We’re developing strong, self-aware, confident and compassionate leaders.

WHAT IS A WILD SCHOOL OUR PHILOSOPHY

ABOUT US

 

Our antiquated education system, designed for the control of large groups is failing our youth.  This has become painfully evident to many of us in these recent times.  The world is changing rapidly and yet the education model has altered little since the onset of the industrial revolution.  Our youth are over programmed, over stimulated and yet underwhelmed in the boxes that they are tethered to for most of their developmental years.

Our community is a group of passionate parents and educators that want more from education than is currently being offered.  We created the Blue Mountain Wild School to build something exceptional that would truly engage and inspire our children.  We seek opportunities to immerse our children in experiences that evoke curiosity, challenge and passion for learning and discovery.  We want our children to think critically, to think creatively and in an entrepreneurial mindset.  We set out to create a program for students of all backgrounds that would foster a life long love for learning and for the natural world along with the skills and knowledge to thrive there.  We believe that the greatest lessons are found in our natural classroom.

Blue Mountain Wild School is a not-for-profit organization and a registered Private School with a simple mandate to reconnect our future leaders with the natural world and with themselves. We strive to create a new model of education that focuses on the whole student. We seek to create experiences and learning opportunities to ignite curiosity and passion for learning while developing confidence, resilience and courage in order to empower the changemakers. These are the leaders that will lead their peers and their community to make the world a better place.

MEET THE TEAM

 

What is a WILD School?

WILD stands for Wilderness Integrated Leadership Development.  It is a philosophy born out of a core belief that the greatest learning is found in real life experiences. WILD School is focused on teaching the individual and to foster “the changemaker.” We focus on ‘re-wilding’ the students thinking: to be free to formulate new ideas, problem solve and think creatively irrespective of normative and conformative educational standards.  We integrate and go beyond provincial curriculum to develop a program that inspires and ignites curiosity and growth.

Our core program is focused on a four main educational streams and integrating core disciplines within that. We call it OE4: Ecological Education, Outdoor Education, Experiential Education and Leadership Education.  We integrate these streams with the basic core competencies (e.g. Math, Writing, Science, etc.). By doing so, our students are more engaged and more aware of the social and physical world around them. Our students retain more information, are more creative and dynamic thinkers and are passionate about learning.

outdoor education canoe trip

The WILD School experience enables participants to step away from their everyday environment and immerses them in exciting outdoor adventures and learning opportunities where they will draw on their individual strengths and work as a team to strive for success.

Using wilderness skills development and opportunities for service and team building, students have the oppotunity to reconnect with themselves, with others and with nature. In a supportive environment, young people can transform their attitudes, behaviours and beliefs, coming away with a renewed sense of their own self-worth and potential.

We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time.

  • T.S. Elliot

hiking

Our Philosophy

We educate for leadership and sustainablilty through community and wilderness-integrated, entrepreneurial learning, in a natural environment.

Our philosophy draws heavily on the Norwegian concept of Friluftsliv – which literally means free air life. The essence of friluftsliv is hard to define. It is an approach to life that can be found among outdoor people all over the world and promotes living free in the wild with a deep connection to the landscape and oneself. Friluftsliv is less focused on the activity in nature of itself and more focused on the connections that are established through that activity.  This ability to be truly connected is a state of mind that needs training, and we work hard to guide our students towards this state of connection.

This philosophy lends itself well to team building and skills development, which allows youth to become more comfortable in the natural world.  This gives them confidence and a deeper connection to themselves and their surroundings.  This freedom of thinking, of self-awareness and passion for learning is a powerful recipe that will allow our leaders to live intentional and meaningful lives.  We’re developing self-aware, confident and compassionate leaders who will affect great change in their life times.

canoe

We’re developing strong, self-aware, confident and compassionate leaders.