Young Sprouts Weekly and Monthly Nature School, and Teen Wild Within

Aaron (he/him) grew up playing with frogs in the muddy creeks of the Huron-Wendat (Wendake-Nionwentsïo), Anishinaabe, and Haudenosaunee territories north of Lake Ontario. As a young person, he made a trip out west and he was excited by how big everything was: the mountains, the trees, the waterfalls. When high school finished, he moved to the traditional and unceded lands of the Musqueam, Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and Skwxwú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish) nations. Twenty-some years later, he’s still here, and he’s still excited.

Aaron has a Master’s degree in Ethnomusicology from UBC. He’s been working in education for nearly a decade, offering low-barrier music classes for kids and teens at the Sarah McLachlan School of Music, teaching music fundamentals to adults at Vancouver Community College, and supporting K-12 students at Windsor House, a local democratic school known for its exploratory approach to education.

Aaron is a hand-tool woodworker, an aspiring carver, and an all-around outdoor enthusiast: this summer, he completed a 25 KM trail race in North Vancouver, spent 7 nights canoeing and portaging in Ontario with his wife and daughter, and made two trips to paddle with the salmon at Say Nuth Kaw Yum. When he’s home, you can usually find him baking bread, being silly with his family, and hanging up everybody’s wet gear so it’s ready to go for next time.

Forest Learners Program and Young Sprouts Weekly Nature School

Alicia (she/her) was born in Kelowna on the unceded territory of the Syilx Okanagan people. She spent her childhood there and in Abbotsford – the territory of the Sumas and Matsqui First Nations of the Sto:lo people. As a child, Alicia enjoyed walks with her mom in the forest, searching for bugs with her friends, and writing stories full of animals and magic. A memorable elementary school field trip taught her how all living things are connected through games and play and inspired her to become an environmental educator.

To protect the wild animals she loved, Alicia went on to earn a BSc in Environmental Science at Simon Fraser University. Through her studies and leading fun, educational activities for kids with Let’s Talk Science, she honed her nature knowledge and shared it with others by volunteering with the Vancouver Aquarium and the City of Surrey as a nature guide. She then helped plan and lead outdoor nature camps at VanDusen Botanical Garden. Alicia believes that every child should have the chance to develop a bond with nature and that we all have a role in protecting it.

In her free time, you can find Alicia exploring local parks, creating stories, and helping cats and hamsters find their forever homes.

Weekly Nature School

Cara (she/her) has been a preschool teacher for 30 years, the last 10 of which have been in nature. Cara has worked in a variety of nature connections programs and can’t imagine doing anything else with her life. She can be found birding in the early hours at Maplewood Flats as well as wandering the hills and valleys of the North Shore. She also enjoys combing the rivers and beaches, rockhounding and agate hunting. Cara is passionate about storytelling, singing, crafting and eating snacks under old trees in dappled sunlight.

Isabella (she/her) grew up in Singapore Island (Pulau Ujong), Indigenous land to Malays (Orang Melayu). Moving to Canada in 2018, Isabella experienced growth and self-discovery by living close to nature and embracing the four seasons, especially from winter to spring! It taught her the meaning of growth and becoming anew.

Being of multi-ethnic Singaporean and Panamanian heritage, Isabella hopes to empower those who have struggled with self-identification and to encourage young people to appreciate the blessings and beauty of who they are.

Isabella has worked with children, youth, and adults since 2009 as a gymnastics program coordinator, instructor, and club manager. She recognizes that being engaged and present with her students contributes to their understanding and holistic development. Additionally, with a degree in Business Management from RMIT Australia, she continues to contribute her skills to meaningful organizations and promote a healthy and active lifestyle, both physically and mentally, for all ages.

Isabella enjoys yoga, rock climbing, snowboarding, water sport, hiking, and exploring where she lives, as well as the countries and islands she visits.

Jon grew up in Surrey with the common public-school experience and loathed most of it. PE class, Shop class, Drama class — classes that offered a clear and meaningful purpose were the only thing keeping him in school. Academically, he did the bare minimum needed to graduate and never attended any kind of formal education again. Fortunately, Jon still had his love of learning and that led him through several rewarding careers until he found his way back to schools — helping them change. More specifically, helping schools change their idea of what teaching and learning looked like, and making space for kids that wanted more say in how they learned and how they showed their learning.

Jon’s rebellious nature led him to finding alternative, more natural ways of working. One where teams could thrive without managers, where people could bring their full selves to work, and where a clear and meaningful purpose was at the center of everything. Finding it wasn’t enough, he needed to see it in action. He learned of the term Systems Thinking and coined the title Systems Pathfinder — a person who helps teams explore, map, and transform their organizational operating systems.

Jon plays this role in several organizations, including Soaring Eagle Nature School. In the summer, he spends much of his time waterskiing and helping others explore the sport.

Weekly and Monthly Nature School

Katie Hamar (she/her) grew up in the Maritimes on the territory of the Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) and Mi’kmaq peoples. Nature has played a vital role in Katie’s life from a very young age. She camped with her family, played on Atlantic Canada’s beaches, and attended nature-immersed summer camp. She also attended Scouts Canada for many years, for which she acquired the Chief Scout Award.

