Outdoor Learning Conference 2025

Outdoor Learning Conference 2025

Welcome to the 2025 Outdoor Learning Conference

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7:59am MDT

*Pre Conference Field Experiences* Kinnear Centre

8:00am MDT

Connecting to the Land - A hike at Iya Mnathka Bus to go to Yamnuska TrailheadAlberta Parks - Kananaskis Country • Andrea Barnes and Vicki Perkins

8:30am MDT

Conference Registration Kinnear Centre

9:00am MDT

Beading is Medicine Banff Centre - room TBDMountain Stek'lep • Theresa Westhaver Connecting Classrooms to Climate: Water Quality Testing at Bow River* Central Park parking lot -- We will walk along the trail to a safe spot along the Bow River!Water Rangers • Praise Osifo Engaging with the Land Through Birds and Technology Kinnear CentreCornell Lab of Ornithology • Susan Licher Forest Play PDC (professional development centre)Forest Play • Dave Verhulst Juggling Connections – Building Community through Play and Focus In a meeting room at the Banff Centre though we will move outside as well.Talk2MorePeople Clarity Coaching and Entertainment • Tony Esteves Learn to Carve Soapstone Banff Centre AmphitheatreNature Explorers Program • Cristin “Lynx” Geestman Listen to the Land: Sacred Buffalo Guardian Hike Kinnear CentreThe Howl Experience • Adam Mertens Wetland Field Trip for Educators Cascade Ponds 51°12'42.4"N 115°32'02.2"W - Google MapsDucks Unlimited Canada • Jessy St-Jean (she/her Who's at the bottom of the creek? The River Institute's Aquatic Invertebrate Ecology Program trail head near a creek or somewhere that we can set up a mini blow up poolRiver Institute • Emilie DeRochie

1:00pm MDT

Welcome and Conference Opening Kinnear CentreSylvia Ann Fox

1:30pm MDT

Slow Networking - Plenary Icebreaker Kinnear Centre

2:00pm MDT

Indigenous Land-Based Learning Panel Keynote Kinnear CentreDr. Sarah Brown • Nicki Ferland • Lindy Henderson

2:45pm MDT

Coffee and Snack Break (Included) Kinnear Centre

3:14pm MDT

*Education Session A* Kinnear Centre

3:15pm MDT

Building Readers and Writers Through Engaging with Place-based Sustainability Issues RavenRachel Tidd • Ivy Waite • Jamie Groeller Challenging Social Constructs through Outdoor Learning ButterflyLaura Jackman Climate Change 101 HuronDr. Ellorie McKnight Dramatized Animal Hikes - Stories, Movement and Activities to help children connect to local animals. OwlJacob Rodenburg Everyday Curriculum in the School Garden DeerKarine Cere • Marie-Pascale Brown Nature through our senses TurtleDr. Sama AlMaarofi Taking The Lorax Outside as a Literacy Dramatic Activity to Highlight the Urgency in Environmental & Climate Change Education BeaverDr. Shelley Korudz • Sandy Margetts • Christine Michaleski Embrace This Place! Cultivate Your Own Place-Based Teaching Practice at the Banff Centre CougarJenn Doeve Empathy, Immunity and Nature: The Symbiotic Relationship Forged Through Play MooseAdam Bienenstock Outdoor learning for students with complex needs: all you need is an open mind! L’apprentissage en plein air pour élèves ayant des besoins complexes: tout ce qu’il faut, c'est l'esprit ouvert! SnailCarolyn Fornataro • Carolyn Johnston Playing Outside the Box: Building Boardgames with Found Objects in Nature PorcupineJennifer Ball Relations and Resilience: Intra-connecting with Land and Place through Hands-on Metaphor OtterAlisa Paul • Patrick Robertson Sitting With Nature: Weaving Together Curriculum, Nature, and Emergent Learning RaccoonLauren MacLean Ani to Pisi - Creating Community on the Land 203Michelle Bamford • Therese Wiart Jenkinson Land as Our Teacher: Learning From and With the Land, Guided by 4Rs of Indigenous Land-Based Education 201Gillianne Mundell • Scot Gillam Land as Teacher-a settler perspective on incorporating Indigenous ways of knowing and being on the land BearDenise Hammond Relationship & ReconciliACTION: Weaving Reconciliation, Community & Land-Based Learning ChickadeeDaryl Kootenay • Adam Robb Whispers of the Earth ToadLauna Purcell • Sherelle Anderson

4:30pm MDT

Afternoon Social and Exhibitor Fair Kinnear Centre

5:30pm MDT

Dinner (included with registration) Vistas Dining Room

7:00pm MDT

TEDtalk style Keynote Kinnear CentreDr. Gillian Judson • Court Rustemeyer • Megan Zeni • Emily McDermott • Léa Flowers Nelson • Maggie Cumming • Geovanna Nicole Schmeiske Nunes

8:29pm MDT

*Social and Connection Spaces* Kinnear Centre

8:30pm MDT

60 min Gentle Movement & Mindfulness Session 201Heidi Davis • Sylvia Ann Fox Indigenous Perspectives: Short Film Showcase on Environmental Issues Across Canada 203Heather DeLangran Fireside Songs and Smores Kinnear Patio Firepit 2Remy Rodden • Jennifer Engbrecht Indigenous Fireside Storytime Kinnear Patio Firepit 1Carl Sam • Launa Purcell • Sherelle Anderson Mingle at McLab McLab Bistro

Outdoor Learning Conference 2025

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