Outdoor Learning Conference 2026 has ended

Outdoor Learning Conference 2026

Welcome to the 2026 Outdoor Learning Conference

201 (Indoor Space)

205

Banff Centre Amphitheatre

9:00am • Mountain Biking with Bikescape! (Additional Fee - Special Conference Rate)

Bear

3:15pm • Spaceship Earth

Beaver

3:15pm • Outdoor Play, Naturally

Bee

3:15pm • Ways of the Bison: learning from tatâga through a two-eyed seeing perspective

Butterfly

3:15pm • Land Based Education Guide

Chickadee

3:15pm • La Petite Robe Rouge : écouter, comprendre, agir pour le changement : Découvrez comment le récit, le dialogue et les activités créatives peuvent inspirer la compassion et encourager l’action en faveur de la justice
8:30pm • Fireside Smores

Cougar

3:15pm • Mapping as Story: Place, Play and Perspective in Outdoor Learning

Coyote

3:15pm • Beyond Access: Framing Outdoor Equity Through Daily Practice and Systemic Action

Deer

3:15pm • Indigenous Mindfulness in the Classroom

Eagle

3:15pm • Traditional Games in the Classroom

Great Blue Heron

3:15pm • Scaling Nature: Harnessing Humor, Hope and Data to Re-Nature our Schools, Regenerate Soil Health, Restore Immune Systems and Replenish Joy

Jenny Belzberg Theatre (Bus Loop)

Kingfisher

3:15pm • THE COST OF SILENCE: How Our Childhood Narratives Shape Our Presence as Educators

Kinnear Centre

Kinnear Centre - Bear Sign

9:00am • Wellness Forest Bathing Walk

Kinnear Centre - Chickadee Sign

10:30am • Grounding in the Rockies - A Nature Immersion Wellness Workshop

Kinnear Centre - Cougar Sign

9:00am • Forest Play

Kinnear Centre - Moose Sign

9:00am • Land as a Storyteller: Banff Townsite Hike

Kinnear Centre - Otter Sign

9:00am • Wading into Water Health: A Hands-On Macroinvertebrate Field Experience

Kinnear Centre - Owl Sign

9:00am • Making Nature Awareness Bracelets and cordage from Cattails - If trees are the lungs of the planet, then wetlands are its kidneys- Building student awareness of wetlands

Kinnear Centre - Raven Sign

9:00am • Bridging Nature and Innovation: Engaging with the Land Through Birds,Technology, and Art

Kinnear Patio Firepit 1

MacLab Bistro

8:30pm • Mingle at MacLab

Otter

3:15pm • From Anxiety to Action: EcoAnxiety as a Tool for Action

Outdoor Learning School & Store Exhibitor Booth

Outside Kinnear Centre Front Door

9:00am • Adaptive Equipment Showcase: Expanding Access to Outdoor Learning

Owl

3:15pm • When the Land Speaks: Slowing Down to Listen, Feel and Connect

Raccoon

3:15pm • Investigating Mathematics Outdoors: Connecting Mathematics to Place, Community, and Story

Raven

3:15pm • Going Beyond “Nature Connection” – Building a Robust Framework for Your Outdoor Learning Practice

Snail

3:15pm • Designing a living corner: Where nature and learning thrive

Squirrel

3:15pm • STEM from Here: Growing Future Educators in Parks

Toad

3:15pm • Literacy That Connects: Evidence-Based Literacy Instruction in Outdoor Spaces

Turtle

3:15pm • Math Lives Here: Exploring Shape, Space, and Story on the Land

Various Locations - Check Individual Session

7:59am • Pre-Conference Field Experiences (Optional)

Vistas Dining Room

201 (Indoor Space)

203 (Indoor Space)

3:30pm • The KAIROS Blanket Exercise (KBE)

205

Bear

Beaver

Bee

Butterfly

Chickadee

Cougar

Coyote

Deer

Eagle

Great Blue Heron

Kingfisher

Kinnear Centre

Kinnear Patio Firepit 1

Kinnear Patio Firepit 2

11:00am • If I had a Hammer: Woodworking with Young Children

Moose

Otter

Outdoor Learning School & Store Exhibitor Booth

Outside Kinnear Centre Front Door

2:00pm • Walking With Story: Integrating Indigenous Literature, Foraging, and Outdoor Science Inquiry

Owl

Porcupine

Raccoon

Raven

Snail

Squirrel

Toad

Tunnel Mountain Trailhead (Lower Parking Area)

6:00am • Sacred Buffalo (Tunnel) Mountain Hike *Unguided*

Turtle

Vistas Dining Room

201 (Indoor Space)

9:45am • Literacy, Math, Science in the Outdoors Collaborative Learning Panels

203 (Indoor Space)

9:45am • Early Years Collaborative Learning Panels

205

208

9:45am • French Collaborative Learning Panels

Banff Centre

8:30am • Checkout of Accommodations + Free Time

Banff Centre Amphitheatre

Kinnear Centre

Kinnear Centre - Bear Sign

2:00pm • Wellness Forest Bathing Walk

Kinnear Centre - Chickadee Sign

2:30pm • Grounding in the Rockies - A Nature Immersion Wellness Workshop

Kinnear Centre - Otter Sign

2:00pm • Water, Community and Connection

Kinnear Centre - Owl Sign

2:00pm • Being a Good Relative through Forest Bathing

Kinnear Centre - Snail Sign

2:00pm • Observation to Insight: A Nature Journaling Approach

Kinnear Patio Firepit 1

9:45am • DEI in the Outdoors Collaborative Learning Panel

Main Plenary Room - Kinnear Centre

Outdoor Learning School & Store Exhibitor Booth

8:30am • Author Signing with Karine Cere & Marie-Pascale Brown

Vistas Dining Room

7:00am • Breakfast at Vistas