First Annual Wild About Vancouver Outdoor Education Festival
The inaugural Wild About Vancouver Outdoor Education Festival will take place April 16 – 22. The free festival is a celebration of outdoor learning intended to connect Vancouverites to local nature. Wild About Vancouver (WAV, pronounced “waveâ€) Outdoor Education Festival invites students, teachers, families, individuals and organizations to come together for a week of exploration into the wealth of outdoor education learning experiences in the city – get INvolved and get OUTdoors! Try your hand at paddle boarding, learn about birds native to Vancouver, or practice yoga in the woods.
Wild About Vancouver (WAV) Outdoor Education Festival is a free public festival offering practical ways to get children (and adults) outdoors more regularly. It is open to the public and aims to unite and create long-term sustainable Outdoor and Experiential Learning (OEL) networks for organizations, schools, youth programs, and the broader citizenry (including youth and First Nations) of Vancouver. WAV is organized by a collective of volunteers passionate about improving children’s lives and building supportive communities through OEL.
WAV’s Outdoor Education Festival addresses children’s increasingly limited time outdoors through Outdoor and Experiential Learning. OEL is a proven method of opposing widespread negative impacts facing children today as a result of decreased physical engagement in the outside world. Negative impacts include rises in childhood obesity and sedentary behaviour, reduction in creative and critical thinking and play, and increases in childhood illness (ADHD, etc), among others.
Get INvolved and Get OUTside to celebrate outdoor learning in local nature!
WAV’s Goals
– Promoting outdoor and experiential learning opportunities (OEL) throughout Vancouver;
– Uniting and creating sustainable networks between organizations and citizens, especially youth, First Nations, seniors, new Canadians, schools, families and others, with respect to OEL;
– Creating a sustainable annual event that highlights OEL opportunities for Vancouverites;
– Creating grassroots connections between Vancouver OEL organizations and the Faculty of Education at UBC;
– Nurturing networks between OEL-related activities, including aboriginal, environmental, experiential, outdoor and sustainability education, and youth engagement.
www.wildaboutvancouver.com
