Dates: Friday, September 25th to Sunday, September 27th, 2026 (Friday evening to Sunday afternoon)
Location: Kluane Lake Research Station, Mile 1054 of the Alaska Highway, YT
Spots Available: 40
Registration Rate: $500 including tax. This registration fee includes accommodations, all meals, and all facilitated sessions. Yukon Association of Education Professionals (YAEP) members will have access to a subsidized registration rate of $200 because of YAEP's generous support of this event.
Open to: All educators
Location details: Kluane Lake Research Station (KLRS) is located on the traditional lands of the Kluane and Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, on the shore of the largest lake in the Yukon, beautiful Lhù’ààn Mân (Kluane Lake). KLRS is also situated next to the world’s largest sub-polar icefield and powered by a hybrid-renewable energy system. The extreme elevation difference between Lhù’ààn Mân and the crest of the St. Elias Mountains provides remarkable biodiversity within a small geographical area. Researchers staying at KLRS study a variety of disciplines, including glaciology, geomorphology, geology, biology, botany, zoology, hydrology, and climatology.
Land Acknowledgement: We are very thankful to be gathering on the traditional lands of the Kluane First Nations and Champagne and Aishihik First Nations and for the opportunity to collaborate and learn from members of these communities. We offer our deepest gratitude for their ongoing care for this land and for the opportunity to seek rest, renewal, and connection here.
Accommodation details: Accommodations will be shared with 6 other adults in small cabins with bunk beds. Single beds, mattresses, top sheets, and pillows are provided. Visitors must bring their own sleeping bags and/or blankets. Cabins are heated with wood stoves and feature 12VDC solar powered lights and two USB charging ports. AC power is available in shared user spaces (kitchen, lounge, classroom) but not the cabins.
Washroom and Facilities: There is a centrally located washhouse with four showers, eight sinks, and four toilets, divided into men's and women's areas. Visitors are responsible for bringing their own personal toiletries and towels. A washing machine, clothes drier, and laundry soap are provided for use of clients staying at KLRS.
Food: KLRS will provide delicious food prepared by a Red Seal chef on-site. They are able to accommodate dietary restrictions with advance notice. Snacks, coffee and tea are self-serve 24 hours a day. While the kitchen area in the mess hall is off limits to visitors, there is storage space and a visitor fridge available for any personal food items or beverages you wish to bring. Please Note: Food is not permitted in the cabins to avoid attracting bears and mice.
Accessibility: KLRS is a rugged outdoor setting, located between an gravel airstrip, boreal forest, sandy beach, and glacial-fed lake. There are lots of rocks and roots on walking trails over uneven ground. Most buildings have basic ramps or 1-2 steps. The showers are not accessibility friendly. Many of the cabins are a 2-4 minutes walking distance from the washhouse with flushing toilets. Some of the cabins are closer to rugged outhouses. Most of the cabins have bunk beds that are low to the ground and not accessibility friendly. Two cabins have 4 single beds. The wall tents have 2 single beds each.
Getting There: KLRS is approximately a 2 hour and 40 minute drive from Whitehorse. From Whitehorse follow signs for the Alaska Highway West, towards Haines Junction. Continue for approximately 2 hours until you reach the Village of Haines Junction. Turn right to continue on the Alaska Highway towards Fairbanks (you will see the RCMP detachment across the road and the Top Spot gas station to your right). Continue for approximately 40 minutes (60km). The entrance to KLRS is a gravel road immediately off the highway (first right turn after passing Silver Creek). Signs direct you 1km from the turn. Continue straight along the gravel road until you come to a stop sign. This is the entrance to an active runway so beware of aircraft (see below for details). Continue across the runway, pass both sets of orange cones on the right, and turn right. The KLRS parking area is located on the left, on either side of the tree grove in front of the flag poles.Note: Last gas option leaving Whitehorse is Goody’s Gas approximately 15 minutes outside Whitehorse. The next gas station is not until Haines Junction. The last opportunity for gas before arriving at the station is Haines Junction.
Cell Phones: Please note, there is no cell (mobile) phone coverage at KLRS. Locally to KLRS, there is cell coverage in Haines Junction, Destruction Bay, and Burwash Landing. Depending on the type of mobile device you have, you may be able to obtain cell coverage within (approximately) a 10-minute drive of KLRS towards Haines Junction. In emergencies, family and friends can contact you on the Station phone at: +1 (867) 841-4561.
Suggested Packing List: Please review our suggested packing list here.
What to Expect: Please ensure you have reviewed the following document before the retreat - KLRS Visitor Information
Are we missing anything? Please feel free to email us at info@takemeoutside.ca if you have any questions or requests for support!
Pauly Sias from Kluane Outdoor Inspirations
In English my name is Pauly Sias. In Southern Tutchone my name is Ädalēa, Ägunda. I am Butterfly of the Wolf Clan. I am a citizen of Kluane First Nation and descendant of the Copper Family. Mary Copper Joe was my great grandmother. My great grandfather was Louis Jacquot, originally from France. Louis came to Kluane in search of gold in the early 1900’s but he stayed and found my great grandmother! As one of the earliest European settlers to Kluane Lake, Mary and Louis’ union was the starting point for a blending of different cultures and world views within my family at a time when that was less common. Being a Yukoner is a culture of it’s own.
My upbringing was unique by many people’s standard, with being raised off-grid by multi generations of my family including my great grandmother, my grandparents, my parents and an older brother. Together, over decades, we all contributed to the adventures in Kluane with building a successful homestead and land-based tourism operation at Silver City formerly known as the Kluane Bed & Breakfast.
