Mentorship Program

2025-2026 OUTDOOR LEARNING MENTORSHIP PROGRAM

Take Me Outside’s Mentorship Program is for educators engaged in outdoor learning – a thriving community to connect, support and grow together!

The Call for Mentors and Mentee Registration is now open for 2025-2026 and will close on October 24th, 2025.

If you have any questions, feel free to email us at info@takemeoutside.ca.

This program is open to all educators who are integrating outdoor learning into their work with children or youth. We’re also looking for Mentors who are fluent in French so we can increase our capacity to offer this program bilingually. This will be the second year of the program and we greatly appreciate your feedback as we shape and develop it.

Kindly note, at this time, this program is for educators on Turtle Island/North America.

OVERVIEW

Take Me Outside has created a Community of Practice which offers different kinds of opportunities for direct peer-to-peer support. Educators newer to outdoor learning (Mentees) can connect with educators with more experience in outdoor learning (Mentors). We recognize the importance and value of relationship-building, connection and support in helping advance outdoor learning as a teaching practice.

Mentees can build direct relationships with Mentors to learn answers to specific questions they have, learn how Mentors have overcome barriers and challenges to outdoor learning and be provided with personal feedback, inspiration and guidance.

4 Different Ways to Connect to Mentors

• Virtual Campfires
  You can join monthly virtual campfire discussions with seasonal themes and directly connect to Mentors, asking for their feedback and guidance.
• Online Community
  You can engage with Mentors and other Mentees in a vibrant online community on Slack. There will be specific channels you can join based on ages of learners, geographic region, language, interests and other types of groups.
• Pen Pal Program
  You can sign up to be matched with a Mentor “pen pal”, who you will be able to connect with via email. The Mentor will respond to your emails and questions on a monthly basis.
• Regional Coordinators
  You can sign up to be connected with a Regional Coordinator Mentor, who can offer regionally specific support and gatherings.

MENTOR LEADERSHIP TEAM

Get to know our incredible 2024-2025 Mentorship Leadership Team by taking a look at their bios below. We’re so thankful that they are generously offering their diverse approaches, extensive experience and vast knowledge to this program!

We will update the Mentor Bios below in November 2025, once we have confirmed our 2025-2026 Mentor Leadership Team.

Please note, not all 90 Outdoor Learning Mentors submitted a bio this year.

Interested in joining our Mentor Leadership Team for the 2025-2026 program? The application process is now open and you can explore the details of Mentorship below.

We kindly ask that all Mentors commit to:

• Volunteering as a Mentor for one full school year (October 2025-June 2026)
• Attending 2, one hour-long virtual Mentor Leadership Team meetings with Julie, TMO Program Manager (one in November before the program launches and one in June as the program closes)  
• Taking on one of the following Mentor roles for the year: Virtual Campfire Facilitator, Slack Moderator, Pen Pal OR Regional Coordinator (full details below)

We’re estimating that Mentors will volunteer approximately 3-5 hours a month.

VIRTUAL CAMPFIRE FACILITATORS

We’re looking for Mentors to co-lead and support hour-long monthly Virtual Campfire sessions via Zoom, facilitating engaging conversations with Mentees, in both whole group discussions and smaller breakout room groups. These sessions will take place from November-June. You don’t need to attend all 8 campfires, but we’d love it if you could commit to co-leading and supporting at least 4 campfires. Specific campfire dates will be announced very soon!

Preferred Experience:

• At least two years’ experience leading outdoor learning
• Previous experience facilitating online workshops is a huge asset!

ONLINE COMMUNITY MODERATORS

These Mentors will monitor channels in our Slack Community, checking the channels regularly (at least once a week), responding to posts, ensuring posts align with our Mentorship Program Code of Conduct and posting in each channel at least once a month. Each Mentor will be responsible for monitoring a minimum of 2 channels and there will be at least 2 Community Moderators per channel.                           

Preferred Experience:

• At least two years’ experience leading outdoor learning
• Comfort using online community platforms
• Experience with Slack is a huge asset!

PEN PALS

Pen Pal Mentors will be paired up with 1-5 Mentees (depending on the Mentor’s capacity), who they will email at least once a month, responding to specific questions or challenges their Mentee has posed and providing guidance. 

Preferred Experience:

• At least two years’ experience leading outdoor learning
• Knowledge of challenges and barriers to outdoor learning
• Proficiency in English OR French
• Capacity to respond to Mentee emails once per month

REGIONAL COORDINATORS

We’re looking for Mentors who can facilitate 1-3 regionally-specific meetings throughout the school year and who can regularly email their group of Mentees regionally specific events and professional learning (preferably once a month). The meetings can be virtual or if it’s possible to create in-person sessions for their group of Mentees, that would be fantastic!

Preferred Experience:

• At least two years’ experience leading outdoor learning
• Knowledge of local organizations, programs and professional learning opportunities related to outdoor learning
• Comfortable sending group emails and facilitating meetings (online and/or in person)

MENTOR APPLICATION PROCESS

We thank all applicants for their interest in being a Mentor! 

Kindly note, we have limited spots for Mentors and will select Mentors based on their experience and capacity.

We will respond to all Mentor applicants shortly after November 1st, 2025.

For Mentor applicants who are accepted as 2025-2026 Mentors,  Julie (TMO Program Manager) will follow up with more details, including a Mentor Agreement, Code of Conduct, and the meeting link for the first Mentor Leadership Team meeting in November.

MENTOR GRATITUDE

As a thank you to all of our amazing Mentors, we will be offering all Mentors: 

• A certificate of completion for their year of Mentorship
• Recognition and gratitude on our website (optional)
• A journal or toque from the TMO Store

MENTOR APPLICATION FORM

Thank you for your interest in becoming an Outdoor Learning Mentor! The Call for Mentors for 2025-2026 is now open and will close on October 24th, 2025. If you have any questions, feel free to email us at info@takemeoutside.ca.

MENTEE REGISTRATION FORM

Mentee Registration for 2025-2026 is now open and will close on October 24th, 2025. If you have any questions, feel free to email us at info@takemeoutside.ca.