Join us in the woods
Check out our programs, running almost year-round, and accommodating children ages 3 – 12.
Winter Program
Thanks to the support of Bay Treasure Chest, we are offering a Tuesday morning drop-off program for Homeschool families! We are grateful for the support of Bay Treasure Chest, which enables us to offer this to the community free of charge (maximum 10 participants). For the latest details visit the our programs page. Information below is based on our program offerings and is provided for planning purposes only.
We will enjoy the trails at the St. Paul’s woodlot 71 St. Paul’s Road. No bathroom facilities are available in the woods (a bucket toilet is provided). Children must be able to use the washroom independently to participate. 9 am-12 pm weekly for 6 weeks with a 2 week break over the holidays. This is entirely outdoors, so please dress warmly!
March Break Program
We offer a week of outdoor day camp in Fall River March 16-20th! Ages 5-12 are welcome to join us daily from 9 am to 4 pm. The leaders are Krista/”Butterfly”, Naomi/”Weasel” and Brynn/”Goose”. The cost is $350 and can be claimed as child care on your tax return. Please note, we do not offer refunds in case of a winter storm if we need to cancel a day.
Activities follow the interests of the children with things like campfires, outdoor cooking, hikes, tree climbing, fort making, crafts and games. The bathroom is a compost toilet located outdoors and surrounded by tarps in the woods. Location is 5 Miller Lane in Fall River.
Spring Morning Program
We offer 6 weeks of outdoor programming in Jerry Lawrence Park in late spring! Ages 3-10 are welcome to join us Friday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm. The cost is $250 and can be claimed as child care on your tax return. Please note, we do not offer refunds in case of a big storm if we need to cancel a day. *They must be able to use the toilet independently.
Activities follow the children’s interests, such as hiking the trails, outdoor cooking, tree climbing, fort building, looking for frogs/fish, crafts, and games. The bathrooms are outhouses in the park. We focus on the pre-school ages 3-5 for this program, but all ages of lower elementary are also welcome.
Dates: May 22-June 26
Programs are catered to specific age and interests – please carefully read the program descriptions to ensure you are signing your Child up for the program that best suits their needs. Keep your child’s interests and comfort in mind when signing up for full day programs spent entirely in nature. In Fall River we have a compost toilet and at Jerry Lawrence we have Outhouses.
Roots and Boots believes in every child’s right to enjoy and benefit from nature. We do not however, currently have the resources to provide direct one-to-one support. If your child requires one-to-one support to be safe in an environment such as an unfenced, wooded area then please reach out to the resources below to see if they can provide financial assistance. If you’re able to secure financial assistance please contact us and we can discuss how to set your child up for a safe and successful experience at Roots and Boots Forest School.
We do cancel programs due to the weather; this includes thunder and lightning warnings, heavy rainfall warnings, flash flooding, high winds of 40km consistently or gusts of 65km, and extreme temperatures of +32 with the humidex and -15 with the windchill. We do not refund for weather cancellations.
1. Department of Community Services Direct Family Support –
https://novascotia.ca/coms/disabilities/DirectFamilySupportForChildren.html
2. Autism Nova Scotia Family Support –
3. Nova Scotia Early Childhood Development Intervention Services –
4. Or call 211.