Upcoming Events

FireLoch’s Summer Campout: A Weekend of Local Waterfall Adventures and Camping Community Connection

Your stay-cation in Lochaber awaits! Let’s gather for a weekend getaway where camping at FireLoch will become your favorite summer memory! Join us on our beautiful 50-acre property in Lochaber, Nova Scotia, just 15 minutes outside Antigonish but MILES away from “busy”.  Nestled in the pine forest on the edge of beautiful Lochaber Lake, FireLoch is a place where nature, community, and fun come together.

This two-night package includes a peaceful campsite with access to clean, indoor washroom/shower facilities—no roughing it required. Your weekend begins with a Friday night community dinner at our wood-fired pizza oven, a chance to meet your fellow adventurers and settle into the land. Each morning, gather for a shared, laid-back breakfast to fuel your day of play with scavenger hunt and forest games, Saturday is packed with guided tours to 3 local waterfalls – explore the area like a local, hiking into swimming pools and beautiful forested waterfalls around Antigonish County.  Feel free to set your own pace and stay onsite at FireLoch, enjoy the lake, explore all kinds of other activities around Antigonish County this weekend too! 

What’s Included:
• Overnight camping spot (BYO tent and gear)
• Wood-fired pizza dinner and communal breakfasts with locally sourced ingredients
• Forest games, scavenger hunt and Axe throwing session
• Guided waterfall visits (2-3 hours of offsite time!)
• Access to forest trails and shared retreat amenities (including campfires conditional on fire permits)

Price: Starting at $105 per person
Perfect for couples, friends, families or solo adventurers. Group options available. (If you would like to bring a trailer please contact us for more information)

Whether you’re flying solo, bringing a friend, or adventuring as a family, a FireLoch Summer Campout is your invitation to slow down, reconnect, and explore what it means to travel meaningfully—right here at home.

Experience a Transformative Sacred Hearts Ceremony where we gather in Sacred Circle!

Ceremony facilitators Jillian Marchand & Kristi Lyne Shayan will guide you through a heart-centered journey with the beautiful medicine of Ceremonial Cacao.

We will set intentions, breathe into our bodies, and consciously sip cacao, allowing its warmth to open our hearts. You’ll be guided through meditation & movement, sing medicine songs, be bathed in sound healing frequencies, and so much more!

Together, we create a space of heart-opening and connection, supporting each other’s journeys and celebrating growth. Join us as we honor the spirit of cacao and embrace heart healing through this sacred ceremony.

After the ceremony there is time for integration, journaling, sharing potluck snacks, and connecting with participants (tea is provided).

Please bring: Water bottle, Potluck snack to share, Journal/pen (optional)

Investment: $111/person (required on booking, non-refundable, transferable only)

To Register:
1. Reserve your spot https://calendly.com/exploring-embodiment/sacred-hearts-ceremony-fireloch
2. Send EMT to SacredSynergyCollective@gmail.com

This session is non-refundable. If you cannot attend, you may find someone else to take your place. You can reach out to us to see if we have a waitlist for the event.

Growing Wild: Forest School Summer Camp

by Antigonish County Forest School Society

Location:
FireLoch – Gathering Place & Retreat, 1442 Hwy 7 North Lochaber, Antigonish County

Dates: July 20-24th (ages 5-7)

Time:
9:00 am – 4:00 pm

Capacity:
12 participants per session

Fee:
$299 per participant

This program is rooted in forest school and nature-based learning approaches, offering a slower-paced, child-centered experience in a natural setting. Instead of a highly structured schedule, children are encouraged to follow their curiosity, engage in meaningful outdoor play, and build relationships with each other and the environment. With a low facilitator-to-child ratio and a focus on well-being, the program creates a safe and supportive space for children to explore, take appropriate risks, and develop independence.

About the Program:
Growing Wild is rooted in Forest School and nature-based learning approaches that support child-led exploration, play, curiosity, confidence, and connection with the natural world. Inspired by outdoor education and experiential learning practices, the program values relationship-building, supported risk-taking, creativity, and time spent immersed in nature.

Children will spend the majority of the day outdoors, guided by a balance of rhythm, exploration, free play, and hands-on experiences. Rather than following a rigid schedule, facilitators adapt activities according to weather, seasonal changes, group interests, and the needs of the children.

