First Annual Wild About Vancouver Outdoor Education Festival
The inaugural Wild About Vancouver Outdoor Education Festival will take place April 16 – 22. The free festival is a celebration of outdoor learning intended to connect Vancouverites to local nature. Wild About Vancouver (WAV, pronounced “wave”) Outdoor Education Festival invites students, teachers, families, individuals and organizations to come together for a week of exploration into the wealth of outdoor education learning experiences in the city – get INvolved and get OUTdoors! Try your hand at paddle boarding, learn about birds native to Vancouver, or practice yoga in the woods.
Wild About Vancouver (WAV) Outdoor Education Festival is a free public festival offering practical ways to get children (and adults) outdoors more regularly. It is open to the public and aims to unite and create long-term sustainable Outdoor and Experiential Learning (OEL) networks for organizations, schools, youth programs, and the broader citizenry (including youth and First Nations) of Vancouver. WAV is organized by a collective of volunteers passionate about improving children’s lives and building supportive communities through OEL.
WAV’s Outdoor Education Festival addresses children’s increasingly limited time outdoors through Outdoor and Experiential Learning. OEL is a proven method of opposing widespread negative impacts facing children today as a result of decreased physical engagement in the outside world. Negative impacts include rises in childhood obesity and sedentary behaviour, reduction in creative and critical thinking and play, and increases in childhood illness (ADHD, etc), among others.
Get INvolved and Get OUTside to celebrate outdoor learning in local nature!
WAV’s Goals
– Promoting outdoor and experiential learning opportunities (OEL) throughout Vancouver;
– Uniting and creating sustainable networks between organizations and citizens, especially youth, First Nations, seniors, new Canadians, schools, families and others, with respect to OEL;
– Creating a sustainable annual event that highlights OEL opportunities for Vancouverites;
– Creating grassroots connections between Vancouver OEL organizations and the Faculty of Education at UBC;
– Nurturing networks between OEL-related activities, including aboriginal, environmental, experiential, outdoor and sustainability education, and youth engagement.
www.wildaboutvancouver.com
Events Include:
Outdoor Learning in the School Yard
Pollinator Workshop
Adults Intro to Ultimate Frisbee
School Beachwalk
Medicine Walk with Musqueam Elder Jeri Sparrow at UBC Farm
Introduction to the OCC Field Leadership Training Program
Outdoor Learning in the School Yard
School Beachwalk
Volunteer Garden Session
Go Solar Tours
Tent Show and Share
Family Fun in the Forest!
Leadership Navigation Challenge
English Bay Safety Seminar
Discovering Spanish Banks
Can You Find a Conker?
Compost Magic in a Beautiful Garden
Blossom Bollywood and Kite Dance
Playing Without Plastic: Living Better With Less
Earth Day Prep Invasive Species Removal
Poetry reading
Keynote speaker Mariana Brussoni
Community Tables
Film Screening
Introduction to the OCC Field Leadership Training Program
Environmental Art Invasive Plant Weaving
Take Another Look
5k Runwalk
Intro to Taoist Tai Chi
Kerrisdale Tree and Shrub Walkabout
Eco-mmunity Space Celebration
MUSIC NOW! IN THE TREES
Outdoor Learning in the School Yard
Camp cooking and primitive skills
Herb walk
Explore the Ocean by Kayak: Program 1
Explore the Ocean by Kayak: Program 2
Wildlife In-schools program
Outdoor Learning in the School Yard
Brahm’s Tams Drum Circle
Half Day Field Trip for Elemenatary Classes
Farm Tour & Seeding Activity
Nature Walk & Workshop
QE Park Orienteering
Invasive Species Removal
Shoreline Cleanup
Earth Day BBQ
Half Day Field Trip for Elemenatary Classes
Kits Space Outdoor Yoga
All details here!
