Programs for Teachers & Educators
Professional Learning & Events
Classroom Teachers
Outdoor Educators
Camp Leaders
Wilderness Guides
University Professors
Opening New Possibilities – Refining and Expanding Educational Practice
Professional Development for a Better World
"One can spend much time outdoors and not see anything – not see the snowshoe hare that hops out of the way, not see the red squirrel sitting on a branch just above your head looking at you, not see the moose that gets up from its bedding site and moves away like a ghost. When our consciousness is turned inward we do not see." ~ Soren Bondrup-Nielsen
If we want our students to see – to truly come to feel and know the interrelationship they share with the Earth – to come to love this planet and to care for all its living beings and places, for generations to come, then simply going outside is not enough.
Our professional development (a sterile, pleasureless term which we use solely due to its well-known meaning) programs aspire to address this issue. To make outdoor education something more than the out-of-doors. To establish philosophically why we do what we do, and to create educational pedagogies and practices to get us there. To build-up current programming at schools, outdoor education centres, camps, and outfitters, creating a more profound impact by formulating a deeper meaning and establishing intentional practices.
Our Programs for Teachers & Educators are for all those who work as educators, indoors and out. Based in the recognition that the work you do is essential to building a vibrant future, we treat it as such, taking seriously our shared profession as a catalyst for building good people through deeply meaningful experiences.
Outdoor Education – Good Teaching
"What a teacher is may be more important than what a teacher knows" ~ Bert Horwood
Ultimately it is in the world of teacher training where the future quality of students' educational experiences are determined.
We believe that the philosophies and pedagogies – the theories and practices – of "outdoor education", rather than being a marginal form of education, fundamentally constitute what is commonly thought of as simply good teaching: building resilience; finding meaning and making connections between ideas and experiences; establishing positive, caring relationships with our human and natural communities in the places where we live; and forming an inner self with a strong moral compass, ready to navigate an ever changing and complex world.
We promote the outdoor education philosophy and pedagogy because training teachers in this model produces and empowers educators who provide strong, positive, relational, and worldly engaged mentorship to their students.
Enabling educators of all backgrounds – elementary teachers, field biologists, civil engineers, humanities scholars, park interpreters, wilderness guides, history majors and many more – to provide engaging experiences wherein the conditions are ripe for students to make personal meaning is essential if we are to provide for the raising of promising kids into good people.
We think critically about this work. Making changes and adaptations, with no two programs exactly alike. Above all, we aim to address both the head and the heart, such that our programs instill "inspiration of the kind that inspires future teachers to be inspiring themselves" (Bert Horwood).
Our Programs
for Teachers & Educators
To find out more about what our programs are like, take a deeper dive into the Headwaters Experience and the Headwaters Philosophy.
"What shall we give the children? Sandhill cranes — surely sandhill cranes. And the sweet whistle of the varied thrush in the morning. Frog calls, owl calls, trumpeting whales. Fresh cold water to drink at the end of a saltwater day. Deep green shade. Starfish, and child's delight in these. Blueberries and potatoes. Safe nights. A sense of decency and fairness that will last them all their lives. Farsighted love."
~ Kathleen Dean Moore