Testimonies
Dec 2024: Thank you for creating this space where my son has been able to flourish. It is no easy feat running a small business, plus holding space for young minds. You do it all with grace. I am so happy I found you and this program. Thank you for all you do.
Nov 2024: Melissa, boys loved being out with you guys! They came home excited and full of joy! I am very happy to hear they learned buck anatomy :)
Nov 2024: My boys had a great day and I’m very thankful that there is such an opportunity for them in the city. Besides being out of doors, what I appreciate the most is the teamwork and camaraderie between all ages!
Nov. 2024: Thanks for this great program Melissa. It is a huge asset to the community that you all are out here providing a space for children to spend their days in nature.
Nov 2024: We appreciate your programs so much. I praise you to anyone that will listen!
October 2024: O is absolutely adoring this forest school and her instructor Tami as well as the helper and Alberta who subbed in! Can't say enough positive things about it!
October 2024: Thank you so much for providing these kids with such a great opportunity!
September 2024: Nattalia was lovely and such a great facilitator. You have such an incredible space there. I loved the loose parts and the zip line. (Lochend Road site).
August 2024: I wanted to reach out and let you know that C loved the nature camps in Bragg Creek this summer! She learned so much and had lots of fun adventures.
August 2024: Hi Melissa, I watched your videos today. I am so heartened to see the depth of understanding you have around play and nature, two of my favourite things in life! I am touched at the journey you embarked on with your son, and your brother's spirit in your heart as you searched for a better way forwards. I don't know you, yet I feel proud of you for your tenacity and curiosity and your heart that guided you to create, Rediscover Play. Well done and God Bless! (Julie M Walker BPE, Owner Full Circle Adventures).
August 2024: They have both been loving it! This is the first time K has attended a program (without me) for 2+ years, so it’s been a huge success.
August 2024: BTW, he has been in your camps a few years in a row now. But, it wasn't until recently that I looked more into your site. It gave me great relief to read your bio and your story about your son. My son sounds like he has very similar struggles to your own son. We have had quite the difficult journey so it's nice knowing he is in good hands. :)
August 2024: Oh he will be thrilled Miss Alberta is back!!! I’m sure you get this all the time, but he LOVES her!
July 2024: Thank you so much for a wonderful week of nature camp! The kids really enjoyed it, and I hope it was pleasant for you also.
July 2024: Melissa, thank you for saying YES to the Lord and clearly following His purpose for your life - your program and way with your students is just stunningly stellar!
June 2024: Melissa, you have been such a positive influence in C’s life. We appreciate everything you have done for us!
June 2024: Tami is amazing, hold on to her ;) I love that I feel my kids are loved when away from home, and that's how she makes me feel.
June 2024: Miss Tami is a really awesome educator, the kids love their Tuesdays.
June 2024: Miss Tami always seems to teach them something new each week and they are very chatty about all the things when I pick them up which to me is a great indicator that they have had a good time.
April 2024: I love your program so much and I would love to be more involved. You have inspired me to slow down and remember how much I love nature and the healing that can come from it.
March 2024: Melissa, Thank you for all the ways you love the kids and care deeply for them. T learns so much with you.
Feb 2024: I just booked S into the week at Tsolum Spirit park. S had such a great time last summer and is still whittling to this day! I don't think there are words to express what you offer children, it's basically like Therapy for them and I'm so happy for S to have this opportunity again.
Feb 2024: I super appreciate you always getting back to me and for putting up with me! Unfortunately for you, it's not going away anytime soon, we're hooked on Rediscover and are just going to be adding more...days and people to your registration list! (next it's MY turn to come play and learn!!)
Feb 2024: N really likes Miss Jade and is super comfortable with her, so thank you for confirming she will be there..."if it can't be Miss Melissa, Miss Jade is good too" :)
Dec 2023: Thank you for putting on this program. Our kids love it.
Dec 2023: You and Jade do such incredible work with the kids — A and X just LOVE this class. My youngest turns 5 in the spring and he can’t wait to join too!
Dec 2023: We had an amazing time at the fall session. So lovely . Thank you so very much.
Dec 2023: Our son A has been thoroughly enjoying his time at Nature School (bearspaw location). It has truly been a blessing for him and our entire family. Thank you, we are so grateful for this wonderful program you provide.
