Residents having fun working the property

12-juil.-2010Portage Elora’s beautiful 55 acre-property is therapeutic in itself, providing residents with a peaceful country setting in which to undergo their drug addiction rehabilitation therapy.

Through the sociocultural and recreational programming offered at Portage, residents not only get to enjoy the property as a playground for hiking, canoeing, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and playing outdoor team sports, but they also get to contribute to keeping the grounds in good shape.

In the month of May, they planted 100 trees on the property, which were donated to Portage by the Green Legacy Program. They also planted all the flower beds and recently made a vegetable garden, something the facility has not had in a few years. The residents are trying to grow tomatoes, peppers, zucchinis and watermelons.

In March, Portage Elora made the most of the sugaring off season. As part of the Outdoor Education class at Portage Elora, residents tapped fourteen maples on the centre’s grounds. They learned the mechanics of how the sap flows and were responsible for collecting the sap every day – sometimes several times a day as the mild weather this March was particularly favourable to the project. Once boiled, the residents managed to create one full litre of fresh maple syrup, which is pretty impressive considering that the ratio of sap to syrup is 40 to 1. The residents also learned - by accident - what happens when the sap is overboiled… they made maple taffy together with that batch!