Paddles with Purpose: The Senior Paddle Project 2025
As part of the Earth Day workshops on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, our Grade 11 students took part in a meaningful and creative LCS tradition: the Senior Paddle Project. This special initiative gives students the chance to create something deeply personal, rooted in Canadian heritage and ready for future adventures.
Each student received a custom cherry wood paddle blank, marked with the LCS stamp on one side—a symbol of their connection to the school and the natural world that surrounds it. From there, students are invited to make their paddle their own, using wood burning or paint to personalize it before applying a finishing coat. As the cherry wood naturally deepens in colour over time, these paddles become even more unique—reflecting the memories and journeys they’ve accompanied.
This isn’t just any paddle. It’s modeled after the Omer Stringer Ottertail Paddle, a design steeped in history and craftsmanship. The ottertail blade, favored for its graceful, efficient movement through water, draws inspiration from Indigenous traditions and the legendary Canadian canoeist, Omer Stringer. Omer championed cherry wood for its strength, buoyancy, and beauty—qualities that make it both functional and symbolic.
The Senior Paddle Project is about more than woodworking. It’s about connection—to tradition, to nature, and to the LCS journey. Each paddle becomes a personal keepsake, ready to accompany students on the Grade 12 Algonquin Trip, where it can begin its story as a tool of exploration. Later, it serves as a tangible reminder of their time at Lakefield—one they can proudly display after graduation.
With every stroke in the water, the paddle becomes a bridge between past and future, between heritage and personal growth. The Senior Paddle Project invites our students to carry forward a legacy of adventure, stewardship, and connection—to the land, the water, and their own unfolding stories.
School Information
4391 County Road 29, Lakefield Ontario K0L 2H0 705.652.3324 admissions@lcs.on.ca
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Lakefield College School is a private, coeducational boarding and day school for students in grades 9 through 12, located in Lakefield, Ontario, Canada.
We respectfully acknowledge that Lakefield College School is located on the Treaty 20 Michi Saagiig territory and in the traditional territory of the Michi Saagiig and Chippewa Nations, collectively known as the Williams Treaties First Nations, which include: Curve Lake, Hiawatha, Alderville, Scugog Island, Rama, Beausoleil, and Georgina Island First Nations. Lakefield College School respectfully acknowledges that the Williams Treaties First Nations are the stewards and caretakers of these lands and waters in perpetuity and that they continue to maintain this responsibility to ensure their health and integrity for generations to come.
We respectfully acknowledge that Lakefield College School is located on the Treaty 20 Michi Saagiig territory and in the traditional territory of the Michi Saagiig and Chippewa Nations, collectively known as the Williams Treaties First Nations, which include: Curve Lake, Hiawatha, Alderville, Scugog Island, Rama, Beausoleil, and Georgina Island First Nations. Lakefield College School respectfully acknowledges that the Williams Treaties First Nations are the stewards and caretakers of these lands and waters in perpetuity and that they continue to maintain this responsibility to ensure their health and integrity for generations to come.
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