OWLS ’25 Announcement!
* Note: OWLS is a beginner-friendly symposium, welcoming people of all experience levels! No prior experience in canoe tripping, nor any specific theoretical knowledge, is required in order to participate.
Update: There are a couple spaces available for each weekend. Applications are extended for a limited time!
The Ontario Wilderness Leadership Symposium is a unique event designed to support the development and leadership of young or early-career outdoor educators, including wilderness guides, teachers, camp staff, and canoe trip leaders. Starting from the understanding that all education, at its core, is about building good people, OWLS looks beyond the “hard skills” of outdoor education work. Join a community of peers, along with experienced mentors, in this co-learning event and focus on the deeper questions that are rarely asked. Illuminating the often-murky waters of educational practice, OWLS will examine such questions as: what is outdoor education? How is the campfire a site of learning? Why are wilderness trips such potentially powerful experiences, and how do we ensure that they are for our students?
Taking the form of a 3-day canoe trip plus one night in the frontcountry beforehand, in either Killarney or Algonquin, OWLS is a unique experience. With the trip itself – and the natural world – as our co-teachers, we invite you to join us in June and be part of Ontario’s next generation of outdoor education leaders.
OWLS is being run in partnership with the generous financial support of Friends of Killarney Park (FKP) and their “Outdoors Are For Everyone” fund. COEO thanks FKP for their support of outdoor education in Killarney Provincial Park and beyond, and looks forward to deepening our partnership for years to come!
Application
Unlike a typical symposium or typical canoe trip, OWLS is a conference where participants will be actively contributing to discussion, knowledge, and skill sharing.
Due to the limited number of participants (18 per weekend), in the event that interest is greater than available spots, we will aim to give spots to people with a keen interest in the goals of OWLS and with a desire to contribute to this unique co-learning trip. As such, we kindly request that all interested participants fill-out the short application at the below link.
Please fill-out an application at this link:
https://forms.gle/3iet3qZGFDkj4evAA
Dates
There are two separate trips. Each participant may only attend one trip. The dates are:
- Trip A: Thursday, June 5 – Sunday, June 8, in Killarney Provincial Park
- Trip B: Thursday, June 19 – Sunday, June 22, in Algonquin Provincial Park
Cost
- The current cost is set at $309 per person. We are waiting to hear back regarding further external funding. Should said funding be received, we will lower the cost equally for all participants.
- There is also a bursary fund available for a limited number of participants. Please apply for the bursary if financial access is a barrier to you participating in OWLS
Locations
OWLS is taking place twice, at two separate locations, in order to enable educators from different parts of the province to attend
- Trip A (June 5-8) is taking place in Killarney Provincial Park. For the first night, we will be meeting and camping at the George Lake frontcountry campground. For the next two nights, we will be camping on a backcountry island campsite on Balsam Lake. Driving and arrival directions will be sent closer to the date.
- Trip B (June 19-22) is taking place in Algonquin Provincial Park. For the first night, we will be meeting and staying in a shared cabin owned by Voyageur Quest, located at Algonquin Provincial Park Access Point #1 on Kawawaymog Lake in the north-west corner of the Park. For the next two nights, we will be camping at backcountry campsites on North Tea Lake. Driving and arrival directions will be sent closer to the date.
What you can expect
A fully-outfitted, guided canoe trip with 18 like-minded, young outdoor educators. The first night (the Thursday night) is spent at a front country campground (in Killarney this is tents, in Algonquin it is in a shared cabin) in order to allow people to arrive and get to know each other in the afternoon and evening. The next morning, we will depart for our canoe trip. Following a short paddle, we will reach our campsite. We will remain at this campsite for the next two nights, allowing ample time to engage in discussions and workshops, cook food over the fire together, swim, explore our surroundings, and have fun with new friends.
Expect a non-strenuous canoe trip, fun activities, delicious food, building new connections, making new outdoor education friends, and, of course, lots of learning!
The trip is being outfitted by Headwaters Wilderness Program, who will send a complete packing list closer to June. For more information about what Headwaters provides, click here: https://www.headwaterswildernessprogram.ca/field-philosophy-programs/coeo-owls-2025
What is expected of you
OWLS is a co-learning event, in the style of an “open conference.” What this means is that unlike a typical conference, where participants partake in pre-planned workshop, at OWLS the participants will co-create the workshop topics themselves. Starting from the idea that everyone has something to share, we will find topics of interest among the group, discover who has knowledge around that topic, and allow the workshop themes to organically emerge.
If this sounds daunting, don’t worry. The trip will include two facilitators as well as a mentor. There will be a flexible schedule as well as activities designed to spark interest. Additionally, there will be a few, short readings sent to all participants prior to the symposium, in order to start everyone on the same page and give you a sense of the philosophical and pedagogical directions in which we’re heading. In order for the symposium to be a success, it is expected that all participants do the readings beforehand.
Scenes from previous OWLS!
Questions?
Let us know if you have any questions. Send an email to: ow**@**eo.org.
Have you seen the OFFICIAL 2025 ONTARIO WILDERNESS LEADERSHIP SYMPOSIUM POSTER yet? (see below) Download a copy for your very own, print and display it with pride in your centre, school, camp, store, park, staffroom, office or outhouse!
