Dates: Friday, May 1st to Sunday, May 3, 2026 (Friday evening to Sunday afternoon)
Location: Salt Spring Centre of Yoga, 355 Blackburn Rd, Salt Spring Island, BC
Spots Available: 22
Open to: All educators
Location details: Salt Spring Centre of Yoga, located on Salt Spring Island, is a peaceful 69-acre property immersed in forests, farmland, and wetlands. The land is home to organic gardens, fruit orchards, and a permaculture food forest, with walking paths that wind past streams, ponds, and old-growth cedar stands. Bordering the Salt Spring Island Conservancy’s Blackburn Lake Nature Reserve and home to the Dandaka Forest, one of the most intact cedar-swamp wetlands in North America, the Centre offers a rare setting for rest, reflection, and reconnection with nature.
Salt Spring Centre of Yoga is a place devoted to living in greater harmony with the land, with one another, and with ourselves - an ethos that deeply supports the intention of this retreat.
Land Acknowledgement: We gratefully acknowledge that we will be gathering on the traditional, unceded territory of the Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group and the Saanich First Nations, and we honour their ongoing care for this land.
Accommodation details: Participants can choose to register for a private room, or a shared room with 1-2 other adults. There will be an option to stay in a single gender or mixed gender rooms, depending on your preference. Lodges also include access to cozy communal spaces.
Washroom and Facilities: All gender group washrooms are available throughout the centre, including shared bathrooms with showers in each of the lodges.
Food: The centre will provide delicious, garden-fresh, vegetarian food throughout the weekend and can accommodate a wide range of dietary needs (note: please provide dietary restrictions and allergies in advance). Meals included are: Friday afternoon welcome snack and dinner; Saturday breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner; Sunday breakfast and lunch. The organic tea bar will be available at all times.
Accessibility: Salt Spring Centre of Yoga is a nature-based retreat centre set within a rugged outdoor environment. Participants can expect uneven terrain, including roots, rocks, and natural pathways. Unfortunately, the site is not fully wheelchair accessible. There are no ramps, and some buildings may require navigating stairs.
We may be able to accommodate some mobility needs by offering ground-floor rooms if we are informed in advance. If you have accessibility questions or would like to discuss your needs, please don’t hesitate to reach out prior to registering.
Getting there: Salt Spring Island is accessible by BC Ferries from three departure points:
The Salt Spring Centre of Yoga is centrally located on the island and is approximately a 15–20 minute drive from all three ferry terminals.
Travellers may arrive with a vehicle or walk onto the ferry. For those without a car, public transit and Silver Shadow Taxi are available on Salt Spring Island. It is also possible to fly to Salt Spring Island via float plane from Vancouver or Victoria with Harbour Air.
Please note: Participants are responsible for arranging their own transportation to and from the retreat venue.
Suggested Packing List: Click here for our suggested packing list of what you might want to bring to the Retreat! If you would like support in acquiring or borrowing any of these items, please email us at info@takemeoutside.ca.
What to Expect: This document will be emailed to everyone who registers and will cover all the details for the Retreat, including directions, community guidelines, wifi access, cell service, etc.
Partners: We’re very thankful to be partnering with our friends at the Environmental Educators Provincial Specialist Association (EEPSA) for this Retreat!
Are we missing anything? Please feel free to email us at info@takemeoutside.ca if you have any questions or requests for support!
Mara Branscombe is a yoga and meditation teacher, author, artist, ceremonialist, and spiritual coach, who finds great joy in leading others along the path of self-transformation. Teaching for over twenty years, she runs international retreats, corporate leadership programs, and online spiritual guidance programs. She is the author of Ritual as Remedy, (Findhorn Press, 2022) and Sage, Huntress, Lover, Queen, (Findhorn Press, 2023) Mara lives with her husband and two daughters in Vancouver, Canada.
Learn more about Mara here: https://marabranscombe.com
Kristen Lambourne founded Forest Etiquette, a small batch, earth inspired indie skincare company, in 2019. A fusion of traditional folk herbalist methods and modern cosmetic chemistry, Kristen works to create gentle, effective, and accessible skin and self care options that are rooted in the rhythms of the natural world and inspired by the notion of skin care as a pathway to selfcare.
Forest Etiquette: https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/ForestEtiquette
The Sample Schedule below shows an example of what the Retreat schedule could look like. The exact Retreat schedule is currently being confirmed and will be shared with participants before the Retreat.
Session descriptions coming soon.
Registration is now open! Please use the buttons below, based on your preference of accommodation style, to register!
Registrations made prior to February 28th will be charged at the early bird rate of $695 for shared accommodation or $755 for individual accommodation (tax included). As of March 1st, these rates will increase to $775 for shared and $830 for individual. This registration fee includes accommodations, all meals, and all facilitated sessions.
We are committed to supporting educators from underserved or underrepresented communities to attend our retreats. If you face financial barriers and/or identify as Black, Indigenous, a Person Of Colour, have lived experience with a disability, are part of the 2SLGBTQ+ community or a member of another marginalized group, please feel free to reach out to info@takemeoutside.ca for the potential of a subsidized registration or to request other types of support to attend this Retreat.
Cancellation Policy: Please notify us as soon as possible at info@takemeoutside.ca if you need to cancel your registration. Cancellations made at least 30 days before the date of the Retreat are fully refundable. In the case that Take Me Outside had to cancel an Educator Wellness Retreat, every effort would be made to notify participants at least 30 days before the event and all registration fees would be fully refunded.
