Teaching and Learning together since 2008.

This portal is for teachers/community program leaders, facilitators, who lead others on Earth.

From the Founder, Jamie Black, MA, BI

It has been years of calling in community, talking about hard topics, and trying to find a platform that works for people. 

A safe, confidential space to share, be heard, seek guidance and find solutions.

It’s no circle in the woods around a campfire, but it is pretty darn accessible, and it’s private.

With so many people reaching out to access resources, my time and the expertise of other professionals in the field, we wanted something that could enhance people’s experience, make the experience more accessible to more people, and provide valuable content and resources.

With 20 years in the field and a thesis on The Hummingbird Approach; A Case Study of Guided Discovery Learning with Children in Nature, we have a few techniques that hook children, ignite a craving for more, and re-generate anticipation for the love of learning. 

Wild Craft Play came when I asked “Who wants to play outside?” and most of them said “Aw I just wanna play on my DS” 

Curious… I sat down and said, “Ok, show me, what’s exciting about your DS” as they navigated their character through a Mine Craft world.

“I get to explore in Nature.”

I was shocked, and motivated to help children find joy and SAFETY in playing outside. Decreasing their perceived risk, so that they could enjoy the wonder and magic of Nature. 

This is what lead to an MA in Environmental Education and Communication.

They call it a movement. It’s not just a game, it’s a way of playing.

Wild Craft Play is like a video game or like DnD, but in real life, on the land with gold coins, quests, swords, characters and adventures.

It’s the only imaginative play I know that I can get kids out in the pouring rain, sleet, wind and snow, and they leave with rosy cheeks, wet, damp and hungry, and a huge grin wanting more.

We have also adapted it into a Live Action Role Play world called Wild Craft Role Play. Built from the shoulders of giants such as; World of War Craft, Dungeons and Dragons John Dewey, Jerome Bruner, and Montessori’s theories of Guided Discovery Learning; Jon Young and the 8 Shields Model with the Art of Mentoring; Role Play strategies from World of WarCraft, Cards, and resources from games like WildCraft, The Sacred Storyteller, Practices such as using dice in DnD, Tangible resources like in Minecraft, Questing with Clark and Glazier, and LARPing, the list goes on. 

With every adventure, we adapt to the changes, especially now with what is happening because of Covid.  We have learned to break things down a bit more, offer more support to teachers and leaders online, ensuring that there is less reading required and more tangible tools to simply use such as videos of Jamie speaking directly to the youth. 

By turning this into a “compass” where you get what you need when you need it, rather than receiving a handful of reading material to start, the journey of learning by doing is much easier to swallow, allowing time to digest and celebrate success.

Kelli, a trained Wild Craft Play practitioner on Vancouver Island, has a class of grade 6’s and a great wilderness setting at a private school. She hosted Wild Craft Play 3 days a week, for at least 4 hours a day for months, which is not required for success in this program, yet quite a privilege. The feedback from young people is that they want to play this more, more often, and for longer. Even in sideways rain, one youth hollered “Can we play this all winter?”