teachers because they correct you very honestly. That’s the best way to learn the language.  At the beginning I assisted the staff doing different things like cooking, sports or arts and crafts. After two weeks I had the great chance to do something in arts and crafts with the kids by myself and it was a great experience for me. I really would  recommend this kind of volunteering, I had a very great time and I enjoyed it so much!”

Over the next few weeks, we’ll explore some of the reasons to volunteer. Here are some to think about:

• Gain job related skills
• Do something you believe in
• Practice English
• Meet new people

Why do you want to volunteer? Blog your stories and comments here and post photos and videos on Facebook.