KITCHENER -- Around 30 soldiers from Guelph's 11th field regiment of The Canadian Army took over the Guelph Lake conservation area for the weekend to do some winter training.

The exercises that took place included patrolling, land navigating, construction of snow defences, and survival in cold weather.

"It's absolutely great to be so close to home and having this beautiful landscape with diverse terrain to work with, it's a great experience," said Alex Fekri, a master bombardier.

With COVID-19 measures in place, those training were wearing masks, sanitized their equipment and hands, and practiced physical distancing where possible.