WILD WONDERS 

• Cultivating the growth of the whole child
• Hands-on, messy experiences and child-initiated play fosters authentic early learning and is essential to development
  
• Children are respected and listened to, encouraged and supported to foster resiliency, self sufficiency and growth in all areas of development as unique individuals
• Children are supported and trusted to safely take healthy risks playing outdoors, learning to thoughtfully assess their own safety and skill, solve problems creatively, build confidence and have new experiences
• Children are given freedom and time to follow their interests and direct their own learning
• Supporting children on their journey towards stewardship for the planet

We envision a generation of confident, independent explorers with an essential connection to themselves, to their community, and our natural world.

I am a married mother of two phenomenal girls, ages 16 and 18. I grew up in Cochrane, capering around Cochrane Ranche and spent my preteen and teenage years living on a small farm just west of town. Much of my time was spent making my own fun outdoors; building forts, hiking and exploring and being creative. Many hours were also whiled away laying in the field with a good book, in the company of the horses, the birds and the insects, and a distant coyote - immersed in my natural surroundings. I developed an appreciation for the beauty of the foothills, it sparked an interest in local plant and wildlife and a love of the great outdoors.
When I’m not playing with our group of young adventurers, the Wild Wonders, I enjoy playing with my family in Kananaskis, pursuing my hobbies of hiking and learning photography.

I am inspired by the children’s sense of wonder and love of these magical places we visit each day, I see them becoming stewards of the natural world.

I am a horse riding, sport playing, photography loving, outdoorsy kind of girl. Growing up on an acreage South of Strathmore and my summers spent working on my families cattle ranch southwest of Cochrane, provided many opportunities to explore and test my abilities as I set out on this journey of life. Growing up I was always outside, back then I didn’t realize how lucky I was to have the freedom to explore. Today I see the importance of children being out in nature and how valuable each moment is because with each moment children are growing and developing into their very own self. I absolutely love what I do for a “job” it is truly my passion to be able to share my love of nature with today’s young children. I am constantly looking for new information to carry on my education on early childhood development; to ensure my program continues to grow as I do, to guarantee I am using best practices. When I am not with the Wild Wonders Team or planning activities for our team you can find me out exploring, whether it’s on my kayak, fishing or camping out in the bush my happy place is out in the wild wilderness.