Cumberland
COAL CREEK HISTORIC PARK
To register for our 2024-25 Fall Session, please click the “REGISTER YOUR CHILD” button below.
FOREST BUDS: 5 – 9 year old forest friends
Join Hand-in-Hand Nature Educator Karolane Gelineault for nature connection, awareness and play! This program will combine the child-led exploration and unstructured play typical of Hand-In-Hand programs with guided activities geared towards nature connection and awareness. Forest Buds will have an opportunity to adventure into large spaces to play, get dirty and play hard. There will also be opportunity to recharge, relax, listen and watch the world around us. Through changing seasons and weather, we will return to the forest on a weekly basis to gather together and explore. This programs’ small group sizes allow for increased social, emotional interaction and to deepen connections to the land and each other.
Dates: Wednesdays, September 11 – December 18 (15 sessions)
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: Coal Creek Historic Park
Cost: $450 (we accept payment through PIE, Ascend, Self Design, Heritage Christian Online School and other Distance Learning Programs)
Courtenay
COMOX VALLEY EXHIBITION GROUNDS
To register for our 2024-25 Fall Session, please click the “REGISTER YOUR CHILD” button below.
FOREST BUDS: 5 – 9 year old forest friends
Join Hand-in-Hand Nature Educators Sophie Bouchard and Allisha Ochs 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, September 10 – December 17 (15 sessions)
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: $450 (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 2024-25 Fall Session, please click the “REGISTER YOUR CHILD” button below.
FOREST BUDS: 5 – 9 year old forest friends
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 Emma Bellrose, 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, September 9 – December 16 (closed September 30 for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, October 14 for Thanksgiving and November 11 for Remembrance 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: Sportsplex
Cost: Mondays (12 sessions): $360 (we accept payment through PIE, Ascend, Self Design, Heritage Christian Online School and other Distance Learning Programs)