Teacher and Teaching Director:
MICHELLE HEGGE

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Background: BSc Honours (Biology-specialization Ecology), B.Ed , Forest School Practitioner Level 3, Standard First Aid-Level C and CPR

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Michelle is the driving force behind all we do here at CFS. For more than 25 years, Michelle has infused her love of nature and background in Biology into the original Nursery School program and now the Forest school. She believes passionately in the value of play based learning and the importance of lots of outside time! 

Nature is Michelle’s happy place and when she is not at Forest School you can find her either working as a Nature Interpreter for the Friends of Gatineau Park or exploring the various trails of Gatineau Park on skis, snowshoes, foot or bike. 

CHRISTINE MATTIMOE
Background: BSc (Env.), B.Ed., Standard First Aid-Level C and CPR

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Christine is greatly influenced by her childhood in rural West-Africa where she freely played outdoors every day.  She enjoys reliving some of those favourite childhood memories with her two boys: climbing trees, exploring the forest, listening to cicadas on a hot summer evening, and sitting on the veranda and reading a good book on a rainy day.  In her teen years, Christine fed her love of nature and developed her leadership skills through involvement in Girl Guides, summer camps and wilderness canoe trips. She studied Environmental Science and has considerable experience in nature interpretation and outdoor education.  This led her to a career in teaching.  She taught 6 years at public and private elementary schools before taking a break to raise a family.  A teacher at heart with a passion for nature and a love of music, Christine led preschool music programs for a few years before finding a perfect fit teaching at Chelsea Forest School.  In her leisure time, Christine likes gardening, camping, canoeing, hiking, biking, cross-country skiing, singing, travelling, and learning foreign languages.

SARINA PASCIUTA

Background : Honours BA Environmental Studies (Bilingual), Forest and Nature School Practitioner Certificate, Standard First Aid Level C and CPR

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Sarina was born and raised in Windsor, Ontario, and has dreamed of being a teacher since she was a little girl. Growing up, she loved playing outside and going on camping trips with her family. These experiences sparked her love for nature and inspired her to complete an Honours Degree in Environmental Studies at the University of Ottawa. Sarina has worked with children for eight years in various educational and extracurricular settings. Her previous work experience includes supply teaching, managing summer camps, and tutoring. When she discovered Forest School she knew she found her dream teaching job. For Sarina, it has always been important to help children nurture their connection with nature and with themselves. She believes all children deserve to connect with nature, learn about it, learn from it, and enjoy the activities that are possible within it. Outside of her life has a teacher, Sarina loves snowboarding, surfing, biking, and hiking. She also enjoys gardening, camping, reading, baking and traveling

Ryan Shea

Background: BSc Honours (Human Kinetics), B. Ed., Neufeld Level 3, Standard First Aid-Level C and CPR

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Ryan taught full time in public elementary schools for 8 years. He now enjoys a different pace to life: raising his child at home and working at the forest school. The two are not always so different for him! He loves to hike, climb rocks, identify wild mushrooms, and camp under the stars (in all four seasons). He believes that the more closely attached we are in our relationships – to nature, to community, to family – the more we will care for and nurture them. He makes it a daily practice to tend to these relationships.

REBECCA RADMORE

Background: ECCE Diploma, Children's yoga teacher training, Standard first aid level C & CPR

Being a teacher has been Becky's dream since she was four years old, growing up in Aylmer. She started her ECE career supplying in traditional childcare centres whenever she wasn't traveling. She has been a beloved nanny for two families in Wakefield and Chelsea over the past ten years. Now she sees herself as a facilitator of the forest, allowing nature to be the true teacher. Mindfulness, mystical storytelling, love of wildlife, and creative nature crafts are some of her favourite things to share with the children. She believes that childhood is sacred and that free play in the woods is where the most magical and enriching moments await. She feels very fortunate to be a witness to all the learning that happens here.

MEAGHAN LEUNG

Background: B.Sc. Honours (Biology and French), B.Ed., Forest School Practitioner, Standard First Aid Level C and CPR

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Meaghan’s love of nature began when she was a girl going hiking and camping with her family, and grew through many years of guiding and, later, adventure camping. She completed the Duke of Edinburgh Award and experienced the expedition of a lifetime when she traveled to Canada’s Arctic and Greenland with Students On Ice. An avid traveler, she also visited India, many countries in Europe, and spent a summer living and working on the south coast of France, always seeking out natural spaces to explore!

Professionally, Meaghan has 16 years of experience as a primary school teacher, teaching French immersion at several grade levels. She spent a year homeschooling and running a home-based learning pod during COVID. She has always loved bringing the learning outside. She first became interested in Forest School when her two oldest children attended a Forest School summer camp in 2015. Meaghan completed the Forest School Practitioners Course in February 2022.

At home, Meaghan enjoys camping and exploring with her husband and their five children. She also enjoys hiking, biking, kayaking, gardening, skiing, and baking.

KIM HEDGES

[ BIO is coming soon!]