Patrick and his family purchased the Tapiola Outdoor Education Centre in 2024 with a goal of helping people connect with nature, connect with themselves, and connect with others. 

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Patrick has a passion for the outdoors, and sharing his bushcraft skills with the kids.  He hopes to foster a love for the outdoors in others by bringing fun games, and energy to his activities and bushcraft workshops.  

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Laurel is a recent Kinesiology graduate from Lakehead University with plans to complete her Teaching Degree next year. She has enjoyed many years working in Outdoor Education and is thrilled to be a part of the team here at Tapiola!

She has spent the past few summers as a Lead Canoe Guide for a summer camp in Southern Ontario, leading youth on backcountry trips to various remote locations. She has worked as a Forest School Teacher at Oro Medonte Forest School’s summer and school year program for many years and provided Outdoor Education programming for public schools in the area as part of her role with a private Outdoor Education School - Great Moose Academy.  Laurel is a natural outdoors person, comfortable in all weather, and enjoys all seasons. Her favourite part of learning in the outdoors is working with kids as they see things that she might miss, and how they teach her how to appreciate the tiny details about a place. She has always treasured her time working with kids as they learn to enjoy the little things in nature, whether it be insects, plants, or anything else they may find. She can't wait to start the term off and see what adventures Tapiola has in store for the year!

Hannah Ranta returns this term to support the Wolfpack program. Hannah runs the True North Outdoor Learning Program in Gorham, and we're lucky to have her sharing her outstanding outdoor and bushcraft skills with Tapiola.

Erin considers herself a steward of the land, drawing upon her education from a Bachelors in Natural Sciences and a Diploma in Early Childhood Education; she aims to cultivate a deep connection to nature in children. She is often found exploring the outdoors, seeking out medicinal plants and fungi, and sharing her traditional ecological knowledge. Erin is the site coordinator often working behind the scenes to make everyone's experiences at Tapiola Outdoor a fun and memorable one.