Kids’ Nature Connection Programs
Nelson BC
Still possible to sign up for our winter programs until mid Feb, the fee will be prorated – contact us!
Spring Programs for April – May – details coming soon!
Funding might be available for young kids with Stars for Success grant.
Spots confirmed with payment and registration. Here is the Registration Form.
Hope to see you in the forest!
Family Forest Morning – Tues 9 – 11 am April – May$75.00A family morning in the woods! Parents or caregivers with kids aged 0-6 are welcome to this program. Tuesdays from 9 - 11 am. Countless studies show how beneficial it is for kids development to be in nature and many other studies show the benefits for adults physical and mental health too. One of the important gifts to your child - connect them to nature. This session runs from April 2nd to May 21st (8 weeks). Drop-ins welcome ($12). Nobody will be turned away because of lack of funds.
Nature Spring Break March 19, 20, 21$144.00Let the aliveness of spring flow in your kids, connecting them to the snowmelt creeks, awakened critters, budding buds and the joy of life. March can bring snow as well as the first bugs and grass coming back. We will practice resilience with the weather and soak up the brighter days. The camps are based […]
Nature Spring Break March 25-26-27$144.00Let the aliveness of spring flow in your kids, connecting them to the snowmelt creeks, awakened critters, budding buds and the joy of life. March can bring snow as well as the first bugs and grass coming back. We will practice resilience with the weather and soak up the brighter days. The camps are based […]
Wild Fridays 1 – 4 pm April – May$170.00Wild Friday is for kids age 7 - 11 who like to be outside and be active, and practice skills of wilderness survival like fire making and finding food, sneaking close to animals, growing resilience to weather and emotions and just enjoy playing in our beautiful place on earth. Fridays at 1 pm - 4 pm, from April 5th to May 24th (7 weeks) (no program on the holiday of April 19th). Location in Nelson or close by. We are welcoming homeschoolers, Wildflower kids, and kids who are going to school but prefers a half day of outdoor education.
Forest Kids Thursdays 9 am – 12 April May$195.00Thursday morning Forest School for age 3 to 6. All outdoor adventures from 9 am to noon (bring plenty of snacks and a teacup). 8 weeks, April 4th to May 23rd. Location in Nelson or close by. We are welcoming preschoolers, homeschoolers, and kids who are going to school but prefers one day (or more) of outdoor education. Max six kids per adult. Come try it out a Tuesday with the parent at the Frog and Tadpole program drop-in!
Forest Kids Wednesdays 9 am – 2 pm April May$320.00Wednesday five hours Forest School for age 3 to 6. All outdoor adventures from 9 am to 2 pm (bring plenty of snacks and a teacup). 8 weeks, April 3rd to May 22nd. Location in Nelson or close by. We are welcoming preschoolers, homeschoolers, and kids who are going to school but prefers one day (or more) of outdoor education.
ABOUT
The Forest Path aims to create full-body experiences of feeling alive and connected, to the wild, to within, with each other. We offer outdoor education programs and camps in Nelson BC Canada for children to get outside, learn nature skills and be mentored to grow wholesomely.
In a safe container of sharing circle, empathetic listening, mentoring and a balance of action and silence, we give children an opportunity to just be in nature. Let nature connect to them, let curiosity and creativity flow. We do crafts, games, yoga, make fire, build forts, look for seasonal signs. We learn about plants and animals and the cycles in nature, about outdoor skills and about our own gifts and how we can relate to others.
The Forest Path began at spring break 2017 by Malin Christensson, who as a child went to the Swedish outdoor education school ‘Skogs Mulle’, that was started in the 1950:s. She worked many years with sustainability education at the Centre for Environment and Development Studies at Uppsala university, Sweden. Malin is also a kids yoga and mindfulness teacher. She has an updated first aid training and insurance. She loves trees, to sing and make a fire.
Read more about all our teachers.
OUR INSPIRATION
We are inspired by nature and the wonder and happiness and aliveness we experience when being outdoors. We are influenced by other wild kids camps and groups, like the 8 shields and Art of Mentoring of Jon Young, Wisdom of the Earth at Saltspring Island and the forest kindergartens in Canada (for example in Victoria and Vancouver) as well where they originated in the 1950s in Sweden and 1960s in Germany. There are now over 1000 forest kindergartens in Germany. We are also drawing on wisdom of Awaken the Dreamer, deep ecology and Joanna Macy, of mindfulness, and traditional First Nations and shaman knowledge.
Our ambition is to nurture deeper relations between parents, children and our surroundings.
Every program balances free nature play and facilitated games, art and crafts, adjusted to the age and interests of the kids. We playfully add mindfulness, yoga, and music into the day. Kindness and community are our other key values, including a deep awe and respect for the natural world. The children learn to watch for hazards and try basic bushcraft skills on how to survive in the wild.