Earth Child Family Camp

Ages 0-10 | August 2-4 (Overnight)
Registration Opens March 15

Earth Child Family Camp is a unique opportunity to share the wonders of the natural world with your children while making connections with like-minded nature connected families. Let’s play, explore, laugh and have fun together while recovering our birthright of deep interconnectedness with nature within the nurturing context of community.

This family camp is designed to engage BOTH parent and child in nature, sometimes together, and sometimes close by. Parents will have the opportunity to learn new skills alongside other families while their children flow between participating alongside and playing with other kids. This model is designed based on the way our hunter-gatherer ancestors have mentored their children for thousands of years and is very different from the modern child-centred approach of many parent-child programs out there today.

Parents will also have opportunities to be introduced to the “Coyote Mentoring” approach to natural education and the 8 Shields Model for village building. They will also be offered valuable learning opportunities about compassionate ways to deeply support their child’s full development.

Parents + children attend Earth Child together to learn + enjoy:

  • Outdoor adventures and natural mysteries

  • Games that develop sensory awareness + embodiment

  • Survival skills and knowledge of place

  • Tracking, bird language + other naturalist skills

  • Healthy nourishing snacks

  • Song, music and storytelling

  • Community building

  • Curriculum

    Take a more in-depth look at our forest school and wilderness awareness curriculum to see what skills and experiences your child can expect to learn.

    Learn more

  • Locations

    We use a variety of outdoor spaces, including beautiful public parks and private properties in Greater Victoria, primarily in the Saanich peninsula area.

  • Mentors

    Get to know the team behind Thriving Roots Wilderness School and learn more about your child’s program mentors.

    Learn more

  • Summer Camp parent

    My son is truly having the time of his life [at the Little Explorers Summer Camp]. His emotional regulation this week at home and lack of interest in screen time is truly remarkable.

  • Little Leaves parent

    Our children have demonstrated new and deeper understandings of our connection to the land and other species, more complex knowledge of plants, more developed negotiation and group work skills, and simply more calm and groundedness.

  • Thriving Roots parent

    This program lets [my daughter] be her wild self, without school teachers or parents. I really value the style of mentoring and the guidance it gives while still maintaining each individual’s needs and ideas.

  • Thriving Roots parent

    My daughter’s confidence has really grown in the past few years in this program. It has really helped her socially, in part because of the multi-age environment. Her knowledge of the outdoors becomes deeper each year, and her ability to express it and teach others is so amazing!

  • Thriving Roots parent

    Thriving Roots has become a foundational program for our home learning family. Not only are its programs facilitated by wonderfully knowledgeable and loving mentors, but it truly manifests the values and teachings that reflect our inherent connection to the natural world, and that are so urgently needed for us and our children at this time.

  • August 2-4 (2.5 days, Overnight)

    Saturday 10am - Monday 11am

  • Adult Fee: $350 +gst.
    Child Fee: $235 +gst.

    Price includes camping fee, 3 x meals per day + camp t-shirt.

    Cancellation & Refund Policy: Please note that your camp fee includes a deposit and is non-refundable. Please familiarise yourself with our Registration Policies before registering.

  • Arnaud, Kristyna and Kathy will be your Earth Child Family Camp facilitators.

    Arnaud is a papa, holistic wildlife tracker, ceremonial facilitator, modern day hunter-gatherer and capoeirista. He brings his lineage and 20 years experience in deep nature connection facilitation. With deep gratitude, Arnaud continues to be mentored by Jon Young, global leader in the nature connection movement. You can learn more about him at connectionpathways.com.

    Kristyna is a mama and holistic postpartum care practitioner with a natural gift for energy healing. She is currently deeply exploring the field of pre- and perinatal psychology to help support families in cultivating connection from the very beginning of life. She gave birth to their son Nolan at home naturally and is dedicated to the sacred duty of being a Mother. You can read more about her at kristynashea.com

    Nolan is a 4 year old with uninhibited natural instincts. He grew up at home with his loving parents close to the beings of the natural world. He's been tending fires since before he was 2 and he uses sharp knives. He can become a bobcat, a coyote or many other animals of who he recognizes the tracks and signs of. He doesn't have a website yet ;)

    ​Together, they are dedicated to being the change they want to see in the world. They do the best they can to live a natural life within modern times and are committed to helping other families thrive by accessing their birthright of a life in alignment with the natural cycles around and within us.

    They will be joined by Thriving Roots staff (primarily, Kathy Dutton) to create a memorable experience of deep nature connection!

  • We are committed to offering needs-based Equity Fund Discounts to those who would not otherwise be able to attend our camps due to experiencing systemic barriers to wealth accumulation. Read more and apply here.

  • We have limited space available in our programs for students with high needs. (We define 'high needs' as any designation and/or behavioural or emotional need that would require extra support i.e. ADHD, Autism, physical disability, any need for 1:1 support.)

    To ensure our mentors have the relevant experience and capacity to provide the support your child needs, please fill out our Student Support – High Needs form before registering and make sure to familiarise yourself with our Registration Policies.

Camp Details