Staff Feature – The Nature School Team at Kortright Centre

November 11, 2020

The Nature School at Kortright Centre is a program that gives students the opportunity to be outdoors with their peers while learning about all that nature has to offer. The program is play based, curiosity driven, and educational! Hosted through Kortright Centre’s 555 acres of forests, wetlands, maple forests, and over 16 km of trails, it is the perfect place for kids to come learn and explore.

While the Kortright Centre itself is a magical and adventurous place, it is the staff of the Nature School that make the program truly special for every child that comes through Kortright’s “forest doors”. The students come full of energy and enthusiasm each day and the Nature School staff have worked hard to keep them safe and curious while ensuring that each of their days are filled with adventures. The program activities include building forts in the woods, creating nature art with fallen leaves, digging in the river for clay, and creating fishing poles from nature. These are just some of the examples of the creative, fun, and educational programming that are created by these hard-working staff members each and every day.

Pine scent bags created by preschool students. These bags were made by cutting up spruce, cedar, and other fragrant plants and placing them in special canvas bags.

Pottery made from clay by primary students. The clay was collected from the river and then hardened over a fire!

The success of the program, largely due to the staff, can be easily seen in the increased enrollment since the Nature School started in 2015.

We would like to recognize and thank the following Nature School team staff members for their hard work, dedication, and ability to adapt by integrating necessary program modifications to keep everyone safe during this challenging time. The Nature School team members include:

Victoria Creese, Nature Preschool Educator

Gillian Moore, Nature Preschool Educator

Ken MacGillivray, Nature School Primary Teacher

Molly Shannon, Nature School Primary Teacher

You can read more about the adventures of the Nature School at the following blog created by the team: https://kortright.org/the-nature-school/blog/

The following testimonies were shared by parents that have had their children attend the program:

“I just wanted to write to say how much my son enjoyed the day today at preschool. He has been raving about his day since I picked him up. We were worried he was going to be upset about being left behind because he hasn’t been in daycare since March, but once we got there and he saw the set-up he was in love. Thank you for creating such a great atmosphere for the kids!”

“My son was full of happy energy when I picked him up today (he is most days after Nature School) and he just starts joyfully chatting about his day. Something he never did as a JK. So thank you to you and Molly for making him feel so safe and happy”

Once again, a big thank you to the Nature School team for your hard work and dedication!