Salt Spring Nature Academy
A place for children to learn through nature, curiosity, and connection on Salt Spring Island.
Our MissionRaising the next generation of stewards, critical thinkers, and kind humans.
Salt Spring Nature Academy grew out of simple questions. Where can parents stay connected to their children's learning and collaborate with caring educators? Where can children spend real time outdoors, develop meaningful social connections, and get the support they need with literacy and numeracy?
We strive to nurture resilient learners who are connected to themselves, to others, and to the natural world. Through nature-rich, child-led learning, we foster strong academic foundations, critical thinking, creativity, and a deep sense of stewardship and belonging.
Our Community Values
Relationships first. Children learn when they feel safe, known, and respected. Every day starts with connection. Families form the heart of the program, building a village culture with children at its centre.- Nature as teacher. Children develop care for others, responsibility for their environment, and a sense of belonging through daily time on the land.
- Emotional growth. How children relate to themselves and each other matters as much as what they know. We teach self-regulation, empathy, and conflict resolution as core skills.
- Every child, not every child the same. Learning is individualized and collaborative with families. Programming aligns with the BC curriculum, but how each child gets there depends on who they are.
What children experience
Children at the Nature Academy spend their time between forest, meadow, creek, and an indoor learning space.
Outside, Every Day
Rain or sun, frost or heat. Children spend real time outside, walking forest trails, checking the creek, identifying plants, building shelters, and measuring what they find. The 70-acre property of forest, wetland, and meadow is the primary classroom.
Focused Indoor Learning
Indoors, children work on literacy, numeracy, and creative projects in a dedicated learning space. Educators tailor instruction to each child's level and pace, using weekly themes that connect what happened outside to what happens at the desk.
Mixed-Age Learning
Children learn in groups organized by development, with regular cross-group time. A kindergartener watches a Grade 3 student lead a project. Older children practise patience explaining things to younger ones. The structure is intentional.
The people behind the Nature Academy
We are professional educators, parents, and community builders.
Sonja Russell-Jones
Administrative Principal
A Montessori-trained educator, BC-certified teacher, and parent at the Nature Academy, Sonja holds a B.Ed. and a B.A. in English Literature from UBC. She provides individualized literacy support to elementary-aged students, and leads the school with oversight of administration and day-to-day operations, working alongside the educators and the parent collective.
Minette Moolman
Co-Founder & Primary Educator
An ECE-designated teacher with over twenty years of experience working with children, including a decade as a nature educator, Minette also trained in Coyote mentoring. At the Nature Academy, she blends academics with deep nature connection, centring the whole child. Outside the school she is an herbalist, professional photographer, homesteader, hiker, and mother of two.
Kristen Frampton
Co-Founder & Board Chair
Kristen chairs the Nature Academy's board and holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of Toronto. She co-founded the school so that children on Salt Spring could have a strong academic foundation without giving up their days in the forest. Her board work spans governance, planning, and the practical demands of a growing school.
Andria Racich
Admissions & Administration
Andria supports admissions and the day-to-day administration of Salt Spring Nature Academy. A Salt Spring Island parent and member of the school community, she brings a creative background in interior design, ceramics, and homeopathy. Her work and interests have long centred around thoughtful design, making, natural living, and a connection to the outdoors. Drawn to the Nature Academy's approach to learning, Andria values an education rooted in curiosity, creativity, community, and time spent in wild places.
Tyler McClaron
Primary Teacher
Tyler holds a B.Ed. from the University of Ottawa and came to teaching through theatre, puppetry, music, and storytelling. Originally from Ontario, he spent four years leading forest play programs in Canmore, Alberta, served as Program Director for the Biosphere Institute's WildSmart Program, and worked in Parks Canada interpretation. A father of two, Tyler brings songs, stories, humour, and a background in outdoor education to his days with children at the Nature Academy.
Renee Robertson
Multigrade Primary Teacher
A certified educator with a Master of Arts in Child Study and Education from the University of Toronto. Renee's work is grounded in nature-based learning, inclusive education, and supporting neurodiverse learners, and she brings experience in elementary education, nature school programs, and educational therapy with a focus on executive functioning. She explores the Pacific Northwest with her black lab, Star.
Allie Hodgson-Brown
Multigrade Elementary Teacher
Allie is returning to Salt Spring Island after more than a decade of teaching and curriculum work internationally. She holds a Postgraduate Certificate of Education (International) from the University of Nottingham and a Bachelor of Health Science from Thompson Rivers University. Her experience spans international schools, K-6 curriculum development, and STEAM education, with a focus on inquiry-based, inclusive learning.
Caoimhe Merrick
Education Assistant
Born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, Caoimhe holds a degree in Analytical Science and a diploma in Nutritional Therapy. She completed the Immersion Program and second-year apprenticeship at Wisdom of the Earth, then went on to mentor with Cedar Roots, the Cahoots program, and WOLF Pups. She brings a lifelong love of nature, creativity, and connection to her work with children.
Scott Lucyk
Nature-Based Mentor
Scott helps children connect with the outdoors through play and exploration, the kind of learning that comes from following a track or sitting still long enough to hear what the birds are saying. He teaches animal tracking, bird language, and camouflage, and brings music into his time with the children. He joins the program three mornings a week.
What parents say
“From the moment we joined Salt Spring Nature Academy, we felt held as a family. The learning is grounded in nature and deeply respectful. Our daughter is growing in confidence, creativity and independence. We are truly grateful to be part of such a caring community.”
Tonia C. and Martin P.
Parents of a Grade 1 student
Seventy acres of forest, wetland, and meadow.
Salt Spring Nature Academy sits on the unceded territory of the Hul'qumi'num and SENCOŦEN-speaking Coast Salish peoples, who have lived on and stewarded this island for millennia. Learning takes place on a 70-acre property on Blackburn Road, bordering conservancy land. Between the indoor learning space, outdoor classroom, and the forest, children access a continuous stretch of ecological diversity that we learn from, and learn to care for.
Living Landscape
The land includes old-growth and second-growth forest, seasonal creeks, a wetland, a pond, and open meadow. Children encounter rough-skinned newts, Pacific tree frogs, pileated woodpeckers, and deer throughout the seasons. They learn to identify native plants, trees, and fungi as part of everyday life on the land.
Where Learning Happens
The land is the classroom, and an outdoor sheltered space gives children a base when outside. Activities may include building shelters, tracking prints, measuring stream flow, and documenting what they find. Math, science, and literacy grow out of what they experience firsthand.
Follow our journey
Mud, meadows, math, and everything in between.
Frequently asked questions
What ages does the Nature Academy serve?
What are the program's days and hours?
Is Salt Spring Nature Academy an accredited school?
Who runs the Nature Academy?
Is the program aligned with the BC curriculum?
Is there a waitlist?
How do we enrol?
What does it cost?
Come say hello
The best way to learn about the Nature Academy is to talk with us.
Visit
355B Blackburn Rd
Salt Spring Island, BC
V8K 2B8
Salt Spring Nature Academy is an accredited independent school following the BC curriculum.