Parks Canada and Camp Program

camp: Up your camp cuisine with this Chinese hot pot recipe Walk in the woods helps youth with mental health issues Offered at parks across the country, the program tries to teach participants the basics of outdoor survival, according to CBC. Teresa Chan came to Canada from Hong Kong in 1993 where she says camping was not a common pastime. The idea of packing up, setting up, and tearing down can seem like a chore, but Parks Canada is hoping to change that — especially for new immigrants — with its Learn to Camp program. But within five years of her arrival, a couple decided to give her a crash course in the great outdoors — and Chan fell in love. So she got involved with Parks Canada and its Learn to Camp program at Rouge Park four years ago. "Camping is a lot of fun and it includes lots of cool activities," she said. "We have to bring simple tools, simple gear and live for four days and three nights in a campground — and we have to be real creative." Although Jacky Lau used to camp in his homeland of Hong Kong, he said the experience in Canada is a very different one. "Camping in Hong Kong, you have to pack very light," the camper said. "Everything you have to combine in one backpack and then usually you have to hike for two to three hours to find a campsite." Jacky Lau and Teresa Chan tell CBC Matt Galloway about how, as immigrants, they embraced a critical part of Canadian culture: camping. A real Canadian experience' Now, she teaches young Chinese immigrants to camp. "I find that camping is a real Canadian experience that I really wanted them to enjoy," she said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.