Edie, 13, is a funky, artsy city kid from Toronto. She sings opera, dances flamenco, and hangs out downtown with her mom, who’s a hairstylist to TV stars! Cody, 14, is a kid from the Sunshine Coast of BC who is a Junior Forest Warden. He loves the outdoors and the natural beauty of the Rockies and Pacific Ocean.

THE SWAP: watch as Edie visits BC for the first time and learns to preserve Canada’s beautiful forest. She will go camping, tree planting, and canoeing, all while learning about safety, ecology and conservation. Meanwhile, Cody will be exploring Downtown Toronto, get a big city makeover, learn to flamenco dance, and sing in a performance of Puccini’s Turandot at Edie’s camp at the Canadian Opera Company. How will a city kid survive in the BC wilderness? How will a nature lover from small town BC survive in Toronto's funky arts community?

SWAPPERS JOURNAL - CODY

The coolest most interesting thing that happened to me on the SWAP would have to be the CN Tower because it gave me a feel of the size of the city of Toronto. I felt most unfamiliar on the SWAP during the Flamenco dancing since I am not very coordinated and have never done anything like Flamenco. I was most proud of myself when I sang Opera because I’m a horrible singer and I don’t think I sang that badly. Thank you for a great time.

SWAPPERS JOURNAL - EDIE

It was really great getting to do things I normally wouldn't get to do, on my SWAP, for example I would never get to plant trees or go canoeing in T.O.! Everything I did, from tree planting to building a birdhouse was amazing, and I will look back on my SWAP fondly because of all these great things. It was an amazing opportunity!

The coolest thing that happened to me on my SWAP was when I went canoeing and ended up tipping over the canoe. It was really "interesting" for two reasons; Number one, I had never gone canoeing or tipped a canoe before, and Number two, I had never been swimming in my clothes. Things felt the most unfamiliar for me at two points during my SWAP. The first time was when I had to eat the berries and learn how to survive in the woods. This was definitely difficult since I'm used to my life in the Big City and how to survive there. The second was when I had to plant trees because I sucked at it.

I was most proud of myself when I was able to lift the canoe. It was really great accomplishing something that I was really not sure if I could do or not. Out of all my challenges this one was the most physically demanding because the canoe was heavy. This challenge was definitely my least favorite because it just involved strength, yet I was happy after completing it because I doubted that I could.