When Istafa Sufi was in grade nine, he had little knowledge of the natural world until a friend introduced him to an outdoor education club at their school that took kids hiking and backpacking throughout the school year. Initially drawn in by the opportunity to have a day off school, Istafa was soon hooked, and continued his involvement with the club through high school. He credits it with shaping his life and inspiring him to study Biology at university.
Today, as the Senior Educator at rare Charitable Research Reserve, Istafa spends his days offering that same kind of rich outdoor learning experience to children and youth from kindergarten to post-secondary.
Since its founding in the early 2000s, educational programming has been key to the work of rare, a near-urban land trust protecting over 1500 acres of ecologically sensitive land in Waterloo Region and Wellington County. Back in 2003, rare offered their first workshops for schools, and found it so impactful that it quickly grew into collaborations with school boards across the region, summer camps and PA Day Camps.
The education program at rare is called Every Child Outdoors (ECO) which reflects the commitment rare has to ensuring access to nature for all children. Since its inception, close to 26,000 children and youth have participated in ECO programming. In addition to curriculum-linked programming, an important part of their work is with the U-Turn and New Dawn programs that support children and youth who struggle with school or experience mental health challenges. For these kids, the rare ECO program offers a unique space where their curiosity and engagement shines.
rare’s work with kids isn’t limited to schools. Their summer ECO camps are now a flagship program, and they offer an opportunity for children aged six to twelve to spend a full week or more immersed in the natural landscape. rare‘s approach to learning and teaching is based on the Chain of Learning — the idea that learning is not only happening from teacher to student but rather goes in multiple directions. “It’s never just me being the one that holds all the knowledge,” says Istafa. “It kind of goes both ways and that’s a really cool thing because we often get a lot of kids that are experts in certain things, like we’ve had kids that are snake experts and ant experts.” Many past campers return year after year and have become involved as volunteers and counsellors. Most recently, alumni have begun to participate in a new rare youth program called the rare Environmental Youth Network.
Decolonizing is central to all of rare‘s work. This comes through in their education programs and through creating spaces for Indigenous artists. Coming from a South Asian background, Istafa shares that understanding the impacts of colonization is an important part of the work rare does, and an essential part of the conversation with children of all ages. Breaking down the sense of being separate from nature is a key theme in the Education Framework at rare, and it’s an ongoing project. By getting every child outdoors, building relationships with each other, and with Indigenous knowledge holders, rare is continually working towards this goal. To find out more about rare’s ECO programs, visit https://www.raresites.org/.
