The Forest Path

Summer Camp staff call-out Do you feel connected to nature and kids? Do you have experience with this kind of work? We're looking for some more positions to fill for the summer and potentially the fall. For teenagers, we can also offer a mentor-in-training program. Email [email protected] with your resume and availability and why this would be exciting for you!

Summer is coming! And Forest Path summer camps! Registrations now available on www.theforestpath.ca We are also looking for teens, for becoming mentors-in-training, contact us for more info!

Summer Camp dates are coming next week!Summer Camp dates are coming next week!

We're talking about bears this week, practising what to do if we see one and hearing the story of the only time Malin used her bear spray, but on herself.

Spring season with Forest Path started today! So fun to be in a snow-free forest and dance the crocus dance, hear birds, and see the spring sign of kids playing with the dirt. Welcome new and old friends! Some spots still available: Monday adding age 3-6 from 9 am - 12 pm: 4 spots Tuesday Full... Wed age 6-8 from 12 - 2:30 pm: 2 spots Thur age 4-6 from 9 am - 2 pm: 2 spots Fri age 7-13 from 1:30 - 4:30 pm: 2 spots See more

Do you know what birds are singing now? What plants are edible or poisonous? Do you want to feel more comfortable and at home outside? Join our adult class to get a feel of the philosophy of The Forest Path and get to know your home of Sinixt tumxulax. https://theforestpath.ca/product/adult-forestschool/

A few spots available on our Wild Fridays program, Fridays 1:15 - 4:15 pm for ages 7-12. Care for the Earth, for each other and our Self, with lots of fun games, fire tending, nature skills and mindfulness. https://theforestpath.ca/product/wild-child-fridays/

Does your son has a lot of energy but fewer activities cause of Covid? Do you want to balance his screen time? Would you like to see your son being resilient and comfortable in the outdoors in any weather? Practice being resilient with various emotions? The Boys' Nature Connection program Wed 3:15 - 5:45 pm with the mentors Cedar de Trey and Tanin Shunter. https://theforestpath.ca//boys-nature-connection-wednesda/

Winter forest school is open for registrations! 2-3 hours, various ages on different days. What I understand, kids need to use their whole bodies and all senses. The best way to do that is through play and curiosity, outside where they can climb, balance and jump as well as smell and sense. Kids need healthy attachments, that is loving compassionate positive rolemodeling adults that guide and coregulate emotions. ... And kids need attachment to their local place, to intimately get to know and be known by the rocks and trees and creatures and seasons where the kids live. To know home. Try it yourself or with your family, go outside to the same place everyday/every week and greet the world with all your senses, and see what happens! See more

Forest School is starting again on January 11th till mid-March. The province allows kids' programs for outside exercise and recreation. Register and pay on www.theforestpath.ca Monday 9 am - noon Age 3-5 Skate park... Tues 9 am - noon Age 3-5 Cemetery entrance Mon 3:30 - 6 pm Girls age 8-13 Mountain Station Wed 3:15 - 5:45 Boys age 8-13 Mountain Station Wed 12:30 pm 3 pm Age 5-8 Cemetery entrance Fri 1:15 - 4:15 Age 7-12 Mountain Station "Even before the loneliness of quarantine, health professionals worried about what some called an epidemic of human isolation. They reported that loneliness is a high-risk factor for early death. A 2018 study found that each generation, from oldest to youngest the Greatest Generation to Generation Z experienced more social isolation than the one that came before it." We are separated from each other by unwalkable cities, the breakdown of the extended family and the dominance of screen time. But I believe our loneliness is also rooted in something older, deeper: our alienation from the natural world, our desperateness to feel that we are not alone in the universe our species loneliness, a term introduced in 1993 by Michael Vincent McGinnis, an editor of books about ecology." Richard Louv

Walking the forest path. May the forest be with you. And with all kids.

How do you become a mature adult? I hear the need for mentoring our youth to grow connectedly, to have adult role models beyond parents. My heart is happy for the Forest Path girls group and boys group that started this year. Thanks to Cedar de Trey and Tanin Shunter for spearheading the Boys nature connection group. We envision to continue the rites of passage work that several friends here were or are involved with.

The Nelson NatureKids club is seeking volunteer mentors to help guide outdoor nature connection activities for local families. We run monthly events year round.... Some possible topics could be outdoor survival, wildlife ecology, animal tracking, hiking or snowshoeing. If you're interested in more information about volunteering with our club please contact [email protected]. Mentors are asked to lead one event, which runs ~2 hours. Our next event will be in January 2021. We are also seeking volunteer club leaders, if you are interested in a longer commitment. See more

Grown-ups need Forest school too. So beat the November blues and join me in the forest for 4 Sunday afternoons! https://theforestpath.ca/product/survival-adults/

Daycares in Finland Built a 'Forest Floor', And It Changed Children's Immune Systems - new research "It would be best if children could play in puddles and everyone could dig organic soil," encourages environmental ecologist Aki Sinkkonen, from the University of Helsinki. "We could take our children out to nature five times a week to have an impact on microbes." The changes are simple, the harms low, and the potential benefits widespread.... https://www.sciencealert.com/daycares-in-finland-built-a-ba See more

Our late fall sessions starting soon! Mon 9 am - noon age 3-6 Tues 9 am - noon age 4-6 Thurs 9 am - noon age 3-6... Wed 3:15 - 4:45 age 8-13 boys Fri 1:15 - 4:15 age 7-12 Sundays 1-4 pm Age 18 up - adults! See more

Fall session 2 registration is available! https://theforestpath.ca/ Here are some photos from our fall so far, from sun to rain.

Learn to plant trees, location close to Cottonwood Lake!

Earth Culture Club with Four Nations Coalition of Indigenous Medecine Earth Culture Club nourishes your children in mind, body, spirit and emotions, through stories, play and adventure! In these unprecedented times, we welcome your children to play and explore nature in healthy ways, offering smaller class sizes and an amazing new outdoor learning environment at the Sinixt historical village site in Vallican, home to a reconstructed pit house!... Our fall session’s theme is The Magic of Connection in Nature and will focus on connection to all life, sharing ancient indigenous methods of interconnection and relationship that go far beyond physical touch by awakening and strengthening the extraordinary extra senses that we all innately possess. We will parter these ancient wisdom techniques with creative fun games, crafts and exercises that foster resiliency and adaptability. We will also be providing reports at the end of every session that help parents and teachers identify and acknowledge what children are learning; recognizing our increasing homeschooling community’s need for programming that meets and exceeds required learning outcomes and core competencies. For: Children ages 6-12 When: Classes run every Friday from 9:30am-12:30pm for 8 consecutive weeks Oct.16-Dec.4, 2020 Where: Vallican, BC Earth Culture Club with Four Nations Coalition of Indigenous Medicine

Boys group on Wednesdays! We are thrilled to be offering an outdoor nature-based program for boys ages 8-12 this fall. Cedar and Tannin have created this program that aims to help boys reconnect to nature, discover their passions and gifts, feel supported during the challenge of our times, and learn more about themselves, nature, and others. Time: 3:15pm-5:45pm Dates: Every Wednesday... Duration: 5 weeks (Sept 30th Oct 28th) Mentors: Cedar de Trey and Tannin Shunter https://theforestpath.ca//boys-nature-connection-wednesda/

Forest School started! We made talking sticks with turkey feathers - striped wing feathers or little downy ones. Talking sticks and staffs are and have been used by first nations in Canada, New Zealand and in ancient Greece, what I know. We did a pretend campfire with a hemlock cone marshmallow in a birchbark graham cracker. We made beautiful land art with the four directions. Medicine wheels can have different colours depending on the nation's tradition.