I have lived and worked in Kluane my entire life with the exception of a few years away to acquire my professional chef certification. I’ve had a varied career mainly built from a sincere interest in learning more about all things Kluane. This has been a driving force in my career and personal life and led me to hold positions with Kluane First Nation as Executive Director and Heritage Manager. I’ve worked for Kluane National Park as a Heritage Presenter and Aboriginal Liaison, and I was Executive Director for the Dan Keyi Renewable Resources Council for ten years. I am grateful for the in-depth insights into specific aspects of the area’s history, governance and natural environment that holding these important positions has gifted me with.
My personal work history, coupled with having been surrounded by a legacy of entrepreneurship, connection to the land, and loving people who have generously shared wisdom with me, Kluane Outdoor Inspirations (KOI) is the perfect fit for me. I have a deep passion to respectfully share and acknowledge the gifts given to me, and to help others be comfortable, and to have fun! We are very proud to offer you this through KOI.
Together with my partner Jady Hurlburt, our roots run deep in Kluane Country, and we welcome you to come and enjoy this special place. Let the outdoors of Kluane inspire you!
Pauly will be leading a Fireside Chat on Saturday, which you can learn about by visiting the Session Descriptions page here!
Julie Read from Take Me Outside
Julie is Take Me Outside’s Program Manager and an outdoor educator, primary/junior elementary teacher, Forest and Nature School practitioner and enthusiastic naturalist with over 15 years of leadership experience within non-profit organizations. Her relationship to the Land is central to her health and well-being and she continues to deepen her connection to her Celtic roots by spending time in Scotland and learning more about the knowledge of her ancestors, especially through her relationship to the more-than-human world, storytelling and music. Julie loves helping people of all ages connect to nature and has experience leading nature wellness sessions, creating and leading a naturalist club for adults, organizing and leading accessible birding events and leading annual Birding with Pride walks in Point Pelee, home of the Caldwell First Nation. Julie is deeply passionate about social justice, removing barriers and increasing equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility in outdoor learning. Julie created the Fanshawe Nature School while working as the Community Education Supervisor for the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority and has previously worked as Community Programs Coordinator at the High Park Nature Centre in Toronto and as Program Manager at The Guelph Outdoor School.
Julie is very thankful to live on Dish With One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant and Between the Lakes Treaty 3 land, the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, land which has been and continues to be stewarded by the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabeg. She is committed to Truth and Reconciliation, learning Indigenous history and languages, honouring Indigenous Knowledge, and building reciprocal relationships.
Julie will be leading sessions on Educator Wellness Strategies and Intention-setting and Mindful Birding, which you can learn about by visiting the Session Descriptions page here!
Jen Massie from Boreal Boogie
I am a Dance Your Ability facilitator devoted to joyful, inclusive movement for every body, from every neck of the woods. As a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner (www.traumahealing.org) and Breathwork facilitator (SOMA & Jon Paul Crimi), I bring trauma-informed eyeballs to everything I do. Safety first, then we boogie. I fell head-over-(barefoot) heels for 5Rhythms 35 years ago and have been devoted to self-led, soul-fed movement ever since. The freedom. The fulfillment. The occasional dramatic floor roll. All of it. Musically, I’m rarely not stirring a sizeable soup pot of sound - singing, songwriting, guitar, didgeridoo, DJ’ing, layering rhythms, and generally making weird & wonderful noise wherever possible. As a support worker for people with disabilities, I’m endlessly inspired by creative adaptations, brilliant problem-solving, and the wildly unique ways humans move through life, love, work, dreams, community and dance.
Jenn will be leading a Sunset Silent Disco, which you can learn about by visiting the Session Descriptions page here!
More facilitator bios coming very soon!
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.
Group Meditation & Gratitude
Each morning, we will gather in a circle outside, where we will be led through a relaxing guided meditation before being invited to share our daily gratitude with each other.
Fireside Chat with Pauly
Pauly will lead a guided wilderness experience that focuses on reconnecting to nature and learning about the culture and history of the Kluane Lake Region and its people, past and present.
Educator Wellness Strategies and Intention-setting with Julie
This session will invite educators to assess the current levels of stress they are experiencing in their lives and teaching practices, along with reflect on how they respond to stress and the strategies they already utilize to support their wellness. Educators will then be invited to explore what new wellness practices they might want to try, before setting intentions for integrating nature connection and wellness into their daily life and teaching practice.
Mindful Birding with Julie
In this session, you will be invited to slow down, breathe slowly and open up all of your senses to nature. Lifelong birder Julie will share her love of birds, along with the many ways we can enjoy getting to know our feathered neighbours and kin in a deeper way. Educators will learn how to expand their awareness to include the world of birds and tune into bird language, as well as how this awareness can enhance our overall well-being. Julie will share her knowledge of birdsong, behaviour and interconnections to all other beings- and invite other educators to share their knowledge too- as they go on a birding walk together. Note: binoculars are not required for this session but you’re welcome to bring some if you’d like to!
Sunset Silent Disco (75 minutes)
Discover the magic of dancing outside on the beach, by the lake and beside mountains during sunset! Join us for this unique and healing dance experience while you are immersed in awe-inspiring nature. This session will be facilitated by Dance Your Ability facilitator Jen Massie from Boreal Boogie. You may never want to dance indoors again! All ages. All abilities. All about the JOY!
More session descriptions coming very soon!
The registration rate for this retreat is $500 including tax. This registration fee includes accommodations, all meals, and all facilitated sessions. Yukon Association of Education Professionals (YAEP) members will have access to a subsidized registration rate of $200 because of YAEP's generous support of this event.
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.