Our mission is to help BC children get outside with their families to explore, play, learn about and take action for nature.
Our Nature for Newcomers program works to take action for nature by first creating a connection to the natural world, a safe bridge to our parks and green spaces with an understanding of the unique challenges that newcomers face. Our approach is inclusive and our community connections are not always just newcomer groups but those that seek connection and meaning to the land and community they are a part of.
Through this program we seek to introduce groups to nature in a way that builds a sense of belonging, creating individual and group memories for families that will support them through work, school, and all the challenges that come with navigating daily life.
Our program enhances physical and mental well-being, combatting isolation and promoting social integration through exploration and care of our natural surroundings. Our vision is to build a healthy and sustainable future for our world by engaging every child and their family in the diversity, complexity and wonder of nature.
We spent time listening to our communities across BC and gathering information before launching this program. What we heard was a cry for connection to nature from both staff at various community hubs and agencies as well as from families directly. We responded to this in early 2023 by offering select community partners in-nature experiences based off of our Explorer Day model. Since then we have worked closely with various organizations to co-design and run events together, supporting and empowering agency staff to connect to green spaces in a way that works best for them and the families they serve. Our network of nature based organizations, both private and public, who have supported our efforts has been indispensable to making this project a reality.
By working with agencies and community hubs already supporting newcomers, we are able to holistically support the community together.
We empower staff and volunteers who already want to engage with nature by easing their coordination burdens and providing specific nature knowledge which is seasonal and localized. We provide a flexible framework of in-nature experiences that speak to the needs of each organization at the pace of that organization. We also know that transport is often a huge barrier to this particular community and we are grateful to our funders for supporting us with this.
This program supports existing services by introducing families to transferable skills at each of our events, building confidence to move through the world in urban and natural environments, and importantly having fun together in nature! At the core we seek a sustainable future for everyone, from everywhere. We do this by serving families because kids need nature and nature needs kids!
We continue to learn from and develop relationships as we move forward. We work with groups who have their own supervision and support for their community, but need a hand branching out into nature and bringing the natural world into program planning.
If you are interested in being involved with what we are doing please let us know your needs, the aspects of this project that interest you and or if you would like to contribute.
You can connect with us by emailing programs@naturekidsbc.ca,
