Education
Environmental education is foundational to Stewardship Pemberton Society and remains one of our core values. The educational projects and programs offered over the years have shifted with the needs of Pemberton, but education for all ages continues to be a top priority for the organization. The majority of Stewardship Pemberton Society’s educational services take place at the One Mile Lake Nature Centre which started as an educational salmon hatchery. For a decade, our Nature Camp program provided nature education and immersion for hundreds of children. We continue to seek out opportunities for educational programs.
Nature Camp
In 2012, Stewardship Pemberton Society opened Nature Camp - a nature education childcare program for children ages 3 to 13. Nature Camp was run out of the One Mile Lake Nature Centre and hundreds of children and families participated in the program over the years.
Nature Camp was developed using Coyote Mentoring, a unique and effective educational approach that has been developed by Jon Young and the Wilderness Awareness School. It uses children’s innate passion and excitement about the natural world as a catalyst to actively engage them in their learning process. This teaching method encourages children to make observations in nature and come up with their own unique theories and thoughts; an invaluable critical thinking tool. This teaching develops the capacity for learning, problem-solving and genuine expression, and, awakens a natural sense of wonder. We also follow the principles of the cardinal directions which guide us through our daily activities, a natural learning model (find out more here) students are focused on one learning topic a day, that typically ties into a weekly theme.
During Stewardship Pemberton Society’s strategic planning process in early 2023, the extremely difficult but necessary decision was made to pause Nature Camps for the time being. The pandemic brought many challenges to our programs that we worked hard to overcome. Ultimately, with increased operational costs, a competitive labour market including limited housing supply for staff, and shifting registration commitments, this pause will allow us to take the next year to reimagine all of our programs. As a start, we have just completed a 2-year strategic planning process to guide our board, staff, and volunteers in the reimagination process. Look for our community survey to be released in the coming weeks, and for other ways to engage throughout the year.
Although we are taking a short break from nature camp, we have a lot of exciting new community programming on the way including expanding our feasting for change program, a citizen's guide to climate action, and plans for new ways for the community to experience the One Mile Lake Nature Centre.We deeply thank the hundreds of families that have participated in this journey with us! Unfortunately, we have made the difficult decision to pause our regular nature camp programs for one year while we reassess our operations to ensure we are providing the community with the most valuable service we can offer.
A huge hearfelt thank you to those who supported Nature Camp over the years like the Whistler Blackcomb EnviroFund, the Pemberton Wildlife Association, Canada Summer Jobs program, Sea to Sky Community Services, and Village of Pemberton.
Further Education
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Field Trips
Since its inception, we have been providing environmental education for children and youth through field trips for the local schools. These field trips started as part of the Salmonids in the Classroom program with funding and support from the Department of Fisheries & Oceans. In recent years, school field trips have been made possible through the Habitat Conservation Trust Fund - Go Grant, these field trips taught children about Pemberton’s ecology through interactive activities.
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Workshops, Tours & Presentations
As a core value of the organization, we look to advance education wherever suitable. In partnership with the Pemberton & District Public Library, we have hosted and supported numerous presentations on topics ranging from Sharp-tailed Snakes to Climate Action to Forest Management. We aim to provide educational opportunities for people of all ages through our workshops such as our Composting Workshops (funded by the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District) and our beginner gardening workshops series (register here!). In the past, we have also held tours of restored salmon habitats.
Stewardship Pemberton Society always strives to host these workshops, tours, and presentations for free to reduce financial barriers to the environment and education. Thank you to our partners and funders that allow us to do so such as the Department of Fisheries & Oceans, Pacific Salmon Foundation, the Pemberton Wildlife Association, Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, Pemberton & District Public Library, and more!