Dec 2023: Thank you for all of your hard work to put together this wonderful outdoor school program!!! We wish you the very best success along your journey
November 2023: N was making arrows all over the house tonight, it was AWESOME!!
I just love to hear about his day...or see it..after his days with you, Tara and Linda. You ladies are absolutely INCREDIBLE!
November 2023: Thank you so very much for everything. Rediscover Play is having such a wonderful impact on our family, we are very grateful
October 2023: The program was great for our son! I could tell he was already building in confidence and up for trying things more. Miss Tami was great too - she met W right where he was at, while also nudging him be more adventurous, and he seemed to really like her!
September 2023: Hi Melissa Thanks for an amazing day yesterday. Everyone had a blast and learned so much. I know everyone walked away with more confidence too. Thank you You will definitely be seeing us again! (Feedback from Wild Women Workshop)
September 2023: I am so grateful that Rediscover Play is in our lives. Jade fostered incredible growth in (our son’s) self-inquiry and curiosity. Leaving brick and mortar school created a need for him to sort out what was 'learning' -- it was a freedom that he had to adjust to having! C benefited (and thus our family) from Rediscover Play tremendously as he transitioned to homeschooling this year. So much so that he wants to become an outdoor recreational insturctor / teacher.
August 2023: Thanks for all the feedback! Sounds like this was the right camp for her!!! All previous camp experiences, have ended with only negative feedback, and we often had to pull her from camps early. SO this has been a really great experience for her, and nice to hear good things for once :) We appreciate it so much
August 2023: Melissa; Thank you so much. J had a wonderful time and really learned a lot. Such a great experience. We really appreciate all you do. In gratitude.
June 2023: I just wanted to note my kids really bonded to Miss Alberta over the past year. She's an excellent educator.
June 2023: Thank you for allowing us to check out last Tuesday's session! My kids really enjoyed it. Jade was great! I also learned quite a bit in the short time that I was there.
June 2023: Jade is amazing. So sweet and patient with my son and just great about encouraging him to engage. Her knowledge of plants and their vices is incredible and inspiring.
May 2023: I wanted to email you to thank you for running this program! W has loved it, and gotten so much confidence and excitement and joy from it. Thank you SO much!
May 2023: B is LOVING his time at nature school, I am so grateful that this class is available to us. He has so many wonderful things to say about his teachers Miss Jade and Miss Alberta.
May 2023: The way you accommodate this type of learning and growth in our children through Rediscover Play blows me away. I commend and thank you. Your program is beautifully crafted and the skills learned are not only essential to safety and knowledge in the outdoors, but integral in the wellbeing and development of children and young adults. Having been taught by you and witnessed your teaching, it is evident that your wealth of knowledge, experience, and expertise in this field is plentiful. In addition to your knowledge, your succinct and patient manner of teaching is rare, respectful and very effective. Your dedication shows.
Bobbie Werth (Kindergarten teacher Bearspaw Christian School): Melissa is absolutely excellent at working with students whose needs are better met outside of the ‘four walls’ of a typical school and classroom day/schedule.
I had the privilege of spending some time with Melissa and her assistant as they walked my Kindergarten class through nature that was right outside our classroom door.
There were expectation boundaries as well as physical boundaries that the children followed to a T, because they were so engaged.
Melissa did a fantastic job of creating a scavenger hunt, starting with a story using what was right there as part of the landscape. The children then went on a fairly long trek, looking for different foliage or markers animals had left which has been explained ahead of time and was also pointed out to them as they walked. The children finished up at a pond where they searched for tadpoles, frogs and found several creepy crawlers.
They shared with excitement what they found, and drew pictures to show their parents later.
After the trek, the children had time to explore, build and use their imaginations with mud, loose parts, an outdoor ‘cold’ kitchen, and a beautiful rock type garden where they could dig and move things about.
At the beginning and end, Melissa stressed the importance of both caring for our outdoor environment as well as respecting, using it and living within it.
Melissa has worked hard to build a program that meets the curricular needs using the outdoor classroom that is right there for us to enjoy.
I highly recommend Melissa as a motivational speaker, planner/organizer, and teacher in outdoor classrooms and loose parts learning and play.
Cass Noble: The look on the kids’ faces when they are trusted to do something new and slightly risky, then accomplish it THEMSELVES, with minimal input, is simply glorious. There is something special about learning how to thrive outdoors, it is raw, grounding and connecting in a way that nothing else is.
