Outdoor Learning Conference 2026

Outdoor learning, when done well, is the best form of good teaching. But what is outdoor learning: what are we doing – educationally and pedagogically – when we take our teaching outdoors, be it the local park or a backcountry canoe trip, and how do we know if it’s working? In this workshop we will examine the underlying beliefs and unquestioned assumptions behind some of the most common frameworks of outdoor learning. As we acknowledge their benefits, reveal their limitations, and question their implications, we will work together to put theory to our actions: taking your educational values, experiences, and goals and weaving them around the fabric of your existing outdoor learning practice to create a robust educational framework unique to you. Coming away from this workshop with a deeper understanding of how pedagogical practice operates and an enhanced awareness of the unspoken assumptions of much outdoor learning, this is an opportunity to take your practice to the next level.

Participants with spend guided time on the land and as a community of learners, considering how connection with land might foster authentic health care and service provision. This workshop is appropriate for health care workers, educators, and land-based organizational leadership.


Through access to land, water, air, space, and the more-than-human components of the natural environment surrounding this event, we will focus discussion and learning outcomes around building community, reflection on self as a member of system, and human/more-than human interconnectedness - Wholism.


As we expose participants to these environmental components on the land, we will ask them consider links with health/care provision in a number of ways/through multiple perspectives (personal/interpersonal/the more-than-human/community/national/planetary). We will combine interaction with the natural elements alongside talking circles to connect our experiences and perspectives.

This interactive session explores the journey of Outdoor Experiential Education (OEE) within the Halton District School Board and the board’s commitment to mental health and wellbeing, as well as environmental leadership. We will highlight our current approach, which involves collaborating with lead educators from school divisions and OEE facilitators to implement a long-range plan tailored to each school’s unique needs. We’ll also address the challenges of measuring educator and student impact and how our model has adapted to support their journey.


Participants will engage in hands-on activities connected to environmental sustainability and various curriculum areas, using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a guiding framework.


We’ll conclude by discussing strategies for integrating outdoor learning into classrooms, empowering educators to harness the outdoors as a dynamic learning space.

Transform your schoolyard into a living classroom! This bilingual, hands-on workshop immerses educators in the process of assessing, planning, and restoring habitats through native plant gardening and invasive species management. Participants will explore how outdoor learning spaces can promote biodiversity, ecological restoration, and student engagement while prioritizing safety and respect for the land. Using tools like iNaturalist and guided by Indigenous perspectives and the New Pedagogies for Deep Learning framework, attendees will gain practical strategies to lead authentic, cross-curricular, land-based learning projects that have a real impact on our environmental crisis. Through field observation, collaborative planning, and resource sharing, participants will leave ready to guide students in creating outdoor spaces that foster stewardship, curiosity, and ecological awareness.