As a teen, she started teaching swimming to children of all ages and lifeguarding, which she continued doing for a decade. In her early 20s, Katie moved to Fernie, BC where she fell in love with the wild mountain lifestyle. Living there for ten years, she hiked, explored, skied, learned and foraged, maintaining a pivotal, close relationship with nature always.

Katie holds a diploma in Recreation Management and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, majoring in Sustainability. She is also a certified holistic health coach, yoga teacher, and founder of a women’s circle network called NAHLA Community. Katie loves gardening, camping, writing poetry, and playing with her five little nieces and nephews. She continues to revere and learn from nature every day.

Forest Learners Program

Michael (he/him) grew up on the North Shore, exploring the lands of the Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, and Musqueam First Nations. The connection to nature developed as a child fuels his inspiration and acceptance of life’s flow to this day. He enjoys putting his experience in writing and even published a nature poem in Highlights Magazine for Children when he was 9. He learned the art of rock balancing from his father at an early age, which he still uses to create mental stillness and visual art using the Earth’s fabric.

After graduating from Capilano University’s Communications Program, Michael travelled to his parent’s home country, Romania, to teach English using nature as the chalkboard. In between teaching at these incredible programs, he ventured to a village in Colombia to volunteer with children under 5 to help their English language development through live music.

Michael’s travels have gifted him great adventures in nature, from the high mountains of Europe, the wild jungles of South America, and of course, British Columbia, which he is grateful to experience every day. If you hear a flute echoing through the forest or the strum of a charango by a stream, it might just be Michael living a little dream.

Mikaela (she/her) grew up on the Tribal land of the Nisenan people, now called Sacramento, California, where she spent her childhood along the river biking, playing explorers, and teaching her stuffed animal students lessons she planned!

Always striving to solve the puzzle of how education could be, Mikaela began Soaring Eagle Nature School’s Apprenticeship Program in 2018, which showed her the value of nature connection in community and the universal tendency for nature to inspire an authentic passion for learning. Since then, Mikaela has taught the full range of Soaring Eagle Nature School programs, including the Forest Learners Program, and utilizes her Bachelor of Commerce from UBC to ensure the nature-connected community of kids, parents, and mentors at Soaring Eagle Nature School thrive!

When she’s not hiking and playing outdoors, Mikaela is learning Spanish and completing her certification in Waldorf Early Childhood Education.

Forest Learners Program

Sally (she/her) was born and grew up on the lands of the Cornovii and Dumonii Celtic tribes. By the ocean in rural England, Sally spent her early years immersed in all the outdoors has to offer. Since her post-graduate diploma in conservation and ecology, she has spent the last 12 years working with children of all ages fostering a nature connection and discovering wonder in the natural world.

As a passionate outdoor instructor and mentor, she firmly believes that we cannot expect the next generation to fight for the natural world and all its wonder if they have not spent time experiencing it. She has set up and run natural art projects with school children and discovered magic and mud while teaching forest school with younger children here in BC. She also mentored young people undertaking environmental projects in Chile and taught teenagers traditional forest crafts in England.

Sally loves weaving stories and paving the way to discovery. She also loves to make things and pass those skills on to others. When not in the forest, you might find her at her jewelry bench making silver jewelry, or painting stones and whittling wands with her three boys.

Verena’s (she/her) career in education began in Belfast and London, leading her to become a Learning Consultant and then Vice Principal at Wondertree, an innovative non-profit school in Vancouver that is now the SelfDesign Learning Community. It was there, sitting at a round table of multi-age learners, exploring what inspires them that Verena’s passion for creating child-centred learning spaces grew.

In 2009, Verena moved to Masset in Haida Gwaii. As an elementary principal, the vocational drive to ensure the students’ well-being shifted to the needs of her staff. Ever grateful for this experience as a learner and leader in a community rich in culture and connectedness, Verena continues to grow her own capacity to support educators. She has completed a series of Elena Aguilar’s coaching programs including Coaching for Equity and Team Coaching. Verena completed her Compassionate Systems Leadership – Master Practitioner certification in July 2023.

Verena is deeply grateful to live on the unceded, traditional territory of the Pentlatch, E’iksan and K’omoks people.

Jenna Rudolph (she/her/they/them) has mentored children in the natural world since 2004 and founded Soaring Eagle Nature School in 2009. She was born in and spent her formative years in South Africa (territories of the San and Khoehoe People) where her love and connection to birds and animals began alongside her grandmother.

They have been inspired by and learned from Nancy Turner and the University of Victoria, the Wild Seed School of Herbal Studies, the Wilderness Awareness School, the Animas Valley Institute, the AORTA coop, Wilderness Trails in South Africa, and Martín Prechtel at Bolad’s Kitchen.

Jenna believes that by spending time in nature with caring mentors, children can be their most full selves, learn and adapt to real-life situations, and become resilient, caring individuals.

Jenna parted ways with Soaring Eagle Nature School in 2024 and entrusted the team to steward the organization into the future.