We have two BC-certified teachers on site with the children two days per week. They oversee the home learning component, student learning plan and are the interface with NIDES.
Maia is an entrepreneurial educationist mama of two who dreams of changing the world through a transformed education system. She is a full-time teacher with the School District of Greater Victoria, currently on a parenthood leave to spend more time with her young kids, but could not resist the opportunity
Megan Grupe (she/her) is an ocean-lover, forest bather, mountain climber, and lover of forming communities with kids (and adults!) in nature. She is a white settler of Swiss & Scottish heritage who was born on Kalapuya territory in Oregon. Having spent the last decade and a half living up and
Catie Bainbridge (she/her) is a white settler with British, Irish, and French ancestry and has been an uninvited guest on lək̓ʷəŋən territory for nearly three decades. She is a storytelling, bone collecting, cloud watching, mud splashing child-at-heart who loves to play and dream outside. She holds great reverence and respect
Our Forest Mentors are additional educators, specifically with outdoor education and/or wilderness awareness training. A mentor is present on site all three days.
Gloria Ober (she/her) was born and raised within Coast Salish territory, on Snuneymuxw First Nation Land. This has fostered a deep respect for indigenous ways of being with the world. Gloria studied Child and Youth Care at Vancouver Island University where she learned about the importance of genuine relationship building
Briana Corbin (she/her) is a graduate of the Child and Youth Care program at the University of Victoria. She was first introduced to nature school when she did her fourth practicum at EPIC and fell in love with the experience of teaching and caring for children outdoors. She has continued
Shelly Molloy (she/her) is from Victoria located on unceded territory of the Lekwungen peoples. She has worked at a Waldorf preschool on Salt Spring Island for the past two years, while doing her Waldorf ECE certification through West Coast institute. During this time, she has come to value alternative means
Jamie Jacobs (she/her) grew up as a settler on the unceded territories of the Musqueam and Squamish Nations, but has lived on Esquimalt and Songhees territory since 2019. Jamie has worked in out-of-school care programs since moving to the island, and has seen first hand how impactful time in nature
Our Connection Mentors are on site all three days to hold space for children when they need one-on-one support or help participating in a group.
Mickala is the mother of three nature loving, wonderful children. She has been teaching for the last 20 years and loving every moment of it. Her focus is in the development of the whole child through a safe, nurturing, inclusive, play-based learning experience. She has many years of experience working
Hannah Douglas-Ezzat (she/they) (who also goes by Dougie – a name that helps them feel more connected to the grand Douglas fir trees), is a second generation Canadian settler with Scottish, English, Arabic and Armenian ancestry. They recently moved from Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh territories (Vancouver) to Lekwungen territory (Victoria)
For much of the year, a practicum student from the University of Victoria’s Child and Youth Care Program is on site three days a week. They spend three to four months with the community to complete their course requirements.
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