Miss Belva has been working with children for over 20 years. She worked as a private nanny specializing in children aged 0-5yrs for many years before becoming a certified early childhood educator. In 2010 Miss Belva accepted her first preschool teaching job at a traditional Montessori school. She worked there for 4 years before shifting directions into outdoor education.

Along with being the Director of Muddy Boot Prints, Miss Belva is the chair of the SAP Non-Profit Board (that oversees the Saplings Independent Nature School) and the OELA Non-Profit Board. The OELA is a non-profit dedicated to supporting outdoor educators in British Columbia as well as supporting getting outdoor education licensed in BC. Belva routinely offers presentations and workshops about outdoor education to local colleges and universities throughout the year. Belva has been an active community member working towards getting outdoor education licensed in British Columbia since 2016. The progress is slow and steady!

When Belva isn’t teaching, presenting or doing admin work, she can be found with her fingers in the dirt of one of her many garden beds, or wrestling with her hand spun and hand dyed wool that she loves to create.

Karen has 30 years of experience working with children from birth to nineteen years of age in childcare and community settings. Throughout her career the focus has been on inclusion for all children. She is a licensed Early Childhood Educator, Infant/Toddler Educator and Special Needs Educator.

Karen is a registered 200-hour Yoga Teacher, a 95 hour Children’s Yoga Teacher and a certified Perinatal Yoga Teacher and has been trained in the Mindful Schools Curriculum.

She uses nature-based learning, yoga, mindfulness and gratitude practices as a platform to help children connect with themselves and others and find their place in the world.  These practices can help to develop self-awareness, promote regulation, create social awareness and support executive functioning skills. These are skills that children will be able to use throughout their lives.

Karen is a certified Circle of Security® Parent Facilitator, Community Resiliency Model® Teacher, Hanen Learning Language and Loving It® Teacher and trained as a Mehrit Centre Shanker Self Reg® Facilitator.

Heather is the Founder/Director of Saplings Outdoor Program and Saplings Nature School. A mother of two, She  passionate about working with children and has a love for the outdoors. Heather has taught in a number of early childhood settings including toddler, preschool, and school-aged programs. She  has a passion for nature and is excited to share that passion with others around her.Her academic background includes a Maters in Educaitonal Leadership, BA in Child and Youth Care from the University of Victoria, as well as an Early Childhood Certificate. Her passion for outdoor play and the importance of connecting our children with nature inspired her to build Saplings Outdoor Program.

Is the Founder/Director of Hand-In-Hand Nature Education. He has over 20 years of experience teaching environmental education and outdoor learning from preschools to universities in British Columbia, Yukon, New York, Oregon and California. He is a member of the BC Nature’s Education Committee, Outdoor Early Learning Association of BC, Comox Valley Nature Educators and PLAY Comox Valley. With his belief that nature is our ultimate teacher and we are nature’s ultimate students, his mission with Hand-In-Hand Education is to create an outdoor learning environment where their forest friends feel safe and comfortable while playing, learning and connecting in nature!

Enid Elliot is a Canadian early childhood educator, an advocate for the people who work with young children, and a person who deeply cares for and is concerned about the lives of all children. While her career in early childhood education (ECE) is more than four decades old, she is now widely seen in British Columbia, and indeed in Canada, as one of the founding ‘mothers’ of the nature kindergarten /nature preschool movement.

Nancy van Groll has worked in the field of early childhood education for 15 years as an educator, instructor, researcher, and community organizer. She is faculty in the Early Childhood Care and Education Department at Capilano University and serves as Faculty Coordinator of the EarthWorks Initiative, a cross-campus sustainability program that fosters public engagement in climate education. Nancy is currently pursuing her PhD in the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia.
Her research and teaching explore how educators and children participate in the shared work of living and learning well together amid ecological and social challenges, particularly in outdoor contexts. She is passionate about fostering place-responsive and sustainability-oriented pedagogies that connect theory and practice, bridging postsecondary, professional, and community contexts through collaborative, relational approaches to education.

Elizabeth holds an undergraduate degree in Child and Youth Care and a Master of Arts in Education, along with numerous post-graduate certifications, including DIR/Floortime. She has spent many years working in the fields of disability services and family support across a variety of community, educational,and clinical settings. After working with several community-based organizations, Elizabeth moved into private practice more than 15 years ago. In addition to her consultation work, Elizabeth is currently part of the Wisdom Well Collective, where she provides counselling and consultation to families raising children and youth with disabilities, as well as to young people with disabilities themselves. She also teaches part-time at a local university, sharing current research and best practices with the next generation of practitioners. Throughout her career, Elizabeth has been deeply committed to advancing knowledge and education in the field. She has contributed to curriculum development projects, particularly in the area of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), including co-authoring an online training module and authoring a training course designed to support caregivers of adults with prenatal alcohol exposure. Elizabeth supports families, care teams, and organizations working with neurodiverse children and youth, including those with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, Attention- Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), learning disabilities, and mental health challenges. Her experience includes work in residential treatment programs, schools, community settings, and specialized outreach services. Before becoming a consultant, she gained extensive frontline experience in clinic and home-based programs, and as an FASD Key Worker. Elizabeth was an active member of the FASD Collaboration Round Table for over a decade and has spoken locally and nationally on topics related to FASD. She remains committed to increasing awareness, promoting developmentally appropriate supports, and reducing the stigma associated with prenatal alcohol exposure. In response to growing research around nature-based learning and well-being, Elizabeth founded the Outdoor Adventure Group (OAG), a fully inclusive program that brings youth with disabilities into local parks and natural spaces. The program focuses on social-emotional development, adaptive skills, and connection through outdoor play, while embracing the principles of inclusion, curiosity, and youth-led exploration. Elizabeth is passionate about sharing knowledge and strengthening the capacity of families, professionals, and communities. She regularly collaborates with organizations and practitioners to expand access to training, support, and inclusive programming. Elizabeth is a proud mum of two adult children, and has two Dachshund dogs, who often accompany her to outdoor visits! When not working, Elizabeth can be found exploring local trails, chasing waterfalls or views! A music lover, Elizabeth has been known to fly across Canada for a concert of her favourite artists! And you will always find Elizabeth with a book near by!

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never
forget how you made them feel.” ~ Maya Angelou

My journey as an educator started in 2011 when I opened a nature-based in-home licensed family childcare centre. In 2015 I became a founding member of Hand-In-Hand Nature Education, starting as an educator in the Early Years program. Over the course of 9 years, I expanded our program offerings to include a child and caregiver program, homeschoolers’ programs, and after school programs all of which I led as well. Through the years I took on increasing administrative duties, becoming a location manager in 2017, and Assistant Director in 2020. In 2022 I became a sessional instructor in the ECCE program at North Island College, and this August I chose to leave HIH to concentrate solely on teaching at the post secondary level. I am active in the ECE community and I feel very inspired to be helping nurture the future of Outdoor Learning in Canada!