Our Team

Founding Director/Lead Instructor

I am an educator and mentor in earth-based skills and ancestral ways. My family has been in the land that we now call Canada for five generations and I am grateful to be a settler, held in the arms of rivers, mountains, oceans, and deserts. I am a lover of wild places and my life is nourished by sharing in community, food, song, and story. 

As an ongoing student of Martin Prechtel’s, I am fascinated with the beauty and complexity of myth and it’s existence in the unfolding of our daily lives. I have had the honour of studying with the Animas Valley Institute, The Haven Institute, The Tracker School, and with my mentors Annie Bloom, Jade Sherer, and Florence Dedame. I have learned a tremendous amount about the natural world and human culture while being a Senior Instructor and Director at nature schools across Western Canada. The kids, families, and adults that I have worked with have touched my heart and each one leaves a lasting imprint that enriches the tapestry of my life. 

I am currently passionate about wildlife tracking and following the signs of animals across the land. To know that my feet are treading on ground where wolves, mountain lions, grizzly bears, and many more have tread, fills my whole being with awe. I believe in the wild animal and wild soul that lives in all of us. It is a life practice to follow the trail of that being in such a manner that one day, we might be so lucky as to catch a glimpse of their magnificent form. 

Lead Instructor, Gabriola Seedlings

I grew up on the traditional territory of the Ramaytush Ohlone/Costanoan peoples, what is colonially known as the San Francisco Bay Area. I left California after high school to study at UBC on unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) territory where I obtained my Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources Conservation in 2011. I went back to UBC in 2018 to get my diploma in Early Childhood Education and Development and I am now a certified ECE.  

Currently, I am a settler on Gabriola Island, the Hul'q'umin'um' speaking Snuneymuxw First Nation's land, where my partner and I steward a small farm. I am forever a student and am grateful for the many mentors who have indulged my incessant curiosity along the way. If I don't have a book in my hands I love to knit, take photos, and cook elaborate vegan meals. 

Instructor, Gabriola

I grew up in Nanoose Bay on Vancouver Island, the unceded traditional territory of the Snaw-Naw-As First Nation. My childhood was filled with hours of outdoor play, where I developed a deep sense of awe, appreciation, and connection to the beauty of the natural world.

For many years, I worked as an Educational Assistant for School District 69, supporting children with diverse abilities. I've also spent time overseas as an au pair in Belgium, an English Language Assistant in Ukraine, and a volunteer in a children’s home in Uganda. Additionally, I've hosted international students, run community programs for children and their families, and provided care as a foster parent through the Ministry of Children and Family Development.

My daughter and I now live on Gabriola Island. As an unschooling family, I am a passionate advocate for decolonizing education. I've extensively studied attachment and relationship development theory through the Neufeld Institute, and I'm fascinated by the interplay between developmental science, nature connection, and returning to our ancestral roots.

Instructor, Gabriola

I grew up on the gulf island of Hornby,  traditional land of the K'ómoks peoples. Embraced by the ocean and nestled under the cedars, I was as much raised by the land as I was by my family. From childhood through adulthood the wilderness has always been a place of serenity, wonder, adventure, possibilities, connection, and magic. Growing up in such a creative community also instilled in me an understanding of the importance of play as foundational for learning & growth - intellectually, emotionally, socially, and physically - that I carried through my Education Degree at UBC. Before moving to Gabriola, I had the experience of once again learning from the land and natural rythms of nature living in an off grid community in Northern Yukon. A great reminder of the importance of connection to place, self, and one another.

I love being a part of and seeing children's curiosity & wonder catch fire as their connections to place, self, and one another grow - and there is no greater landscape to do so than outside our walls. I am honoured to help facilitate those relationships through Fianna Wilderness School.

When not wandering the forests of Gabriola, I can be found deep into a good book, diving into ancestral magicks, making jewellery, sewing, singing, gardening, or wild foraging for medicinal teas, salves, or supper.

Thank you to all of our Comox Valley staff who held such an important part in the growth of Fianna over the years. We will miss you and wish you all the best in your new ventures. Thank you Allie, Dani, Kat, Kes, Kip, RootZ, Vicki, and more!