Tend the Fire

Adult Apprenticeship Program

We are currently redesigning the Tend the Fire program and will be updating the information below in due course. Stay tuned for a more streamlined, nature mentor training program… In the meantime, if you would like to be one of the first to hear about it, please fill out our Expression of Interest Form.

Tend the Fire Apprentices support the Lead Instructors in providing meaningful, engaging nature connection experiences for youth.

Learn to facilitate in a way that seems almost effortless, deeply meaningful and fun! Together we will experience an outdoor learning environment based in 8-Shields pedagogy. By stepping into the role of a Tend the Fire Apprentice, you will rediscover your own personal gifts and deepen into yourself, your community, and the more than human world.

Inside each of us lives our own unique fire… Sometimes it’s burning warm and bright and sometimes it gets down to just a few smoky coals that need the right care to get going again. In a healthy culture we have access to mentors who can help us tend this fire as we learn to be the best versions of ourselves. Through proper tending, curiosity, deep listening and refined skills, we can support our students’ fires and teach them how to tend their own.

  • Wonder how mentoring techniques and pedagogy such as invisible school, role-modelling, the wheel of learning translate into our youth programs?

  • Curious about Pacific Northwest ecology and want to gain place-based naturalist knowledge?

  • Excited to learn how to make fire using only natural techniques? Curious about other wilderness skills such as: carving, ethical harvesting and shelter building?

  • Interested in learning & un-learning with an anti-oppressive lens while tending to the bigger pictures of cultural repair and reconciliation?

  • Want to witness how peace-making, conflict resolution, Non-Violent Communication, Attachment Theory, Somatic experiencing & regulation techniques, all come into play as we mentor youth in being in right relationship to themselves, each other and the land?

  • Want to re-activate your youthful curiosity, vitality & joy?

  • Crave the ancestral wisdom that comes from being in relationship with the land in all its seasons?

  • Enjoy great story telling, warm campfires, playing in the woods, sharing gratitude, music and being in community?

Choose from 3 different apprenticeship paths:

  • Mentor In Training Path

    The fullest commitment and deepest dive into nature connection mentoring. Includes both adult courses in one year-long immersive experience.

    A great option for parents who want to gain new resources for raising their kids or a fantastic training experience for employment with Thriving Roots or other nature connection schools.

  • Adult Volunteer Path

    Adults interested in this work who would like to gain experience by supporting and learning around the edges of our youth programs (also a chance for parents of registered students to accompany their child to join in the fun and lend an extra pair of hands).

  • Teen Volunteer Path

    A chance for experienced TRWS students to continue with ongoing youth programs in a helper role.

  • Seth, Tend the Fire apprentice 2019

    “My Thriving Roots apprenticeship reawakened my sense of playfulness so that I was able to relax into a creative mentorship role. The lead instructors provided valuable feedback and kept me challenged. There were tears at the Forest Dwellers closing circle, because we knew something beautiful and important had come to an end. I intend do more of this sort of nature-based mentoring in the future, and all the practice applying coyote mentoring as an apprentice has laid a strong foundation to build upon. Children and nature are both great teachers–both at once is even better!”

  • Wild & Alive participant and Tend the Fire Apprentice, 2021-22

    “I now walk through the world with a set of wondrous spectacles—privy to the glory of the nature world in a way never before experienced. This heightened awareness has permeated all aspects of my life, from friendships to talking to the Spotted Towhees in my backyard. Endless gratitude to you, Thriving Roots Wilderness School ! You’ve changed my life.”

Mentor in Training Path

All adult courses in one year-long immersive experience – our deepest dive into nature connection mentoring!

As a Tend the Fire Apprentice you will be working with children from the ages of 5-7, 8-14 or 12-17. We have programs that range from daily, weekly to monthly participation. See full list of youth programs you could apprentice with under ‘time commitment’ below.

Curriculum includes but is not limited to: ecology, edible and medicinal plants, basic outdoor/survival skills including fire and shelter, wildlife tracking, bird identification and behaviour, navigation and sensory development games.

