Elementary students from four local schools got a chance to get their hands dirty as they learned how to build their own labyrinth at Parksville beach Friday.
The event, said organizer Holly Carnegie-Letcher, was the Children's Labyrinth-Building Workshop, one of the activities held in conjunction with the International Labyrinth Gathering, held at Tigh-Na-Mara Resort from Sept. 16-22.
She said the labyrinth workshop gave the children from Parksville, Qualicum Beach, Errington and Winchelsea Elementary schools more than just a chance to put down their books for a fun day at the beach.
"We learn about working together and problem solving together," she said. "When they walk the path it's a great left-right brain exercise, great brain stimulation."
Labyrinths, she said, are ancient pathways that are found in cultures all over the world.
"We use them as a walking meditation," she said. "It's a peaceful pathway, a chance to quiet the mind. Its a time to enact with whatever is important to you."
The gathering, she said, is the 15th annual, but the first to be held in Canada. The event, she added, brought about 150 delegates from countries around the globe.
The delegates, she said, planned to take some time to walk the labyrinth the children made before heading off on two tours — one that went to the Courtenay-Comox area to experience the labyrinths in that area and one that was destined to stay local, visiting labyrinths in Parksville and Qualicum Beach.