"The gift that I wanted for my granddaughter was the soft shelter of what might be Earth, but could well be mistaken for heaven." ~ Kathleen Dean Moore
A Unique Approach to Education
Headwaters develops curriculum-linked, for-credit experiential courses that deliver the Ontario Secondary School curriculum while going beyond the textbook. A canoe trip down the Missinaibi River to earn a grade 11 geography credit; an immersive conservation training canoe trip in Temagami as the culminating assessment of an environmental science credit. This is real, high-calibre academic education delivered in an extraordinary way, pushing the boundaries of what learning can – and should – look like.
As a boutique organization with an intentionally small team, everything we do is thoughtful, intentional, and highly personalized to the needs of our partners. Schools get to know us, and we get to know them.
We believe that our educational system is failing in a major way by re-producing a model of education separated from the natural world. Headwaters seeks to be different. We reject the idea that outdoor education is something separate from academic and character education, believing instead that each of these are integrated, essential components of any good education. Too often outdoor education is reduced to outdoor gym class and once-a-year 'nature trips'. To do better, for our students and for the planet, we need a comprehensive integration of academic and nature-based education. By viewing education with a transdisciplinary approach, Headwaters integrates the lessons and values of academic education into wilderness experiences and, crucially, brings the lessons and values of the wilderness into the academic curriculum. Fundamentally, we view outdoor education as a pedagogy – as an experiential, in-the-world way of teaching that is integrated with the academic model – rather than a subject.
To achieve this, we take a deliberate, long-term, three-pillar approach to educational programming. Recognizing that institutions are often siloed between research and practice (those who research are rarely also those who practice, and vice versa), we bring them together. Always research-based, and always integrated, we follow a cyclical model of Development, Practice (Implementation), and Dissemination in everything that we do, enabling us to be at the forefront of educational philosophy and pedagogy – of both research and practice – advancing the field through an integrated approach.
To read more about our research activities and findings, click here.
1
Development
Develop and integrate curriculum-linked programs which are unique to the needs, culture, and mission of the school, melding academic and nature-based education
2
Practice (Implementation)
Put these programs into Practice through the organization, facilitation, and delivery of the programs, in partnership with the school and its teachers
3
Dissemination
And Disseminate any findings, research results, philosophies, and pedagogies which were discovered in the delivery of the program, with the goal of improving the educational work and expertise of the school, building their internal capacity and educational excellence
This Development, Practice (Implementation), Dissemination model is cyclical, with the results of Dissemination informing the Development and Practice of future programs.
Partners in Educational Development
Impactful Research | Exemplary Programs
Headwaters develops curriculum-linked, for-credit experiential courses that deliver the Ontario Secondary School curriculum while going beyond the textbook. A canoe trip down the Missinaibi River to earn a grade 11 geography credit; an immersive conservation training canoe trip in Temagami as the culminating assessment of an environmental science credit. This is real, high-calibre academic education delivered in an extraordinary way, pushing the boundaries of what learning can – and should – look like.
Viewing research and practice as linked, we partner with schools to develop unique programs, facilitate those programs, and then learn from the results to continually improve and iterate, remaining responsive to today yet forward looking to tomorrow.
