ALIVE Outdoors

06/01/2025

We have a high need of instructors the 2nd week of school. We are looking for canoe trippers, and also instructors for programs that are running in camp. Join the ALIVE Instructor team for one week-- or more!! Application at this link: https://www.aliveoutdoors.com/instructors/

05/21/2025

We have been receiving messages from families who are looking for photos from our Spring 2025 programs. We post photos from all our programs at this link. https://www.aliveoutdoors.com/photos/

We have a bunch of programs coming up over the next several weeks, and all photos will be added here! In the meantime, you can check out pics from our March Break Bhutan trip, and the programs that have already happened for Trinity College, St. Michael's College, Hillfield Strathallan College and the Royal St. George's College Vancouver Island trip. Thanks!

Photo albums from our past programs. Sharing photos from programs helps us spread the experience back home so you can share them together.

08/26/2024

As people start to wind down their summer and look ahead to this next school year we wanted to highlight an incredible opportunity.

Six schools that we work with are offering the opportunity to their student community to travel to the Kingdom of Bhutan with us during March Break 2025. If you are a student in high school at Branksome Hall, Toronto, Havergal College, Pickering College, Newmarket Ontario, RSGC - Royal St. George's College, St. Mildred's-Lightbourn School and The York School, and you are interested in embarking on a journey that will stay with you forever, please reach out to the person responsible at your school for Global Learning programs. The deadline to enrol in this once in a lifetime experience is the end of September.

More info here: https://www.aliveoutdoors.com/bhutan/

ALIVE Outdoors - Seek Adventure, New Perspectives & Beauty in the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan

07/17/2024

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9h5D6FAG-t/?igsh=bXczenNhcjdnYjh2

05/08/2024

For 22 years we have had the privilege of working with SMC to deliver their Annual Spring Leadership Training Camp. The students in grade 9-12 from St. Michael's College School apply to be leaders, mentors and role models at the ALIVE/SMC programs next fall and winter. They spend 3 days every May focused on deepening their leadership skills and learning how to be strong, engaging, empathetic and welcoming mentors. One of the themes the grade 12 Sr. Leaders choose for this year's program was continuity, and the importance of not just showing up as a leader when you feel like it, but remembering who you want to be, and how you want to show up in the world every day. Remember what some of your Sr. Leaders said at the final fire about the importance of listening and remembering that many memorable moments are rooted in small, caring gestures like learning someone's name. Thank you to all involved!

We started the day off by getting to know each other through a series of group challenges in Belleview park. Next, our instructor told us to walk. The only instructions were to be conscious of our senses and to “go slow.” I had no destination in mind. The spice store caught my attention while my...

05/08/2024

During the pandemic we ran a few ALIVE Connectivals for Trinity College, but we had never had the pleasure of working with them to deliver a program in person! We are so grateful we had the chance to do that last week. We had a wonderful first program with Grade 7 and 8’s from Trinity College School. Thank you to everyone for bringing positive energy and a willingness to take full advantage of everything the program had to offer – polar bear dips, canoeing, high ropes, cooking, fishing and more!

What a wonderful first program with Grade 7 and 8’s from Trinity College School. Thank you for bringing positive energy and a willingness to take full advantage of everything the program had to offer – polar bear dips, canoeing, high ropes, cooking, fishing and more! Finally, let’s not forget ...

05/07/2024

Thank you to the Hillfield Strathallan College Gr.4 and M9 students, and accompanying teachers for an incredible program a few weeks ago. The students arrived with infectious energy and an open-mindedness to take on every opportunity that the program offered. The main goal of the program was to help deepen connections and friendships between the Gr.4 and M9 students to help set them up for a smooth transition as they will all be heading into Gr.5 together in the coming school year.

Thank you to the HSC Gr.4 and M9 students, and accompanying teachers for an incredible program. These students arrived with infectious energy and an open-mindedness to take on every opportunity that the program offered. The main goal of the program was to help deepen connections and friendships betw...

05/07/2024

Our ALIVE spring programs have been off to a good start. We have been slow to share photos from the last few adventures. The next several posts will give you a glimpse of the last few programs.

Thank you to the grade 11 class RSGC - Royal St. George's College for an amazing trip to Vancouver Island a few weeks ago. It's always such a special trip, and an honour to help you look ahead to the kind of leaders you want to be as you move towards becoming next year's graduating class. As always, we are grateful to our friends at Strathcona Park Lodge & Outdoor Education Centre and the team at Comox Coach & Shuttle Ltd for helping bring this trip to life every spring.

We started the day off by getting to know each other through a series of group challenges in Belleview park. Next, our instructor told us to walk. The only instructions were to be conscious of our senses and to “go slow.” I had no destination in mind. The spice store caught my attention while my...

03/28/2024

As many of you know, I love Bhutan. I love the landscape, the incredible people (some of whom have become dear friends), their traditions, the way they value our planet, their dedication to well-being and their spirituality. I love their approach to tourism. The idea of high value, low volume tourism makes sense to me. As I have gotten older, I am drawn more and more to places that are peaceful. It's hard to find a slow, measured pace in this world.

Over the last 8 years our team at ALIVE has been fortunate to have taken over 100 people to Bhutan. I thought that our 20th Anniversary Women's trip (that was supposed to happen in 2020, but couldn't happen until 2023) would be a one off, but it was so successful that we have decided to offer another adult trip. This one is geared at "grown ups." Friends. Couples. Solo Travelers. Parents and their adult child, etc.

I have no idea who will want to join us, but we wanted to offer this because Bhutan really is a country worthy of sharing. After the pandemic, I have noticed that many people seem to have more of a seize the day mentality. I think we realize more than ever that life is fleeting.

A lot of work has gone into putting together this information that hopefully paints a picture of what this experience is like.

Share please. Thank you!

The allure of Bhutan lies in its tranquil energy, breathtaking scenery, spiritual teachings, humble, sincerely kind people and sustainable tourism practices. It is the perfect setting for an enriching journey.

03/25/2024

As ALIVE approaches its 25th year, we find ourselves in a phase of introspection and receptivity to valuable feedback.

Responding to numerous requests and after careful consideration, we have decided to broaden ALIVE’s offerings to include more international and national experiences. Our goal is to be the people you trust in places you don’t know.

We’re starting slowly, staying small, listening attentively, and embracing the imperfections needed to foster honest relationships in our pursuit to create authentic and intentional experiences.

We are excited to announce that effective August 2024 we have a new full time team member, who will be working with us to design, coordinate, and implement our mission to help schools engage their students in intentional global experiences. To learn more, check out this post. Thank you for all the support that has brought us to this moment.

Introducing ALIVE's new Global Learning initiative.

03/19/2024

We had the privilege of sharing The Kingdom of Bhutan with a group of students from The York School. They have begun their long journey home. It appears from their reflections that they had a fantastic journey filled with many new friendships with students at 𝕌𝕘𝕪𝕖𝕟 𝔸𝕔𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕞𝕪 and an expanded worldview. We invite you to check out some photos and to read a blog post or two when you have time. Thank you to all our friends in Bhutan that made thisi another outstanding experience.

ALIVE Outdoors - Bhutan 2024 Global Learning Trip - The York School

03/15/2024

Our friends MHO Adventures have a couple more spots on their RIVER ROOTS program this spring. Check out their video and visit their website to learn more.

River Roots is a 42-day Guide Training & Leadership Development Program based out of Huntsville, