Outdoor Learning Conference 2026

The grasslands and slopes of Mînî Rhpa (Banff) were once home to the area’s largest land mammal, tatâga (Bison). Yet the pressure from the National Park system and Western hunting practices attempted to disconnect the animal as well as the Îyethka Nakoda people from the landscape. As tatâga are reintroduced to Banff National Park, so too are their lessons of resilience, respect, reciprocity and community.


Join Tracey Stevens, proud member of the Îyethka Nakoda Nation, and Heidi Widmer (Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley) as they share lessons of tatâga from both an Indigenous and Western science perspective. The pair of presenters look forward to sharing their message: we are stronger together.


In this workshop, Tracey and Heidi will share stories from their experiences teaching children about tatâga, lead you in an outdoor game, make a necklace craft and engage you in conversations revolving around the collaborative, resilient, connected and generous animal teacher.

As science educators, Bridget and Saba bring their experience of how our use of language reflects our values, influencing how we (and our students) perceive our relationships with the more than human world.
Ecoliteracy is not limited to understanding how nutrients cycle and climates change but also understanding our relationality and responsibility, inviting reverence and reciprocity into our ways of being and doing in the world.
Together the group will share eco-literate ways to interact with the world and explore the question: How can re-animating our language help to nourish our relationship with the more than human world and foster our sense of belonging?

Most programs create awareness—but awareness alone doesn’t always move students to act. Today’s youth care deeply about climate change, yet many feel anxious, overwhelmed, and unsure how to make a difference. This session offers a different path. Explore a research-aligned framework that turns climate worry into agency through public commitment, peer influence, and nature-based wonder. Grounded in behavioral science, NGSS, and conservation biology, this approach strengthens stewardship and amplifies impact across learning communities. You’ll learn key ingredients that nurture long-term stewardship, and practical strategies you can use right away. If you want to help youth move from fear to confidence—and from concern to meaningful action—this session is for you. The ripple starts here. Will you be part of it?

Connection to nature is a term that is used to describe our relationship with the more-than-human world. It is often associated with an awareness of self and a sense of belonging or interconnectedness with the natural world. There is a rich body of literature suggesting that contact with nature is beneficial for health and wellbeing across the life course, as well as serving as a predictor amongst young people for future pro-environmental behaviours, that in turn have also been related with enhanced wellbeing. This collective workshop is envisioned as an outdoor interactive session, with opportunities for discussion and co-learning for facilitating opportunities that promote mindfulness in nature with young people. The session will be interspersed with discussion on theories and principles underlying the benefits of connection to nature, including examples of interdisciplinary programs I have helped to design and lead in early childhood, primary school, and high school settings.