My name is Madison Lucas, I am 11 years old, and I am from Huuayaht First Nations. My favourite hobby is soccer, which I have been playing ever since I was three years old. When I lived in Port Alberni and Nanaimo, I played soccer every week, but in 2019 I moved to Gold River and there are no soccer teams here. Once in a while I will go to the soccer field and play with one of my friends.
Since I have a lot of family here in Gold River, I usually go fishing and hunting. Before moving to Gold River, I didn’t see myself going out fishing and hunting, but now I love fishing and hunting with my family. When I first started fishing, I found it kind of exhausting because you have to pull the net in and use a lot of strength. But now I find it very fun, and I love helping with the fish. When we watch for fish, all we can hear are the eagles talking to us and the fish swish-splash in the river. The large brown eagles swoop around above us and speak to our family. Often, seals pop their heads out of the water and scare the fish away.
When I first went out hunting, I loved it because I got to watch my uncles and grandpa shoot elk. My dad would take me through the gravel roads, and we would be looking for elk and deer, but in the gravel roads there is one spot where there are so many eagles flying around us. If it’s not eagles, then it’s elk. Usually the elk are blended in the bushes. My uncles would have to shoot the elk almost right away because they run away so quickly.
One of the the other things I love about living in Gold River is that since I’ve started going to Ray Wakins Elementary School, I have the opportunity to go on outdoor field trips. I have gone on many field trips in my grade six school year. I have gone on long day hikes, canoeing, and to Mount Washington. Going on our long day hikes we are surrounded by nature, ocean, rivers, and all the nature things you can think of. On our canoeing trips we learn a lot of skills. While we are canoeing our class has so much fun! We jump down hills safely, flip each other’s canoes, swim in the water, have fires, tell stories, and play outdoor games. Going to Mount Washington we go downhill skiing and a few other things I can’t remember.
I’m very grateful to have a teacher and a family that love being outdoors.
