It takes a variety of skills, and a whole lotta love to bring something like The Outdoor Learning Store to life, and keep it breathing well. These are the beings that pour their heart, knowledge, skill, and energy into making this the reality it is. I hope one day you’ll meet them, they are all awesome.
Before we get to the team, we’d like to recognize the land and First Nations, and by doing so we acknowledge a longer history and our place(s) in that history. We wish to acknowledge these lands and waters and their significance for the peoples who lived and continue to live in these regions, whose practices and spiritualities were and are tied to Land and Water, and those whose lives continue to enrich, develop and steward in relationship to Land, Waters and other inhabitants today.
We respectfully acknowledge the traditional homelands, since time immemorial, of First Nations in the watershed of the Columbia Basin: Ktunaxa, Sinixt, Secwepmec, and Sylix, where many of call home, and on which The Outdoor Learning Store operates from.
Daily Operations
Jade Harvey
outreach@outdoorlearningstore.com
Magical Hat Wearer/ Outreach & Events Manager
From making Social Media magic to amazing podcasts, Jade always has a hat on!
Jade has a vivaciousness for life that ignites everyone around her. She uses this seemingly unending energy to enrich the lives of youth through rock climbing, mountain biking and outdoor youth skills camps…weaving in outdoor education and science as she goes. On top of all of this amazing work she co-hosts Earthly Chats podcast and writes for Scientific and Education publications. Growing the outdoor education community, providing support networks for teachers and educators and making sure youth have access to their natural environment is Jade’s top priority.
Check out Jade’s Stoked On Science.
Duncan Whittick
orders@outdoorlearningstore.com
Executive Director/ Connector Extraordinaire
At the center and heart of Canada’s Outdoor Learning Store Duncan makes everything go round; it’s no wonder he was the recipient of the Canadian Environmental Education ‘Outstanding Individual in an Organization’ Award in 2018. His years of experience working with incredible initiatives like CBEEN, C2C, KBEE, EECOM, KCP, Cypress Hills Inter-provincial Park, Dinosaur Provincial Park, the National Trust for Scotland, and the Jane Goodall Institute (and more) have allowed him to accentuate his innate ability to bring people together in something he is passionate about: Environmental Education. He enjoys connecting the dots between people and organizations, looking for pathways to positive systemic change, and finding ways we can all work better, together. He holds a degree in Communications & Culture, and a diploma in Environmental Science. His fabulous wife, Tara, and children helped Canada’s Outdoor Learning Store get off the ground.
Natt Forrest
comms@outdoorlearningstore.com
Rover Plover/ Picks up what needs to be filled in
Natt came to Invermere for a month to visit after College – that was 23 years ago. She travelled around for a few years but realized that her favourite part of travelling was having time to enjoy the wind and breeze, and the peace it brought her. So she stopped travelling and started digging into why that was so important to her. She completed her Ph.D in Applied EcoPsychology and started combining that with her decades of teaching/training in Therapeutic Movement and Yoga, and wove the two together to create EcoYogaTherapy(TM). She wrote her first book: Yoga With Nature to help students build a Nature Based Yoga. She brings her love of learning, Nature and education into her role at OLS – where she does whatever needs to be done. Weaving together and filling in where needed: at the fulfillment center, building website pages, helping with communications, and outreach.
Check out Natt’s EcoYogaTherapy
Chris O'Shaughnessy
admin@outdoorlearningstore.com
Tetris Mastress of the Packaging/ Shipping
Born on Vancouver Island Chris travelled the world before coming for a ‘quick’ visit to the East Kootenays where Mountains claimed her. She now calls Invermere home and is raising two amazing cutie pies whilst furthering her education to become an Education Assistant. She has kick-ass organizational skills, compassion, and humour that she has used to whip Canada’s Outdoor Learning Store fulfillment center into shape.
Kate Atkinson
support@outdoorlearningstore.com
Keeper togetherer of things / Systems Supporter
Kate Atkinson is originally from Riverview, New Brunswick. She earned her degree in Outdoor Rec. at NBCC, St Andrews, and chose the Rocky Mountains as her home with skis in one hand a paintbrush in the other. While Kate’s career has taken her from snowy mountain tops and dropping cliffs to a position with less altitude, Kate’s love of the mountains and daily adventures with her two kids have inspired her art and continued love of the Columbia Valley, while still keeping her on her toes! She loves bringing her outdoor recreation background, combined with her creativity, to The Outdoor Learning Store, helping to inspire and support learners and educators alike.