A typical day may include:

• Arrival and gentle transition into the space
• Morning circle with songs, stories, check-ins, or nature observations
• Forest walks, exploration, and child-led outdoor play
• Nature-based games and movement activities
• Hands-on experiences such as loose parts play, shelter building, nature crafts, art, and seasonal activities
• Snack and lunch in community
  Quiet moments for rest, hammocks, reading, journaling, or observation
• Closing circle and reflection before pick-up

The program is led by facilitators with backgrounds in outdoor learning, environmental education, fine arts, child-centered education, and outdoor leadership and hiking safety training. Together, the facilitators bring years of experience working with children in educational, creative, and nature-based settings, with a strong focus on safety, well-being, curiosity, and meaningful connection with nature.

If you have any questions about the program or if your child requires additional support, please reach out before registering. Contact us at info@fireloch.com

“Coming from a background of Outdoor Education I believe the OCC’s Field Leader Training Course is the missing link in outdoor certification. Finally there is something that hits on the importance of interpersonal skills when facilitating.

I think this training is essential for anyone leading groups in the outdoors who wishes to foster positive and lasting impacts for their participants.”

— Adrienne, Manager of Student Leadership Programs

About this Program

Our courses provide the foundations for learning judgment and decision making and enabling the leadership of safe and enjoyable experiences outside. Taking our courses will give you the ability to,

• Bring a group to an outdoor environment.
• Provide a meaningful experience for your group, whether the purpose is educational, pleasure, health, well-being, and/or connecting with nature.
• Design a safe experience within the limits of your ability.
• Identify the limit of your abilities and adjust accordingly.
• Feel reassured knowing you are using industry-accepted practices providing proper care to participants and ensuring due diligence.

Field Leader courses focus on the leadership skills and attributes required to take a group outdoors and provide an effective framework for managing risks.

Courses include instruction and practice on planning and preparing an outdoor trip within an organizational structure. Our courses apply for outdoor clubs, camps, outfitters, schools, community programs, outdoor centres, or any other context where outdoor activities are part of programming.

Courses are designed to prepare Field Leaders to lead others in low-risk terrain.

Our leadership courses are complementary to other outdoor courses such as technical skills and first aid. With sufficient experience and training, Field Leaders can lead others in higher-risk terrain and remain within their Scope of Practice without needing more advanced training with the OCC.

What You Will Learn

The Field Leader program is designed to educate outdoor leaders on ensuring physical and emotional safety for their participants, managing logistics, solving problems, and providing meaningful experiences outside.

Field Leader courses provide the following foundational aspects of outdoor leadership; mindful leadership, participant-centered experiences, intentional programming, systematic planning, team building, effective communication, and learning through reflection.

These concepts are delivered to students through the OCC’s event cycle:

• Motivation: Students explore their personal motivations for becoming an outdoor leader. This reflective examination introduces the lifelong process of observing how our leadership style influences the outcome of the programs we lead and how we can adapt our style for best results.
• Visioning: The leader establishes specific objectives that are integrated with the needs and abilities of the participants and the characteristics of the location where the outdoor experience will take place.
• Pre-event planning: Students become familiar with the systematic planning processes that include designing an event plan, communicating with relevant individuals or organizations, and hazard identification, and mitigation.
• Last-minute checks: A key step in avoiding bad surprises.
• Group Management: Students learn strategies for maximizing the safety and quality of the experience while being outside.
• Debriefing: The active learning process for participants, leaders, organizations, and stakeholders that supports constant improvement and quality program delivery.

Course Fees: $250/pp

What You Will Get

Completing an OCC course will give you:

• A nationally recognized outdoor leadership certification.
• A one-year membership to the OCC.
• Peace of mind knowing that you are implementing industry-accepted practices.

Growing Wild: Forest School Summer Camp

by Antigonish County Forest School Society

Location:
FireLoch – Gathering Place & Retreat, 1442 Hwy 7 North Lochaber, Antigonish County

Dates: August 17–21, 2026 → (8–11 years)

Time:
9:00 am – 4:00 pm

Capacity:
12 participants per session

Fee:
$299 per participant

This program is rooted in forest school and nature-based learning approaches, offering a slower-paced, child-centered experience in a natural setting. Instead of a highly structured schedule, children are encouraged to follow their curiosity, engage in meaningful outdoor play, and build relationships with each other and the environment. With a low facilitator-to-child ratio and a focus on well-being, the program creates a safe and supportive space for children to explore, take appropriate risks, and develop independence.

