About Squamish Nature Learners
Mission & Vision Statement
Squamish Nature Learners is a non-profit organization run by a volunteer board of directors that works in collaboration with public education programming. The central themes of Squamish Nature learners are land-based learning, decolonization, reconciliation, and learning from Squamish Nation mentors, family, and community collaboration. We aim to involve bodies, emotions, and imagination in our learning.
Our pedagogy weaves together Imaginative Ecological Education, Inquiry-Based Learning, Play-Based Learning, and Co-teaching with nature. SNL aims to provide a diverse, inclusive, and nurturing environment for our students. A guiding question throughout our pedagogy is ‘How do we create social, cultural, and ecological change within education and our wider community?
Academics
Curriculum in Abundance
At SNL, we believe that meaningful learning happens through relationships, curiosity, movement, and real-life experience.
Our programs cover the BC curriculum through:
Literacy instruction
Numeracy
Project-based learning
Nature-based inquiry
Hands-on exploration
Collaborative learning
Individual support
Children engage in reading, writing, math, science, and critical thinking daily, often integrated naturally into projects and outdoor experiences.
Our class sizes ensure educators are able to meet children where they are academically while also supporting social-emotional growth and confidence. We recognize that children learn differently and at different paces. Our approach allows students to deepen skills while maintaining a love of learning.
The rhythm of the day follows the energies and interests of the children. However, our daily structure follows a typical schedule that includes:
Morning gathering and check-in
Nature walk, hiking, and outdoor play
Literacy and numeracy woven into real-world experiences
Project-based learning
Story-telling, journaling, and reflection
Land-based learning with Squamish Nation Cultural Advising
Collaborative games and mixed-age community time
Creative art, building, and inquiry
Quiet moments for rest, reading, and observation
A Day at SNL
Resources
Parent Handbook for Early Learning Centre
Parent Handbook for K-6
Research and Conceptual Summary of Outdoor Education- Written by SNL Founder Chloe Humphreys
Article: Our Welcome Pole Ceremony
Article: SNL Student Alumni on The Power of Nature
“Children will inherit and inhabit this world of advanced capitalism and the challenges of the Anthropocene. We are interested in how they approach these precarious times with imagination and hope.”
— Sommerville & Green (Children, Place and Sustainability)
Family and Community Involvement
We recognize the importance and celebrate the value of family involvement in student learning. A close-knit community of families supports all aspects of the school, from communal hot lunches to seasonal ceremonies. Volunteerism is the backbone of the program, and many parents adopt annual roles such as grounds maintenance, administration, fundraising, or grant writing. Parent involvement allows us to keep tuition affordable - but more importantly, it gives families the gift of personally participating in their children’s education.
The children benefit greatly from community volunteers who share their knowledge and experience through hands-on activities at the school and in the community. Examples of this include tours of fish hatcheries, farms, biologists, wood carvers, music therapy at nursing homes, and botanists. We welcome and encourage parents and community members to reach out if you or someone you know may want to contribute their skills. This helps diversify the children’s connection to their community through relationship building and experiential learning.
First Nation’s Mentorship
We highly value the passing down of Squamish Nation knowledge to our children. Once a week, a Squamish Nation mentor spends quality time with the children, sharing their history, traditions, and ceremonies. They engage in storytelling to enlighten them on the whys of their customs, carve paddles together, and learn cedar weaving. The children participate in traditional dance and song with the very people who have been model stewards of the land that they have grown to love.
The experience is hands-on and eye-opening for the whole community as we work towards healing, reconciliation, and decolonization. Our families develop a special respect for the mentors who generously share their time with us, an appreciation for their ancient wisdom and the privilege of having access to it, and fond memories we take with us throughout the years.