Mia King
Program Manager / Admin and organizational superstar
Indigenous Advisors
Faye O'Neil
Indigenous Advisor, Educator, and OLS Representor
Faye O’Neil was born on her homelands of ?ama?kis Ktunaxa at the beginning of the headwaters of the micqaqas akinmituk (Chickadee River/Columbia River) where she played in the water and on the land. She is a community member of the ?aqam and resides in Cranbrook, BC. Faye is an Aboriginal Education Coordinator in School District #5 (Southeast Kootenay) and has been working in the public education sector for 21 years promoting and braiding Indigenous worldviews and perspectives into the classrooms. When not volunteering sitting on committees and boards for ?aqam and the Ktunaxa Nation, you can find her out on the land exploring and following the footprints of her ancestors, kayaking the many lakes in the area and gathering plants and berries. Recently Faye was awarded an EE Award of Excellence from CBEEN.
Jenna Jasek
District Vice Principal of Indigenous Learning and Equity for Rocky Mountain School District No. 6, Indigenous Advisor, Educator, and OLS Representor
Jenna grew up in the Columbia Valley, the unceded territories of her ancestors’ the Secwepemc and Ktunaxa people. Growing up in a mountain town has created her love of the outdoors. She loves to snowboard, mountain bike, run, hike, skate, paddleboard, camp and surf with her family and loves any opportunity to bring students outdoors. She loves to learn and finished her Masters of Special Education in 2021. She is on a learning expedition which involves her culture, traditional teachings, languages and Knowledge of nature.
Jenna became the District Vice-Principal of Indigenous Learning and Equity in Rocky Mountain School District No. 6 in the 2021-2022 school year and previously was a teacher at Edgewater Elementary. Within her role, she aims to bring understanding and change through Truth and Reconciliation, partnering with the Secwepemc, Ktunaxa and Metis people and continued learning and teachings.
This year, Jenna has also taken the lead on partnering with CBEEN and the Outdoor Learning Store to offer the Every Child Matters Year-long Learning Challenge for over 100 schools/organizations and over 1000 people to support them in deepening their understanding of Indigenous Knowledge, culture, history, challenges and perspectives. Jenna was the 2022 recipient of the community literacy award for Windermere valley. Jenna believes Indigenous perspectives connect effortlessly with outdoor, hands-on and place-based learning. Her goal is to provide students opportunities to explore, learn and immerse themselves in the outdoors and outdoor education alongside Indigenous perspectives and Knowledge.
Finance, Strategy, Design, Web, Photography, and so much more
Katie Wells
Strategy Wizard, and Financial Keeper
Over the past 15+ years, Katie has found a niche using her multidisciplinary entrepreneurial skillset with her P.Eng. and her specialties in business, finance and systems to help entrepreneurs and non-profits move their goals and dreams forward. Her firm, Turning Point Business Advisory Services Inc., is based out of Invermere where Katie has lived for the past 27 years. She enjoys family, being outside and tiny house living.
Check out Katie’s business: www.katiewells.ca
Shawn Wernig
Digital Wizard/Web Master
Having a vision of an Outdoor Learning Store is one thing; it’s quite another to make it a digital reality that functions well and smoothly, consistently. That’s where Shawn comes in.
Shawn now lives in Cranbrook with his gorgeous partner, crazily cute fur-babies, and hundreds (literally, hundreds, seriously there’s oodles of them) of plant friends…and a really nice atrium.
More about Shawn: www.eggplantstudios.ca
Sarah Bennet
Creative Genius/Brand Strategy Development
Owner of Origin Brand Sarah’s creative force brings to life the core purpose and vision of the Outdoor Learning Store. Not just a creator on paper or digitally, She is mother to two beautiful children.
Dee Conklin
Sweetest Person ever, Space Holder for OLS
Dee grew up in Montreal and made the journey to the West, eventually finding her way to Radium. She owns Palliser Printing which is also the Head Quarters location for the Outdoor Learning Store. As well as having an amazing garden, Dee is also a Marriage Commissioner.
