Ontario. Project DARE

• Ontario. Project DARE

• Ontario. Project D.A.R.E.

• Ontario. Project DARE (Wendigo Lake, Ont.)

Project DARE opened in 1971, at Wendigo Lake, northeast of South River, Parry Sound District. The DARE stood for "Development through Adventure, Responsibility and Education". It was subsequently moved to nearby Loxton Lake, on the border of Algonquin Park, where it could accommodate up to 60 boys in three dormitories For a short time, also included a second facility at Portage Lake, situated 50 miles south of Sudbury.

The D.A.R.E. camps provided programs which combined academic training with vigorous outdoor activity, aimed at helping youngsters develop a sense of purpose and to be self-reliant. Each phase forced the youth to reach for a goal he had previously considered to be beyond his capacity. Each group could move on only when all students had reached the required standard of proficiency. In addition to the basic program, all boys receive swimming instruction, St. John's Ambulance first-aid instruction, and had to qualify for the bronze medal in lifesaving.

The educational program was divided into three phases. Phase I (academic program) the emphasis is placed on the practical application of English, mathematics, and science to life in a natural environment. Students receive instruction in woodcutting, fire-fighting, shelter building, map reading, zoology, botany, bush safety, and rescue and survival techniques.

Phase 2 (bush program) gave the student an opportunity to put to practical use what he learned in the classroom, and prepares him for the third and final phase of vigorous outdoor adventure. Students participate in such activities as log cabin building, bridge construction, pioneering, axemanship, lumber camp construction, and other facets of bush construction.

Phase 3 (outward adventure) included, during the summer months, strenuous rock climbing, canoe and kayak trips, sailing expeditions, cross-country hiking, and a five-day solo stay in the woods many miles from the main camp. During the winter, Phase 3 consists of skiing, snowshoeing, rock climbing, and a group survival expedition. The winter solo is for four days.

Within the Ontario government, Project DARE was administered within the Ministry of Correctional Services (1972-1977), and the Ministry of Community and Social Services since 1977. When other training schools were transferred to the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Correctional Services in 1987, Project DARE remained with the Ministry of Community and Social Services. In 1998, the program was privatized but still operates in conjunction with the Ministry of Children and Youth Services.

Project DARE (standing for Development through Adventure, Responsibility, and Education), was a training school for boys, operated as a wilderness camp. Training schools are facilities for youth placed under the wardship of the Ontario government. The schools offer a variety of vocational and occupational training to their wards, as well as treatment services and recreational programs. After 1987, Project DARE became a facility for young offenders from the ages of 12 to 15.

No authorizing agent has been identified for this agency.

RAD: Rules for Archival Description, 2nd edn (2008)

2026-11-16: migrated to AtoM

Annual reports of the Ministry of Correctional Services, 1972 and 1973. KWIK Index to Services of the Ontario Government, 1999.

Archivist(s):
McIlroy