SEA TO SKY OUTDOOR SCHOOL
OUR PURPOSE
Sea to Sky Outdoor School delivers immersive outdoor education and experiential learning programs for students of all ages that foster meaningful connections with self, others, and the natural world.
Through environmental education, place-based learning, and hands-on experiences in the outdoor classroom, we challenge participants to think deeply about the world and their role in creating more just, resilient, and sustainable communities.
Fostering an understanding of the interconnected relationship between human systems and ecological systems is at the heart of our curriculum and values. We believe outdoor learning environments provide powerful opportunities to nurture connection, community, ecological stewardship, and critical consciousness that empower youth to engage meaningfully with the world around them.
OUR PROGRAMS
Sea to Sky Outdoor School’s team of kind and passionate educators offers immersive outdoor education and experiential learning programs for school groups of all ages. Our nature-based programs incorporate environmental education, sustainability, adventure, play, self-reflection, physical literacy, team-building, leadership, and meaningful connection with the natural world.
We offer single-day and multi-day outdoor school programs that can be adapted for any grade level and customized to support your school’s vision, curriculum goals, and learning objectives.
Our programs run in September, October, April, May, and June, and are based out of Camp Fircom on Chá7elkwnech (Gambier Island) in Howe Sound, British Columbia, serving schools from Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast, Squamish, and across BC.
PROGRAM TYPES
DAY PROGRAMS
GoWild Day Programs are a celebration of wild places.
Facilitated activities engage students in expanding their comfort zones and connecting with the wisdom that can be found in outdoor classrooms.
GoWild Day Programs can be tailored to the geography of your community. A nearby forest or neighbouring park can provide a wonderful place to GoWild.
MULTI-DAY PROGRAMS
Sea to Sky Outdoor School has offered thousands of students and adults with the 'Sea to Sky Experience’: a melange of activities that connect individuals with wild nature and invites them to think about their relationship to the land, and challenges them to be active participants in creating more just, resilient and sustainable communities.
OUR TEAM
Sea to Sky Outdoor School has developed a strong reputation across British Columbia and increasingly throughout Canada for providing meaningful outdoor education and experiential learning programs for youth.
The transformative experiences we offer are made possible by a team of passionate, skilled, and caring educators who are deeply committed to environmental education, nature connection, community building, and student growth.
Click below to explore photos and bios of the full-time and seasonal staff who bring Sea to Sky Outdoor School to life.
OUR CLASSROOM
Sea to Sky Outdoor School operates from one site: Camp Fircom on Gambier Island. Our campus is located on Howe Sound, Canada’s southernmost fjord, just northwest of Vancouver. As one of the largest coastal islands in Howe Sound, Gambier has retained its pristine environment with very little development. With lush green forests and secluded beaches, it is truly a hidden sanctuary, bordered by a spectacular granite shoreline and fir-arbutus forest.
From Camp Fircom, Sea to Sky Outdoor School makes use of the incredible natural classroom that Howe Sound provides, including big trees, creeks, wild beaches, high mossy bluffs, and protected parkland. The area is home to a rich diversity of West Coast marine life, including invertebrates, octopus, sea urchins, crabs, and sponges. Gambier Island is also a wonderful place for bird watchers, with eagles, hawks, ravens, and seabirds regularly soaring across the skyline.
“Dear Islanders, Thank you so much for teaching me about the importance of Nature. I learned a lot! You taught me that kids can make a difference too. Also thanks for teaching me all the songs. They taught me good lessons."
- Grade 5 student
OUR HISTORY
Sea to Sky Outdoor School began in the Spring of 1992 on Keats Island in Howe Sound. The dynamic and skilled duo of Tim Turner and Wendy Miller provided leadership and expertise to a project inspired by passion and a love for the natural world.
Over the next 30 years, Sea to Sky provided over 2000 students and adults each year with the Sea to Sky experience: a melange of activities connected individuals with wild nature, challenged them to think about the Big Picture and asked the questions that pointed to the greatest challenges of our time. All of this wrapped in the joy, playfulness, music and jest of Sea To Sky Educators. Elementary and secondary schools chose the structured learning programs of Sea to Sky to complement their own curricula and provide their students with a unique learning adventure they would not soon forget.
In 2017, Wings (Tim) and Roots (Wendy), passed the reins of Sea To Sky Outdoor School onto Chael MacArthur and Robyn Ashwell.
During their first season as directors of Sea to Sky Outdoor School, Robyn and Chael welcomed a new member to the Sea to Sky family, Sadie. Guided by the beauty of the world around them and the wisdom of their new born child, Chael and Robyn brought new life to Sea to Sky Outdoors School. There were some hurdles along the way, and behind the magic of the programs and student experiences, there were sometimes ripples and rough waters, but soon the waters calmed and Robyn and Chael found themselves feeling highly energized and optimistic.
In March 2020, as a result of the global pandemic, Sea to Sky Outdoor School ceased operations and Robyn and Chael drew on all measures of resilience to adapt and pivot to meet the needs of their partner schools and community. They began by offering the Coast Wild Summer Program for local children; they offered day programs in local metro Vancouver parks for partner school; and started a September to June grade 1-4 Forest School program as well as a Pre - K program. As restrictions begin to lift in 2022, Chael and Robyn reignited the Sea to Sky Outdoor School torch with a new season of programs.
As of the Spring of 2025, Sea to Sky Outdoor School has been passed on to Camp Fircom, where we continue to honour the legacy of past and present Islanders, and we are thrilled to be preparing for our upcoming season. We are cleaning off the cobwebs. Dusting off the earth ball. Walking all the trails. And building the excitement for Sea to Sky Outdoor School Season 70, with 30 years of land loving learning.
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