3rd Annual

Nature-Rooted Mini Conference

In Person: Friday through Sunday May 30th to June 1st 2025
Location: Kingston Forest & Nature School

Mini Conference Registration Opens Soon!

Spaces are limited on a first come first serve basis.
In Person: Friday through Sunday May 30th to June 1st 2025
Location: Kingston Forest & Nature School

Mini Conference Registration Now Open!

Spaces are limited on a first come first serve basis.
Early Bird pricing until May 10th!

Join us for a weekend of hands-on, engaging learning, connecting, playing & growing! There’s nothing quite like gathering ’round the fire for some inspiring, soul-fuelling skill-sharing & socializing!

This is a weekend-long mini conference co-hosted by Caylin Gans of Forest Schooled and Monica Miller of Kingston Forest & Nature School. We will be inviting guest workshop presenters and offering plenty of opportunities for knowledge & skill-sharing, networking, and outdoor fun!
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Mini-Conference Format

This is a Mini-conference which means it will be small, intimate, and very special...


+ Will be an informal educator gathering

+ Will include multiple outdoor workshops/learning sessions with skilled and knowledgeable facilitators

+ Will include skill-sharing & socializing around a campfire

+ Will include some light refreshments

+ May include cooking over fire and foraging

+ May leave you feeling energized, inspired, and deeply connected to others & the more-than-human


Please note to keep conference fees affordable, meals will not be provided! We will have light refreshments like tea/coffee and ask you bring your own food/snacks with you for the weekend.
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Tentative Schedule:

Friday May 30th

4 - 6pm
Arrival & settle in

6 - 8pm
Campfire social with songs & stories

Saturday May 31st

9am - 4pm 
Group welcome, morning workshop, lunch, afternoon workshop

5:30 - 7:30pm
Fireside Potluck

Sunday June 1st

9am - 1pm
Forest School for Grown Ups
Networking
Closing - until next time!

Description:

The Nature-rooted Mini Conference will be a weekend of hands-on, engaging learning, connecting, playing & growing! There’s nothing quite like gathering ’round the fire for some inspiring, soul-fuelling skill-sharing & socializing!

This is a weekend-long mini conference co-hosted by Caylin Gans of Forest Schooled and Monica Miller of Kingston Forest & Nature School. We will be inviting guest workshop presenters and offering plenty of opportunities for knowledge & skill-sharing, networking, and outdoor fun!’

Come be with others who think alike, who want to change the world in the same ways you do, the kind of people who take photos of scat, get excited about tracks, enjoy lighting fires, talk to mushrooms, seek council among the trees, point out the moon, and always have a little mud on their boots.

It seems that no matter what the topic of a course or workshop I lead may be, more often than not the most savoured part about it for everyone is the chance to be together, outdoors, with others who share the same values.

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These are the core reasons why I love bringing what I call “Nature-rooted” Educators together. And it’s why I’ve partnered with Kingston Forest & Nature School to host the annual Nature-rooted Mini Conference in Kingston.

Because we know that the day-to-day work of a Nature-minded Educator can sometimes feel isolating. The values we hold dear and practices we work hard to implement can be misunderstood by our colleagues, parents, school administrators and many others in our communities. Many of us crave the company of others who just “get it” without the need for any explanation.

This gathering aims to offer a sense of renewal and inspiration as we bring together a group of like-minded educators to emulate what we offer to participants and students in our settings - learning together! One of the most powerful means of deepening our practice, expanding our knowledge, and stretching our minds and hearts is through peer-to-peer learning and social connection alongside the more-than-human world.

This is a Mini-conference which means it will be small, intimate, and very special. Spaces are limited so if you’d like to be the first to know when registration opens you can pre-register now.

I hope we, and the chickadees, may see you there!

Cost

We have planned this Mini-Conference with affordability as our top priority. 
  • Fees are offered with a sliding scale (see below).
  • Group rates will be available for 3 or more people.
  • Note: Accommodation and meals are NOT included


Please reach out if fees still are a barrier for you attending caylin@forestschooled.com

For those who identify as BIPOC, there are spaces set aside for you to ensure that you have access to this event.
Register by May 10th for
Early Bird Pricing $190

Community: $220

You pay slightly more than the true cost to support members of your community with access to these workshops.
Register by May 10th for
Early Bird Pricing $170

Sustain: $200

You pay just enough to cover the true cost of the workshops.
Register by May 10th for
Early Bird Pricing $150

Support: $180

You pay slightly less than the true cost and accept the gifts from your community to help you access these workshops.
See camping options below for those who will be traveling and want the full outdoor immersion and/or more affordable options for accommodation.