About the Program:
Growing Wild is rooted in Forest School and nature-based learning approaches that support child-led exploration, play, curiosity, confidence, and connection with the natural world. Inspired by outdoor education and experiential learning practices, the program values relationship-building, supported risk-taking, creativity, and time spent immersed in nature.

Children will spend the majority of the day outdoors, guided by a balance of rhythm, exploration, free play, and hands-on experiences. Rather than following a rigid schedule, facilitators adapt activities according to weather, seasonal changes, group interests, and the needs of the children.

A typical day may include:

• Arrival and gentle transition into the space
• Morning circle with songs, stories, check-ins, or nature observations
• Forest walks, exploration, and child-led outdoor play
• Nature-based games and movement activities
• Hands-on experiences such as loose parts play, shelter building, nature crafts, art, and seasonal activities
• Snack and lunch in community
  Quiet moments for rest, hammocks, reading, journaling, or observation
• Closing circle and reflection before pick-up

The program is led by facilitators with backgrounds in outdoor learning, environmental education, fine arts, child-centered education, and outdoor leadership and hiking safety training. Together, the facilitators bring years of experience working with children in educational, creative, and nature-based settings, with a strong focus on safety, well-being, curiosity, and meaningful connection with nature.

If you have any questions about the program or if your child requires additional support, please reach out before registering. Contact us at info@fireloch.com

Join us for a Practice Camp!

Where is your hosting practice a little shaky? Let’s practice hosting the kinds of events that build the world we want to live in, together!

As facilitators, we are often the ones holding space for others yet we rarely have opportunities to practice, experiment, receive feedback, and learn alongside peers in a supportive environment before we are live in front of our community, when it really matters.

Our Practice Camp is a two-day gathering for facilitators, hosts, educators, community leaders, and changemakers who seeking a collaborative practice space, designed for people who learn best by doing! Bring your REAL upcoming work and community projects – we will be in the exploration together in very practical ways so that you can leave with deepened experience and readiness.

Also, we will explore questions relating to hosting ourselves AND questions about hosting others. Engaging with the Flow Game, we are all invited to bring a question that matters to you. The game and your fellow players will help open up new perspectives. Ideas to get your creative energy flowing:

• How do I get more comfortable in my facilitation practice?
• How do I stay grounded when emergence, tension, or complexity arise?
• What does it mean to host with courage, clarity, and care in these times?

Throughout the gathering we will engage with live practice, peer coaching, reflection, and peer feedback from other experienced practitioners, participants will have opportunities to strengthen their confidence and deepen their craft.

What We’ll Practice Together

Participants are encouraged to bring real facilitation questions, challenges, or upcoming event designs to work with during the camp.Together we will engage with a variety of  methods and facilitation approaches, actively experimenting with facilitating in small groups including:

• Flow Game
• Circle Practice
• World Café
• Open Space Technology
• Harvesting and sense-making
• Designing meaningful conversations
• Hosting emergence and complexity
• Giving and receiving constructive feedback

What You Can Expect

• A safe and encouraging practice environment
• Real-time facilitation practice and peer feedback
• Time for reflection, conversation, and connection
• Informal evening gatherings and campfire conversations – the good stuff!
• Opportunities to build relationships with facilitators from across Atlantic Canada

This gathering is also intended to seed an ongoing Atlantic Hosts Community of Practice which could become a regional network committed to continuing to learn and host together over time.

Accommodation Options

Participants may choose from:

• BYO: Camping or trailer accommodations onsite at FireLoch
• Reserved rooms at the MicroTel in Antigonish. 12 minutes from our facility and shuttles available.

Accommodation costs are separate from registration. Additional booking details will be provided upon registration.

Registration:

Investment: $250 per person includes food and facilitation and materials – subsidized by generous community supporters!!

REGISTRATION IS COMPLETE ONLY AFTER FILLING IN THE REGISTRATION FORM: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfHYkMk1h4RRgp64YzJqnYOgJ4DcXpSpn4Ed9OxMJBIL-hDzA/viewform?usp=header

Space will be intentionally limited to maintain an intimate and supportive learning environment.

Location: The gathering will take place at FireLoch in Northern Nova Scotia — a rural retreat setting designed for rest, reflection, connection, and community.

Come practice.

Come experiment.

Come learn alongside others who are committed to hosting meaningful conversations and building communities of care.