    • Youth Program Staff Training & Orientation Week: August 25-29, 2025

    • Wild & Alive Program (Optional for W&A grads)

    • Year-long Youth Program facilitation experience with on-site learning and mentoring

    • Bi-weekly Wednesday Evening Training Sessions (alternating zoom and in-person; sometimes private, sometimes group sessions)

    • Year-long Mentoring Supervision (1:1 calls with Tend the Fire Coordinator, Cilla Holmes)

    • Seasonal Community Event Facilitation Experience

    • End-of-Year Right of Passage & Celebration

    Examples of Training topics:

    • Using the 8 Shields map to design programs and organize roles

    • Games and play as teaching/activating tools

    • Storytelling as a teaching tool

    • Polyvagal theory and hand crafts for regulation

    • Using song to connect and unite

    • Nonviolent Communication and conflict management

    • Somatic Experiencing and regulation

    • Attachment Theory in mentoring relationships

  • Cilla Holmes, our Tend the Fire Mentor in Training Facilitator, is the point person for volunteers and apprentices. She is a Registered Therapeutic Counsellour with a diverse range of experience in youth mentoring as well as other creative and administrative pursuits. Those registered in the Mentor in Training Program will participate in biweekly sessions with her - some in a group setting and some one-on-one. If you are only signed up as a volunteer but would like occasional mentoring sessions with her, you’re welcome to book those with her privately: cilla.thrivingroots@gmail.com

  • Mentor in Training Path + First year Wild & Alive participant: $4600 (includes deposit & registration fee) + GST

    Mentor in Training Path + Returning Wild & Alive participant: $3800 (includes deposit & registration fee) + GST

    Mentor in Training Path only (Wild & Alive graduates only): $1500 (includes deposit & registration fee) + GST

    Includes meals and camping. Course fee covers all gatherings, course materials and monthly assignments.

    Payment Options:

    • Credit Card: Deposit + 9 monthly instalments

    Cancellation & Refund Policy: Please note that your registration commitment is for the full 9-month term. Please familiarise yourself with our Registration Policies before registering.

  • Note: The following structure has been used in previous years but is currently being re-designed. If you’re interested in joining us for 26/27 please email us directly to discuss your time commitment.

    General Outline:

    • 1 full weekend per month for Wild + Alive program participation

    • 2 Wednesday Evening Training Sessions per month (alternating zoom and in-person; sometimes private, sometimes group sessions)

    • 1 day per week of volunteering experience with a youth program of your choice*

    • Roughly 2-3 hours per week of additional reading, home work assignments and personal “dirt time”

    *Choose the youth program that best suits your availability and level of interest. The more often you’re in the field, the more surface area for learning and growth. Regular attendance is very important to ensure consistent and reliable mentorship for the participants. We strongly request that apprentices commit to 90% of sessions and that they are present for both the first and the last session of the program. If you have other needs that prevent you from full-time participation but still feel that this would be a good fit for both you and the program, please indicate so in your application form.

    Full Time or Weekly Programs: Sept-June

    Biweekly Programs: Sept-June

    Monthly Programs: Sept-June

  • Basic naturalist knowledge and familiarity with Pacific Northwest ecology. Experience with any of the above curriculum is ideal, however what’s most important is your ability to have beginner’s mind and explore with our students with your own curiosity and wonder.

    Experience working with children in a supportive, non-coercive way. This may include experience with: non-violent communication, a strengths-based approach, somatic experiencing method, and self-directed inquiry.

Adult + Teen Volunteer Path

For Adults and Teens interested in nature connection mentoring, who would like to gain experience by supporting and learning around the edges of our youth programs.

    • Youth Program Staff Training & Orientation Week: August 25-29, 2025

    • Year-long Youth Program facilitation experience with on-site learning and mentoring.

    • Community Event participation

  • $375 +gst

    Payment Options:

    • Credit Card: Deposit + 9 monthly instalments

    Cancellation & Refund Policy: Please note that your registration commitment is for the full 9-month term. Please familiarise yourself with our Registration Policies before registering.

    • 1 day per week “on the job” with a youth program of your choice*

    *Choose the youth program that best suits your availability and level of interest. The more often you’re in the field, the more surface area for learning and growth. Regular attendance is very important to ensure consistent and reliable mentorship for the participants. We strongly request that apprentices commit to 90% of sessions and that they are present for both the first and the last session of the program. If you have other needs that prevent you from full-time participation but still feel that this would be a good fit for both you and the program, please indicate so in your application form.

    Full Time or Weekly Programs: Sept-June

    Biweekly Programs: Sept-June

    Monthly Programs: Sept-June

Step 1: Apply

Submit a Tend the Fire application form and wait for a follow up phone call or email to confirm admission.

Step 2: CRC

Complete a Criminal Record Check and send it to info@thrivingroots.org. Please do this at the time of your application so it will be processed by the start of your program.

Step 3: Register

Once your application is received and you have been accepted, you can proceed to our registration portal where you will complete necessary forms, waivers and pay the participation fee.