Workshop Presenters

Coming soon!
Lindsey Pilon & Mandy Wilson - Grassroots Indigenous Youth Initiatives
She/Her
Workshop: Walking Lightly: Land-based Education & Indigenous Land Stewardship

Lindsey and Mandy of Grassroots Indigenous Youth Initiatives are Indigenous educators and decolonial social organizers living in Kingston, Ontario. Join Lindsey and Mandy on the Kingston Forest & Nature School trails to map connections between colonization and soil compression, honouring Indigenous plant Ancestors, and how we can take ecological action as educators and caregivers.
Meet Lindsey Pilon
She/Her
Lindsey Pilon (she/her) is an urban Indigenous mixed-Ancestry Haudenosaunee woman (maternal line being Turtle clan, Oneida from Six Nations of the Grand River). Her passion is Inclusive Early Childhood Care and she believes a framework of decolonial pedagogy is crucial for community wellness. To dismantle systemic injustice across Turtle Island and around the world we must Educate, Elevate and Organize.
Claire Beach - Wild Edge Nature Immersion
(She/Her)
Workshop: Elemental Grounding

In this nourishing workshop, we explore the art of embodied living through the wisdom of the Celtic Wheel of Life. Guided by Certified Nature Therapy Guide Claire Beach, you'll be invited into a grounding practice rooted in seasonal awareness and the rhythms of nature. Together, we’ll reconnect with the elements—Air, Fire, Water, and Earth—and discover how each one offers unique pathways to balance, healing, and deeper presence. Through reflection, gentle movement, and mindful connection, you’ll learn simple, soul-aligned ways to harmonize your heart, body, and mind with the turning of the year. 
Hilbert Buist
(He/Him)
Workshop: Reading the Forested Landscape

Whenever I walk through a park, nature reserve, or wild space I always ask what are these trees doing here, why these plants, who are the birds and bugs who call this home? They are all connected! Reading the forested landscape means we will look at everything from the geology below to the tree canopy above and find answers to not only who is there but the history of the place. In this workshop we'll set aside the forest of imagination and find out together the species who live below the ground and above and explore why they might be there. It is my goal that each participant takes key questions and activities to explore their own wild spaces back home. Although we will rely heavily on iNaturalist phone app to make identifications, all you need is your curiosity! Get ready to discover ecosystems within ecosystems!
Linda Naccarato - Outdoor Play and Learning (OPAL)
(She/Her)
Workshop: Confronting the messy, challenging and risky elements of loose parts play

In this workshop, participants will explore how a variety of up-cycled and open-ended materials can expand the potential for play, challenge and growth in any outdoor environment. Sounds like fun! But what about the play that’s risky, uncomfortable or thrilling-but-might-give-you-a-heart-attack? Let’s learn to reframe our thinking around these challenging aspects of play and move towards understanding the benefits, and our role to guide and support children through risky play. Expect some hands-on learning in this workshop with opportunities for participants to play and reflect.
Caylin Gans - Forest Schooled
(She/Her)
Workshop: Working with Stories to Deepen Connection to Self, Each Other, and the More-Than-Human

"As Gary Nabhan has written, we can't meaningfully proceed with healing, with restoration, without "re-story-ation." In other words, our relationship with the land cannot heal until we hear its stories. But who will tell them?"​
- Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, p. 9

In this workshop we'll learn more about the art of storytelling, with opportunities to practice and build our confidence to incorporate the many ways to work with stories in groups. We’ll explore how oral storytelling is an integral part of passing along intergenerational knowledge in many cultures and acknowledge storytelling as a form of “curriculum” in and of itself to inspire learning with the more-than-human world and about environmental stewardship, social emotional skills, and more. We’ll learn about various storytelling approaches and techniques to gain confidence to find our own unique storyteller’s “voice” while examining the ethical dimensions of storytelling and considering how we can respectfully integrate storytelling into our work as educators. Join this workshop for an active, collaborative journey designed to show how working with nature and place-based stories can nurture students, educators, and the Land.
More presenters to be confirmed soon!

Camping Accommodations:

Joining the conference from out of town? Interested in camping options? We've curated a list for you of tent camping options within 45 minutes of KFNS listed by proximity:

What people are saying...  

"I left with my cup overflowing. A strong community feel happened overnight. It was heartening to see that what we are trying to do has many manifestations and great working to make education better."
Tamar Tsun
"Coming together as a community of nature based professionals is so valuable!!! I am sure everyone brought new gems to learning back to their own programs!"
Diana Clements
"It's a great opportunity to gathering in community with others passionate about Nature. There were lots of opportunities to share and learn skills for nature based learning and self care."
Claire

"It was absolutely incredible to have had the opportunity to gather with others who have the same goals & are incredibly passionate about this work. It was validating to spend time amongst them & also exciting to bring back resources & new experiences learnt, to our programs going forward."
Stef, Your Healing Circle
“Being able to be outside with a likeminded group of people was so beautiful and inspiring”
Participant
"I liked how dynamic and connected the group felt together and how our different backgrounds helped give everyone at the conference different perspectives. I wish I lived closer to be able to attend more of these workshops! It was truly wonderful to share the space with everyone.”
Participant
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