Member Spotlight

Muddy Boot Prints

Muddy Boot Prints (MBP) is an unlicensed outdoor early learning program* for children aged 2.5-6 years old situated in Vancouver BC that began in 2017. MBP hosts four programs that run out of local parks within the city limits of Vancouver and serves approximately 55 families. There are two morning programs that operate 4 days a week, rotating to different parks every few weeks and two afternoon programs that are 2 days a week. All totaled, the programs of Muddy Boot Prints operate out nine parks throughout Vancouver.

Natural Start spoke with Muddy Boot Prints founder and director, Belva Stone, to learn more about their roving outdoor preschool program.

Muddy Boot Prints is what you call a "roving preschool." Can you tell us a little more about that structure and why you chose to go that route? What are the benefits? What are some of the challenges?

Our two morning programs shift locations every two weeks, which is the “roving” part of the program. Rotating locations keeps the children interested and engaged. Much like changing the classroom to help the children refocus their play, we change the environment by rotating through different parks. Depending on the park, sometimes we leave and explore the neighbourhood, and other times we’ll move to another park or even a community garden. We spend a lot of time in one of the oldest community gardens in Vancouver where I (Belva) have some garden beds that I share with the children.

This “roving” model allows us to explore the diverse landscapes of Vancouver, make connections with people in different neighborhoods, and further develop children’s resiliency. Because the program takes place in several locations, we become a small part of multiple communities. Folks know us by sight and sometimes stop and say hello or smile and wave as they go past. It’s really neat to continue these connections over time.

As for challenges, the biggest one is accessibility. By changing locations, some families find it tricky to coordinate multiple drop offs. We are trying to find a balance so more families can take part.

Tell us more about one of the parks you visit.

Trillium North Park is one of our favourites. We have a unique situation at Trillium–we share the space with a local environmental artist group called Earthand Gleaners Society. They have two heated shipping containers with gated work bays, electricity, and running water along with a ¼ acre of park land where they grow various plants for weaving, natural dye, and other creative uses. Earthand has developed this site with the Vancouver Parks Board and we (MBP) are able to join in under the banner of Earthand Gleaners. Through this incredible partnership, our children have the opportunity to learn about Oregon Grapes, Lupin, Dwarf Willow plants, and use them to make natural dye or simple cordage. This is our community hub and a place we are very fond of.

Very nearby Trillium North Park is Strathcona Community Gardens, one of Vancouver’s oldest community gardens where I (Belva) have a few garden beds. We spend a lot of time there tending to the beds, playing in the sand box, and exploring the orchard and surrounding gardens there. The gardeners welcome the children and always love to stop and say a brief hello.

Community plays an important role at MBP. Before the pandemic, you used to something called “Give Weeks,” with your students. Can you tell us more about that?

A “Give Week” is a week where we interact with strangers and offer them pieces of art we’ve made that have kind phrases on the back. We travel around the city on the Skytrain! During the final week of October, we will invite adults to say ‘Trick or Treat’ and we will give them a candy. These moments teach our children compassion, empathy, and the opportunity to look beyond themselves in our big world.

We have dearly missed doing proper Give Weeks with the children these past two years. We keep trying to reinvent it, so we don’t interact with the public directly. For now we celebrate Give Weeks by sending out mail with gratitude art to people we know, sidewalk chalk drawings, and conversation, but we miss the direct interaction. We are hoping that we’ll be able to resume our Give Weeks in September 2022.

The last two years have been challenging, to say the least. While it's easy to get bogged down in the difficulties of running an early childhood program, we want to know -- what excites you most about operating a nature-based program right now?

Being able to work outside on a daily basis where I can connect with nature AND to do it with the littles of the world is truly what excites me most. Due to the pandemic, the safest place to learn was outdoors, so I was comforted by offering a safe learning environment to children. Everyday my co-teachers and I express gratitude at being able to come to work. I’d be lying if I jumped out of bed every day excited to go to work–the rain can be depressing, and life has been more exhausting than ever these past two years–but when I get to work and have the children with me, their voices shove all other thoughts out of my head and force me to be in the moment.

*In Canada, outdoor preschool programs cannot be licensed at this time. Belva has been involved in outdoor education licensing efforts in British Columbia for a few years and is currently planning a summit for September 2022 that will bring together government representatives and key stakeholders for a discussion on changing legislation.