Courtenay
COMOX VALLEY EXHIBITION GROUNDS
To register for our 2023-24 Fall Session, please click the “REGISTER YOUR CHILD”, which will be available Saturday, July 1, 2023.
FOREST BUDS: 5 – 9 year old forest friends (Winter Session)
Join Hand-in-Hand Nature Educator Sophie Bouchard and Karelle Blanchard for nature connection, awareness, and lots of FUN! This program will combine the child-led explorations and unstructured play typical of Hand-In-Hand programs with activities based on nature connection. Participants can expect an imaginative learning journey informed by the natural environment, changing seasons and local flora and fauna. There will also be plenty of time to explore our “Outdoor Classrooms” and lots of opportunities to build caring relationships with the land and forest friends. Although designed to run completely outdoors, no matter the weather, we will have onsite access to an indoor space to use for part of our afternoon on the most challenging weather days, and if we need a warm, dry space to work on a project. Our intimate program size allows for our forest friends’ personalized interactions and lots of opportunities to explore their passions for the natural world.
Dates: Tuesdays, April 2- June 11 (closed May 7 for HIH Pro-D Day)
Time: 1pm – 4pm (please note that we welcome public/private school attending forest friends to either end their school day early and join us on time or end their school day on time and join us after we have started our adventure)
Location: Tsolum River through CV Exhibition Grounds
Cost: $300 (we accept payment through PIE, Ascend, Self Design, Heritage Christian Online School and other Distance Learning Programs)
Campbell River
SPORTSPLEX & WILLOW POINT PARK
To register for our 2023-24 Fall Session, please click the “REGISTER YOUR CHILD” button below.
FOREST BUDS: 5 – 8 year old forest friends (Winter Session)
Have you ever wondered where a worm goes in the rain or where a mouse hides from an eagle? Are you curious how a fish knows where to lay its eggs or how a woodpecker can stand on the side of a tree? Would you like to know how many legs a centipede has or how fast a hummingbird can flap its wings? What is the hairy stuff that grows on the side of an old oak tree or what is the slimy goo that makes fallen logs so slippery? Do you stay awake at night thinking about which mushrooms are edible and which ones are not? Why can’t we eat all the berries we find and what happens to the berries that humans can’t eat?
If you are an inquisitive person with a love for nature, please join us as we explore these questions and more. Together, with our Nature Educator Annie Smith, we can solve some of nature’s most fascinating mysteries. The Forest Buds Program in Campbell River offers the opportunity for our forest friends to adventure, get dirty, and play hard. It also offers the opportunity to sit, listen, and watch as natural wonders unfold in front of our very eyes. As we connect physically and emotionally with nature, our forest friends build respectful, meaningful relationships with each other. They explore together, answer each other’s questions and strive to show each other how important it is to be kind, caring human beings and stewards of the land.
Dates: Mondays and/or Wednesdays, April 10 – June 17
Time: 1pm – 4pm (please note that we welcome public/private school attending forest friends to either end their school day early and join us on time or end their school day on time and join us after we have started our adventure)
Location: Simms Creek Greenway (Mondays, April & May), Haig-Brown Heritage House (Wednesdays, April & May) and various beaches (Mondays & Wednesdays, June)
Cost: Mondays (9 sessions): $270 and/or Wednesdays (10 sessions): $300 (we accept payment through PIE, Ascend, Self Design, Heritage Christian Online School and other Distance Learning Programs)
Support the Forest
The Cumberland Forest is part of an interconnected system of forests, salmon-bearing creeks, wetlands and riparian areas adjacent to the Village of Cumberland on Vancouver Island in the traditional territory of the K’omoks Nation.
