Nature education for the land and soul

399 King Rd, Gabriola, BC, V0R 1X1 - Traditional territory of the Snuneymuxw

Fianna Wilderness School

Nature education for the land and soul

youth Programs

Fianna Wilderness School is offering forest and farm programs for kids throughout the mid-island and on Gabriola Island. Our programs are for kids ages 4-6 and 7-12. We offer yearlong nature-based mentorship in the 8-Shields model, an approach to education that was developed by Jon Young at the Wilderness Awareness School. The 8-shields “Coyote Mentoring” approach formalizes the child-led, experiential schooling methods apparent in nature-based cultures. This approach cultivates our children’s curiosity and innate wisdom, guiding them into personal and collective learning experiences that reveal their gifts and support their development towards healthy maturity and wholeness.

Your kids will learn about responsible harvesting, medicinal and food plants, natural materials, wild crafting, navigation, tracking and stalking, bird language, ancestral heritage and local ecology. With strong core routines of gratitude, circle sharing, singing, storytelling, inquiring, mindful “sit spots”, and mentoring of each other, they will experience and incorporate a nature-connected community-minded culture, grounded in relationships of respect and reciprocity.