Camp Ak-O-Mak

Camp Ak-O-Mak Community Project is an annual event for the Women in Red Seal Skilled Trades project at Sheridan College. The event brings together students and tradeswomen from Durham, Fanshawe, Lambton, Sheridan, and St. Clair Colleges to support a not-for-profit all-girls summer camp in Northern Ontario. This year, the group was also joined by industry professionals from OPG, Black & McDonald, and Aecon. This year's team was challenged to build a new deck in just 10 hours, with a firm deadline as camp counsellors were arriving to stay in the cabin that evening. Other projects included welding a pair of custom 16-foot soccer nets and constructing a new archery shelter with targets that allow more campers to participate while safely preventing arrows from disappearing into the surrounding forest. The largest project was framing a new water treatment building, allowing the camp to permanently relocate its water treatment equipment into a heated, insulated structure that will better protect this critical infrastructure. The two days were filled with last-minute design changes, working through the rain, adapting equipment to operate with limited power, and learning new skills on the fly. Electricians built roof trusses, machinists picked up framing nailers, and everyone stepped outside their usual trade to help wherever they were needed. Projects like this are possible because of the collaboration, leadership, adaptability, and dedication that women continue to bring to the skilled trades. It was another incredible year of building not only lasting infrastructure, but also lasting connections.