About Woodhaven

Meet Cheryl

Hello! My name is Cheryl! I am certified as a Forest and Nature School Practitioner by the Child & Nature Alliance of Canada (https://childnature.ca/). I started Woodhaven in 2021, offering the first Forest School program in Regina, providing outdoor experiences for both preschool and school-aged children. In September 2022, I was excited to partner with Nature Regina's Get Outside! Program to provide more outdoor programming for children and young families. I am passionate about providing outdoor experiences for children in the city, and I want to provide more opportunities for children to learn from nature and build connection with natural spaces.

I have over two decades of leadership experience in Outdoor Education from various camps in different parts of Canada as a Camp Director and Outdoor Educator with different organizations offering programming for children and youth. I also have a Master in Social Work and have been working in the social work field for over 17 years. I am a mama to 3 adventurous children!

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Woodhaven's Vision

To provide opportunities for children to be outside and engage with nature in regular and repeated visits to the same space
To provide opportunities to build connection to the land and with each other using nature as our teacher
To teach and model using things found in nature to create, make projects, and play (ie. Sticks, rocks, etc)
To build children’s knowledge on the use of Leave No Trace philosophy
Seek to build diverse communities by making the program accessible
Value children’s play as integral part of development and children’s curiosity central to the learning process
Building knowledge and accountable relationships with Indigenous groups

The 6 Relationships in Forest and Nature School

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Relationship to Land

Connection to the land through extended time outdoors and repeated access to the same space and a reciprocal learning relationship.

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Relationship to Story

Sharing and learning through story and developing their own “story” as valuable and important part of learning.

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Relationship to Trust

Developing and growing trust within ourselves, each other, the land, and the world around us.

Relationship to Play

Play is child-led and children have time and space to immerse themselves in play.

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Relationship to Risk

Taking safe and appropriate risks as an important part of a child’s development and learning.

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Relationship to Power

Play is child-led and learning is child-directed. The educator’s role is to make space for learning and both nurturing further learning and growing by building on children’s interests and strengths while also learning alongside and from the children.

About Woodhaven

Meet Cheryl

Woodhaven's Vision

The 6 Relationships in Forest and Nature School

Please contact us if you would like further information.