Outdoor Learning Conference 2025: Full Schedule

Welcome to the 2025 Outdoor Learning Conference

3:15pm MDT

Dramatized Animal Hikes - Stories, Movement and Activities to help children connect to local animals. FILLING

Thursday May 8, 2025 3:15pm - 4:30pm MDT

As educators, we often find ourselves guiding children through natural areas, pointing out animals, naming them, and sharing a few facts before moving on. While this approach offers information, it rarely immerses children in the unfolding stories of the natural world. To help children feel truly connected to nature and the stories that are found there, they need to become part of the narrative.
In this engaging workshop, Jacob will introduce the concept of dramatized animal hikes—a dynamic way that he developed, to bring the lives of animals to life. Participants will journey through the seasons alongside a red squirrel, experiencing firsthand what it’s like to live in the forest. We’ll explore how to cache food for the winter, construct a cozy drey, remain alert for potential dangers, and gracefully leap from branch to branch. Each step of these interactive hikes is rooted in research and carefully crafted to authentically follow a common animal’s life over the course of a year.

Speakers

Jacob Rodenburg

Executive Director, Camp Kawartha

"Jacob is an award-winning educator with over 30 years of experience in Camping and Outdoor Education. A qualified teacher with a master’s degree in education, his passion lies in finding innovative ways to connect children with nature and inspire a lifelong ethic of stewardship... Read More →

Thursday May 8, 2025 3:15pm - 4:30pm MDT
Owl

Environmental and Climate Change Education Workshop, Environmental and Climate Education

11:00am MDT

Forest Play: Curiosity Inspired Learning FULL

Friday May 9, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm MDT

Owl

Rediscover your childlike passion for the world and join us for a fun day of exploring nature and building connections! Grounded in the rhythms of the natural world, Forest Play is a successful outdoor program that has been running in Canmore since 2011. In this experiential session, Dave will share some of the core elements of the program that help children connect to nature, self, and others. In this workshop, you will:
• rediscover a child-like passion for the natural world
• experience what it is like to participate in a program based on the Coyote mentoring model
• be introduced to the natural learning cycle and essential routines that ground and reconnect us with the natural world
• experience how stories can be used to create powerful learning experiences

Speakers

David Verhulst

Forest Play

Dave believes the natural world is one of our most powerful teachers and mentors. Through sharing stories and experiences in the landscape, he helps children and adults develop a strong connection with themselves and nature. In 2011, he co-founded Forest Play in Canmore based on Forest... Read More →

Friday May 9, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm MDT
Owl

Environmental and Climate Change Education Workshop

2:00pm MDT

Leading through Land-based Learning LIMITED

Friday May 9, 2025 2:00pm - 3:15pm MDT

Owl

In this interactive session, Dr. Lindy Phelps-Henderson takes participants on a journey through Indigenous land-based practices as they align with everyday classroom activities. As an educator and Metis citizen, Lindy strives to centre Indigenous knowledges and ways of being in her daily work in a K-12 land-based school. Language revitalization, Language Arts, Math, Science, and Technology, and the Arts are aligned with traditional and modern land-based practices. The First Nation Holistic Lifelong Learning Model and traditional medicine wheel are at the heart of Lindy's doctoral research and school-based planning, assessment, and evaluation. She welcomes participants from all sectors and levels of education to join her in this celebration of learning from, on, and with the land. Participants will leave with ready-to-use lesson ideas as we share examples of land-based learning from Treaty 3 territory.

Speakers

Lindy Henderson

Kaa'Naa'Matay Wiigiiam (The Teaching Lodge)

Dr. Lindy Phelps-Henderson is the principal of a K-12 land-based school called Kaa'Naa'Matay Wiigiiam (The Teaching Lodge) on Washagamis Bay First Nation near Kenora, ON. For over twenty years Lindy worked with youth in the public school system as a classroom teacher, forest school... Read More →

Lowell Johnston

Friday May 9, 2025 2:00pm - 3:15pm MDT
Owl

Indigenous Ways of Knowing Workshop

3:15pm MDT

From Awe to Action: Inspiring Inquiry and Environmental Responsibility Through Nature Exploration LIMITED

Friday May 9, 2025 3:15pm - 4:30pm MDT

Owl

Experience the transformative cycle of discovery through nature observation, awe, and inquiry in this immersive workshop. By closely observing the intricate details of the natural world, you’ll awaken your senses, forge a deeper connection to the environment, and spark a curiosity that drives exploration and understanding through research. As your connection deepens, you’ll cultivate a lifelong appreciation and sense of stewardship for the planet, empowering you to inspire others. Aligned with the Morpho Institute’s mission to inspire conservation, the workshop equips educators with practical tools to promote environmental responsibility in classrooms and communities. Experience community-based conservation initiatives and explore the integration of scientific inquiry, Indigenous knowledge, and community engagement to empower educators as catalysts for change.

Speakers

Dr. Rosanna Ruiz

The Morpho Institute

Dr. Rosanna Ruiz has over 30 years of expertise in environmental education, conservation, and program development. She began her career as a naturalist for the City of Anaheim, which laid the foundation for her work in land conservation. At Sierra Foothill Conservancy, an accredited... Read More →

Christa Dillabaugh

The Morpho Institute

Christa Dillabaugh is the founder of the Morpho Institute, an organization advancing Amazon conservation through education. With a deep appreciation for neotropical rainforests, Christa launched Amazon Rainforest Workshops, LLC, after leading many field programs for students and university... Read More →

Friday May 9, 2025 3:15pm - 4:30pm MDT
Owl

Environmental and Climate Change Education Workshop

9:45am MDT

Introduction to Nature Journaling and incorporating it as a Cross Curricular Tool LIMITED

Saturday May 10, 2025 9:45am - 11:00am MDT

Owl

In this workshop, you will be introduced to one way of Nature Journaling and provided a scaffolding that introduces the art of Nature Journaling to students and adults. Nature Journaling allows participants autonomy over their learning by documenting their own observations, being curious and making connection to the world around them. Nature Journaling is not a one off activity but a tool that can be used cross curricular incorporating science, language, art, math, etc. Not only will you be introduced to this method, but you will experience it by nature journaling yourself! You will be guided through the scaffolding presented and then given an opportunity to discuss ways it can be incorporated into the classroom. Please bring a note book and pen/pencil. NO artistic ability is required for this workshop, just the ability to be curious and have FUN!

Speakers

Billie Jo Reid

Canadian Water Resources Association - Project WET Canada

Billie Jo Reid is the National Program and Delivery Coordinator for Project WET Canada, a role she embraced in March 2024. Her journey with Project WET began in 2016 as an Outdoor Educator, where she first participated in a Project WET Workshop. Later that year, she became a certified... Read More →

Saturday May 10, 2025 9:45am - 11:00am MDT
Owl

Environmental and Climate Change Education Workshop

Outdoor Learning Conference 2025