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Forest Schooled

Courses & Community
for Nature-rooted educators and caregivers

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Forest Schooled

Courses 
Community
for Nature-rooted educators and caregivers

Empty space, drag to resize
When I was a child...
I learned about the laws of physics and aerodynamics by making myself cardboard wings and jumping out of an avocado tree. I tried with an umbrella too after watching Mary Poppins. That didn’t work either. 

I learned math by counting how many geckos eggs I could find tucked away in the corners of the windows.

​I learned about biology by watching the mulberry tree put out bunches of flowers that bees would buzz around and over time would eventually turn into bright purple berries I would eat, staining my tongue and my fingers red.


I learned about human impact on the environment and pollution when sea turtles would wash up on shore with plastic wrapped around their heads. Or with deflated balloons caught in their throat.

That’s also when I learned I couldn’t just stand around and watch those things happen. 

These are all lessons that are still important and relevant for all of us today.
And I didn’t learn any of them in a classroom.
I learned them in the spaces of time between school, in my backyard and out in my community. Through real experiences that built emotional connections and memories.
Today’s children don’t have the opportunities that I did.
Our education systems and home lives create a firm divide between us and the outdoors. We go from our houses to our cars or buses to school buildings and offices and barely look up from the screens of our phones to see a dandelion growing through the crack in the sidewalk.

And there are consequences to this. Access to and time in the outdoors is crucial to our individual and collective health and wellbeing, especially that of children. We know this now. The research backs it up. Children who grow up playing outdoors are healthier, happier, and more inclined to look after the natural world.

But our systems are lagging behind. There is lack of understanding and support for caregivers and educators to bring children outdoors to play and learn. In fact there are often huge, and systemic, barriers that prevent even those who are capable and want to.
But things are changing.
There is a growing movement across the world to create educational systems that are rooted in the outdoors, that consider wellbeing and actual learning over test scores.

There are thousands of educators out there seeking training, resources, and networks to support their vision to bring children outdoors.

There is momentum for change. I can see and feel it.

I’ve lived in quite a few places in my short life, from the tropics, to the deserts, to the mountains, to the valleys and forests, to urban centres. I know that the systems we operate in are created by our cultures. And I know we have the power to change and improve them, if we’re willing to try.

So, I’m putting out the invitation for others to join me in getting Forest Schooled.

forest schooled

(a Nature-rooted learning journey)
1. guided, challenged, humbled, and befriended by the features and forces of the natural world​

2. inspired to embed connections to the more-than-human-world in my day-to-day life, continuously self-reflect, and adapt my practices to meet community needs over time​

3. taught a lesson related to learning, the Land, and life (the hard way)

Learn Together

Join online workshops, professional learning communities, and access a variety of online learning resources that help us all work towards becoming Nature-rooted.

Get Support

Create or improve your delivery of high-quality, effective, and meaningful programs for your communities.

Pick up a Book

Books and publications, all connected with working with groups outdoors. There's some freebies in there, so it's worth taking a look!

Grow Community

Join a virtual gathering space for community and connection! This online space is included in every course, package, or resource available for purchase.
Hi, I'm Caylin 

I started Forest Schooled as a blog in 2016 while working towards my Forest School qualification in the UK. Then in 2017 I moved to the homeland of the Abenaki (which is also known to many as New Hampshire, USA); and then moved again in 2019 to the homeland of the Algonquin Nation (which is also known to many as Ottawa, Canada). 

My blog is a collection of stories I've gathered along the way, and they demonstrate how my understanding of education rooted in Nature has adapted and changed with the places I've lived. I claim to be an "educator" but the reality is that whilst I'm busy "teaching" others, the children and the Land are just as busy teaching me. This is a place where I share the lessons I'm learning in the process and how, in essence, I'm getting "Forest Schooled".​

After years of writing my blog, my focus turned to deepening professional learning and practice through reflection and community building, to enrich experiences and improve the quality of how and what we deliver through our programs. I make space in my work for Western science and Indigenous perspectives to move towards mutual understanding and restoration (or re-story-ation*) of our connections with the natural world. 

In addition to developing and delivering programs, I also offer consultancy and mentorship to help those just getting started in outdoor and Nature-rooted programs, as well as experienced practitioners who want to deepen their practice, by offering my perspective and experience as a springboard for your learning journey. There's more about that on my Work With Me page.​

Welcome! I'm glad you're here.​​

* "As Gary Nabhan has written, we can't meaningfully proceed with healing, with restoration, without "re-story-ation." In other words, our relationship with the land cannot heal until we hear its stories. But who will tell them?"​

- Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, p. 9
Caylin offers tailored mentorship which covers all aspects of developing a nature-based business from community consultation and content design right through to the technicalities of using online platforms to communicate and the best way to serve our audiences. I highly recommended Caylin’s mentorship programme if you have the seed of an unique idea for a nature-based business, as her programme will help you to nurture this seed, bringing it up to flourish in a world greatly in need of nature-based communicators.
Charly, UK
(Mentorship Package)
Caylin's mentorship was extremely thorough. I was provided with an abundance of resources that I could go through - and can refer back to - as I grow my programs. She was available & flexible when I needed the talk things through, ask questions, and need her support while dealing with situations that arose. As a parent, an employee, and an entrepreneur this was important for me to know I could take it at my own pace & not over-extend myself. Caylin is such a beautiful human - kind and empathetic - and has a wealth of knowledge!! I'm a forever fan!
Stefany, Ontario CA
(Mentorship Package)
Caylin's mentoring and consultation was invaluable to us in the process of designing and opening our outdoor program for young children. Her depth of knowledge and experience is reflected in her thorough library of authored and gathered resources. This breadth of work is matched by her evident passion for nature programs and sincere desire to help others carry out this truly meaningful work. Her calm, supportive demeanor invited our true expression of questions, concerns, and thoughts; everything we discussed felt valued and she always had relevant advice or information to share during each consultation.
Amanda & Joe, California USA
(Mentorship Package)
I feel that every step of Caylin's consultancy process was extremely valuable and exactly what I needed. From the initial consultation, to the co-created plan of action, to what she put together with me by the end – I felt heard, respected, guided, supported, uplifted and motivated. She's the partner I long for in this business! And it was helpful that she was willing to negotiate a payment plan, considering the fact that she was helping me write to government officials about a lack of financial support!
Monica Miller, Ontario CA
(Consultancy)
During the first weeks of lockdown in March 2020, I joined Caylin’s Fireside Fridays. I was immediately motivated to start my program. I am a children’s author and playful movement therapist who dreamed of taking my programs outside. Caylin helped me every step of the way with her natural connection to business and her experience in starting nature programs worldwide. In addition, she has developed invaluable online resources that address many current social and ecological needs. Within a few months, I began hosting parent and child outdoor programs in my backyard.
Libby Piper, Pennsylvania USA
(Mentorship Package)
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