Submitted by CBEEN member, Natasha Burgess. Natasha co-hosted this event with fellow CBEEN member, Dan Clark

On Friday, October 21, Dave Verhulst from Nature Tracks Forest Play in Canmore facilitated a Forest Play workshop in Kimberley. The beautiful Camp Stone served as the perfect location for this event, and the sun shone down as educators working with children K-12 gathered to connect through games, songs and and stories. Workshop participants included classroom teachers, educational assistants, aboriginal education support workers, and community partners. Participants enjoyed a variety of active games, fire building, story telling, and the opportunity to reflect on the Natural Learning Cycle. Connections were made across grades and schools, and teaching strategies featured in the Coyote’s Guide for Mentoring were woven throughout the day. There were many positive reports throughout the day, including many teachers talking about how they will be incorporating these strategies into their teaching in the weeks to come.

A special thank you goes out to…
– Dave Verhulst, for facilitating this amazing day of professional development
– the Kimberley Teacher’s Association, for providing the funding for our presenter, the location and morning snacks
– School District 6, for the funding to cover our delicious, hot lunch catered by Julie St. Jean
– Dan Clark, for co-hosting and ensuring everything was in order for this event
– Ed Purves, for ensuring Camp Stone was ready for our group
– CBEEN, for all of their inspiration and support
– All of the educators who travelled from near and far to attend this workshop

Thanks again for all of your support, and for the “Walk the Talk” model that CBEEN events provided to inspire an environmentally conscious event!

CBEEN would like to thank Natasha for her energy & leadership!