Kimberley Rae
Photographer
I’m a garden-obsessed, outdoor-loving Yes-Mom (I say yes to almost any and all adventures my kiddo asks of me!) who feels over-the moon to be doing something I’m so passionate about in paradise. I came to Invermere for a two-week vacation 18 years ago and I’m still here – happy as a lark! I got hooked on taking photos at the age of six when my Uncle Jim and Aunt Carrie gave me a bubble-gum pink Pentax camera and a roll of film.
I was, and still am, infatuated with freezing moments in time. moments of love, moments of beauty, moments of contemplation, and moments of dancing light. we live in such a fast-paced world that to see an image that captures a deeper sense of someone or something, we allow ourselves the time to contemplate and ponder.
photography has the power to bring about change in thought, change of mind, change of life, and hopefully, someday, change the world. in fact, i think it already has.
Kyla Lam
CPA, aka The Numbers Wrangler
Kyla is passionate about serving the small businesses, families, and not-for-profits in our community. Kyla and her team at Aspire support the complete financial management needs of their clients with a unique and progressive approach.
Kyla is an active member in the community as Secretary of the Columbia Valley Chamber of Commerce and CPA Canada Financial Literacy volunteer. As avid campers, hikers, mountain bikers, and skiers, Kyla and her family can often be found exploring this beautiful valley we call home.
Read more about the Aspire team: https://aspirecpa.ca/
CBEEN – our backbone
Jennifer Roberts
CBEEN, Treasurer
Jennifer is currently the District Principal of Transformative Learning. She is a director with Classrooms to Communities and co-chairs the Kootenay-Boundary Chapter of the British Columbia School Superintendent’s Association’s (BCSSA) Environmental Education initiative (KBEE). She is often to be found outside exploring nature and the local trails.
Todd Hebert
CBEEN – Chair
Todd lives and works in Cranbrook and is the Executive Director of Columbia Outdoor School & Blue Lake Camp. He has been involved in environmental education for many years through his work at Blue Lake, as a facilitator for HCTF and a community educator. He is also spearheading the restoration of Joseph Creek and connecting community to the creek and its importance to the area.
Take Me Outside – Partners for Nature’s life
Farheen Kadwa
Take Me Outside Program Manager
Colin Harris
Take Me Outside Executive Director
Colin Harris is the Founder and ED of Take Me Outside. He initiated the organization by running 7,600 km across Canada over nine months, going into 80 schools across the country and engaging 20,000 students in the conversation of their time spent in front of screens compared to their time spent outside, being active and connecting to nature. Colin has been immersed in the field of outdoor and environmental education for over 15 years. He has been the director of outdoor education at an Ontario-based centre, he has instructed canoe trips for Outward Bound Canada and has worked with Indigenous students in the Western Arctic Leadership Program in NT. He has taught in Fort Smith and Toronto, completed a Master’s of Environmental Education and Communication through Royal Roads University and started his PhD in Educational Research in the fall of 2021. He currently lives in Banff, Alberta and enjoys trail running, writing and continuing to find ways to engage Canadian students in exploring this country’s incredible backyard.
Stephanie Korolyk
Take Me Outside Program Manager
Stephanie was born in Victoria, BC, and as the youngest of three children, she was following her older siblings into outdoor adventures from a young age, most memorably during summer camping trips up and down Vancouver Island.
By grade two, she knew she’d be focused on nature and ecology throughout her life, but it wasn’t until university that she found an avenue for sharing that passion with others. From developing naturalist programs with Parks Canada and running a small conservation-focused organization on Haida Gwaii to leading hands-on garden education at an urban farm in Vancouver, Stephanie continued exploring and learning on the coast of BC until a recent move eastward. She’s thrilled to be working within the fantastic and endlessly passionate world of outdoor education as she finds a new community in the Kootenays to climb, bike, and hike with.
Working in the nonprofit world specifically for the past four years has shown Stephanie that experiential education and grassroots organizations are a powerful combo for igniting change and inspiring stewardship, and she is constantly inspired by the work educators across Canada commit to engaging with the outdoors.
