About

About Program

This child-directed play-based program will provide experiences that foster a growing relationship with the natural world. Through DISCOVERY, HEALTHY RISK-TAKING and MESSY FUN, participants will deepen their connection with nature, problem-solve and build on age-appropriate social skills. Our WHOLE-CHILD approach, combined with the Mount Saint Francis Retreat Centre site, provides an ideal learning environment.

About Location

Growing Roots takes place at Mount St. Francis Retreat Centre on the north east edge of the Town of Cochrane. Our home base will be cut into the field and surrounded by beautiful trees. We will spend our days explore some of the valleys and hills that make up the centre's property. We are so fortunate to be able to create a space just our own. We will be adding a large tent for warming, a fire circle for gathering and of course spaces for our mud kitchen, shelter building and other discoveries. Who knows where our days will take us!

About Our Facilitators

Hello, I'm, Laura Spruyt (pronounced Sprout!), the founder and imagination behind Sprout Movement and now co-founder of Growing Roots. I'm a recreation professional (Concordia University in Montreal) and have worked in and managed a variety of outdoor recreation settings from residential summer camps to mobile recreation outreach to outdoor centres. My passion has always been to ensure everyone is able to be involved and engaged in the outdoors. I love trail running, skiing and playing outside with my two kiddos!

Hi! I’m Lori Toma, founder, lover of all things fun – especially when they happen outside - and co-founder of Growing Roots! I have a MA in Environmental Education, an undergrad in Ecotourism and Outdoor Leadership and officially a, certified by Forest and Nature School Canada, Forest and Nature School Practitioner! I've worked as an outdoor recreation programmer for youth at risk and special populations and occasionally teach post secondary courses in the areas of outdoor recreation and child studies. We’ve lived in Cochrane for 14 years and love to adventure with our 3 kiddos. I’m excited to share my passion for learning in a natural setting and honored to be a part of your child’s relationship and connections with nature.

Hello, I’m Kaylee Hope, self-proclaimed outdoor enthusiast (although I will also receive my Ecotourism and Outdoor Leadership (ETOL) Degree in late 2018). I am a true believer in the Norwegian philosophy friluftsliv, which translates to “free air life.” Friluftsliv is a way of life, incorporating all things wild into daily life. This philosophy shares my belief that outdoor experiences positively affect all individuals, especially youth. I am excited to join the Growing Roots team and share my previous experiences from leading outdoor summer camps, educating youth about Alberta’s natural environment, working with other forest schools, and of course the lifelong practices I have learned through the ETOL community. I’m excited to see your little one’s smiling faces each and every day and look forward to continually being inspired by their love of nature.

My name is Gisele Hardock. I like long walks in the woods and rock collections. I am a beekeeper, artist, permaculture gardener, and former homeschooler.
My love of nature started when I was a child visiting my grandparents' farm. Growing up our family spent the summers camping and hiking and the winters cross country skiing. The Junior Forest Wardens program took us on many (many) outdoor adventures. I graduated university with a double major in Sociology and Linguistics and then worked as an engineering technician in the oil and gas industry for over 10 years. Lately my focus has shifted closer to my roots with beekeeping, permaculture and homeschooling. Always curious, I am currently working on my Master Beekeepers through the University of Montana. Our family (we have 3 kids) spends as much time as we can find camping and exploring the backcountry.
I believe each child is a mine rich in gems which we will discover if we choose to listen. Children are not only the future, but I believe they have a lot to contribute right now before they grow up, and I am honoured to be able to work with them.

Hello! My name is Erin Fowler and I am a lover of all things outdoors! My passion for being outside began very young when my parents, both geology professors, would take my sister and I on hikes deep into the backcountry to collect rock samples or scout places to bring their students. My journey of working in the outdoors started when I decided to work as a summer camp counselor at Camp Chief Hector after I graduated high school. I loved watching kids fall in love with nature and quickly became passionate about a career in outdoor learning. I am currently completing my degree in Ecotourism and Outdoor Leadership with plans to graduate in the spring of 2022. When I'm not getting muddy with the kids at Growing Roots, you can find me trail running, hiking, mountain biking, or cross-country skiing.

Hello! My name is Cindy Wilde. Everyone belongs in nature. Every. One.The benefits of being outdoors are immense. And those benefits aren't just experienced through my teaching degree, or my art degree (though they exist in those realms too), but are experienced through the smell of an approaching storm, or catching snowflakes on tongues. It's the creativity and the free-play the outdoors encourages--enhances--that truly makes us (young and old(er)) connect: to ourselves and each other. I love having my kids in this program, and I am honoured (stoked!) to be on this team leading and learning alongside your kids.

Hello! I'm Ali Hardock. My pronouns are they/them. I just finished my first year of university for a sociology degree. I like horseback riding and camping in the summer with my family. I volunteered for the Growing Roots Ranche Ramblers program for two springs before working here. I find how kids learn and interact with the world fascinating and I love being a part of that process.

Hello, my name is Sara Perrin and the outdoors has provided lifelong adventures. Growing up on a farm, attending and working at summer camps, out-trips on land and water, exploring nature with my family and many other outdoor experiences have reinforced how integral nature is to heathy living. Personal learning has come from adventures on Lakes Huron, Erie, Superior and Wabamun, working in Ontario at Camp Kintail and Alberta at YoWoChAs Outdoor Education Centre, studying at Lakehead University's Outdoor Recreation program, seventeen years with my Saskatchewan ranching-roots husband and my amazing fifteen year old son. I believe that the outdoors is the best place to grow at any age.

Hello everyone, my name is Sydney Thomas. I am in my final semester of a Bachelor’s degree in Health and Physical Education with a major in Ecotourism and Outdoor Leadership. I have heard so many great things from other Ecotourism students about Growing Roots, and I am overjoyed to finally be working here! I have a strong passion for nature education and unstructured free play. My hobbies include, but are not limited to: skiing (downhill and cross-country), exploring new places, golfing, sailing, reading, and videography.