Note as of January, 2023: We are putting a pause on our Family Nature School Program for now. The following is information from our Spring 2022 programs. Please email natureschool@circlerranch.ca to get on a mailing list about future family programs.

Deep Gratitude,
Jeremiah Riehl
Nature School Director

Family Nature School is a half-day program that runs every two weeks for families to get out and play and learn together in the woods at Circle R Ranch. Each day includes a check-in, a focused lesson, as well as time to hike, play and explore the land. Survival and homesteading skills will be shared and practiced. Families are asked to commit to the entire series. Appropriate for all ages. Maximum of eight families per group.

Activities include:

• Skiing/Snowshoeing
• Maple Syrup making
• Tracking
• Wild food foraging
• Animal Nature Games
• Survival skills (Fire, shelter making)
• Plant and Tree Identification

… and much much more

PLEASE NOTE: Our Family Nature School groups are currently full. To get on a waitlist please email familynatureschool@circlerranch.ca

Series & Dates

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For more information or to get on the waitlist for future sessions, please email Jeremiah at familynatureschool@circlerranch.ca

Our mission is to connect people with Nature through outdoor experiences.

Overview:

At Circle R Nature School we provide opportunities for people to get out and experience the wonders of nature in a weekly immersive program. Our passionate staff facilitate fun, connective, hands-on experiences that help children and adults grow as naturalists, leaders and stewards of the land.

Our Awesome Staff:

Click here to read the bios of our awesome staff!

About Circle R Ranch

Circle R Ranch is located on 220 acres of mixed deciduous woods and fields and swamps and ravines, south-west of London, Ontario in what is considered the Carolinian zone.  The Ranch has been active as a family-run summer camp and outdoor recreational facility since 1965.  Founded by Milly and John Russell, the business continues to be a multi-generational enterprise focused on sharing the beauty and diversity of the land with people of all ages.

Land Acknowledgement

We acknowledge that Circle R Ranch is located on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Attawandaron (Neutral), and Wendat peoples. This territory is covered by the Upper Canada Treaties, specifically the McKee Purchase (Treaty #2) signed on May 19, 1790. We feel immensely grateful for the caretaking done by all Native peoples who lived on or passed through the land in the past.   We give thanks for their protection of the life-giving waters which snake through the land, now known as the Dingman creek, which meets the Thames watershed in Delaware.  For their care of the ancient groves of oak and beech and maple, of black walnut and hackberry and mulberry, which continue to grow and stand tall and feed so many beings throughout the land.   For their tending and connection to the wild ones of the land, which have so much to teach us; the white-tail deer, the coyote and racoon and squirrels and chipmunks, as well as the light-bodied birds who fly through the trees, singing their songs and welcoming the day, as well as the Eagle and Hawk and Turkey Vulture who soar above the land and share with us their vision. We give thanks.

General Daily Flow*

• Opening, Song and Welcome
• Check-in
• Story or Inspiration
• Motivating games
• Focused activity
• Hike, Explore, Play
• Lunch
• Hike, Explore, Play
• Sit spot time
• Circle time
• Wide Game
• Hike, Explore, Play
• Story of the Day
• Closing

*based on the Eight Shields model for Nature Connection
http://8shields.org

Activities

Circle R Nature School has so many awesome opportunities to learn and grow. Whether it is learning empathy from visiting the horses, or following a set of deer tracks through fresh snow, their is always something happening on the land to notice and study.  Some activities options include:

• skiing or snowshoeing
• maple syrup production
• wild animal tracking
• hanging with the horses and farm animals
• primitive skills and survival/bushcraft skills
• shelter building
• nature art and crafts
• wood carving and knife work (for older kids)
• fire building
• wild food foraging
• tree and plant identification
• birding and bird language
• sit spot time
• gardening
• rock hounding
• archery
• pond and stream studies
• owl prowling

And much much more…….

For Ages 7 to 14

Fall 2025 REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!!!

This is a full-day program that runs throughout the Spring and Fall. Children bring their own lunch and spend the entire day in the forest. We teach them survival skills, play lots of fun nature games, teach the kids how to wood carve, and explore and learn from the land.

FALL 2025 – COYOTE MENTORING
3-Saturday SERIES: October 18, November 1 and November 15

FALL 2025 – COYOTE One-Day Adventure – September 27 and November 29

Come try out our fun Saturday Coyote Adventure Program. We teach some basic skills and spend lots of time playing, wood carving and exploring the land.