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February 2025: Cedar Hat Project

Over the course of two weeks in February Nala’atsi students had the rare and very special honour of making Cedar hats with Toni Frank and her lovely daughter Tanisha. We got to witness the transformative power of culture as our students became immersed in weaving, each taking great pride in their work. The results are incredible! Thank you Toni, Tanisha, Wachiay Friendship Centre for support with funding, and everyone else who helped make this dream a reality.

Fall 2024 at Nala’atsi!

The Nala’atsi crew hit the ground running this September & hasn’t looked back since. As always, it’s a beautiful chaos at our little school, with too many spectacular moments to list. This fall we have focused on connecting with the land & grounding ourselves in the beautiful unceded, traditional territories of the K’omoks First Nation. Highlights this fall include hikes to Nymph Falls & Elk River Falls, our annual drum circle & bonfire at Mystery Beach, and a guided tour of traditional K’omoks Village sites with archeologist Jesse Morin. As always, our students loved visiting the fur babies at Holly Hill Farm and we are happy to report that none of them made it home with us.

April/May 2024

When the sun comes out it’s time for us to get out of the school and onto the land. This spring we’ve been brushing up on our Zombie Apocalypse Survival Skills with Daryle, making shelters and fires and learning how to become more confident and self-reliant. We also did an amazing fishing workshop with Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC, although sadly we went home empty-handed. Another highlight was our canoeing trip at Comox Lake put on by the kind folks at Lake Park Society. We faced gale-force winds and choppy seas but somehow emerged victorious.

December, January, February 2024

There’s never a dull moment at Nala’atsi, and the last few months have gone by so quickly! Some highlights in December were a cedar weaving workshop with Avis Nalaga O’Brien, Bowling in Campbell River, and our annual Nala’atsi Fudge & Smudge with Daryle Mills (not to mention an appearance by Santa’s Little Helper, our very own Emmylou). January and February saw us flying around on trampolines at Airhouse in Nanaimo and learning to build fires from scratch during Daryle’s Zombie Apocalypse Survival Training. We also became archeologists for the day at the Campbell River Museum while participating in their ‘Stones, Bones, & Middens’ workshop.

Fall 2023 at Nala’atsi!

Nala’atsi has been a bustling place this fall! It’s a little chaotic at times, but it’s a beautiful chaos. We have been busy getting out onto the land, making bonfires, gathering in drum circles, connecting with culture, appreciating nature, and all kinds of other good stuff. Here are some photos from a few of our outings in September, October, and November. Gilakas’la to everyone who has helped make these outings so enjoyable and enriching!

May 2023 – Archery @ Courtenay Fish & Game; Canoeing @ Comox Lake; Middens & Local K’ómoks History

May has been an action-packed month so far and we’ve loved being out into the sun and on the land. A few highlights from the last few weeks include our annual trip to Courtenay Fish & Game where students learned the basics of archery before hunting a number of exotic foam animals (including a Spanish pig & legless Caribou!) We also enjoyed a fantastic afternoon of canoeing with Cumberland Lake Wilderness Society – nothing but sunshine and positive vibes! Finally, we joined local archaeologist Jesse Morin for a fascinating tour of Mack Laing park where we learned about historical K’ómoks village sites, middens, and life in pre-contact Comox Valley.

Nala’atsi Outings Early 2023
February – March 2023

The Nala’atsi crew has been busy over the last couple months, packing into the bus & heading out to various locations. In February we visited Cathedral Grove and learned about the old growth Cedar & Douglas Fir forests; in March we explored Goose Spit, played mini golf in Parksville, participated in a powerful Drum Blessing ceremony with Phil Mills, and headed up the mountain for a day of tubing at Mt Washington. Looking forward to what the spring will bring us!