Shouting affirmations into the mountains solidified a week of learning and growing for Oak Bay teen Taylor Macdonald.

Now 17, in the summer of 2021 she embarked on a seven-day camp called Girl in the Wild B次元官网网址� a free confidence-building camp in wild spaces for teens who identify as girls or non-binary.

In a week filled with exercises focused on mental health, the bookending of notebook work stands out for the Grade 11 student at St. Michaels University School.

Day one included hiking into camp in the Kootenay mountains all dressed in issued gear B次元官网网址� putting them all on the same footing. They were also issued a notebook, and that first night told to B次元官网网址渨rite down everything you hate about yourself,B次元官网网址� Macdonald recalled.

Then they read them aloud.

On the last night, each girl wrote down what they liked about each other person in the group.

Those too were read aloud. Each girl stood at the centre of a circle and repeated the compliments thrown at them B次元官网网址� echoing them into nature.

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B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 building people up to go out in the world with a more confident mindset of themselves B次元官网网址� to accept and embrace ourself and be supportive of others,B次元官网网址� she said.

Macdonald struggled with depression and anxiety in middle school and the start of high school. When her mom discovered Girl in the Wild online, it was a mere hours to the application deadline. The teen buckled down in her room to write her story.

B次元官网网址淚 poured my heart out for two hours,B次元官网网址� she said.

Macdondald was also with her mom B次元官网网址� theyB次元官网网址檇 just finished a workout rocking to Taylor Swift tunes B次元官网网址� when the news arrived she was among the eight assigned to her age group for the summer of 2021. B次元官网网址淢y mom cried B次元官网网址� I was just really excited. It felt very validating,B次元官网网址� Macdonald said.

She was on a path to wellness when camp began and learned both valuable tools, and a lot about herself. ItB次元官网网址檚 one reason Macdonald aims to raise awareness for her peers. She also did a fundraising walk, spending six hours lapping up and down Beach Drive on a sunny weekend day with a goal to raise $2,500 B次元官网网址� the cost to send one person to camp. Three girls attending this year saw her campaign online and came to join her. Naturally they had questions B次元官网网址� primarily about the vibe of the camp.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a supportive, welcoming environment (and) you want to spread that energy,B次元官网网址� Macdonald said. ItB次元官网网址檚 a place to build relationships and she remains in touch with some of the girls from two years ago.

Learn more about camp at donate to MacdonaldB次元官网网址檚 campaign to send girls to camp at.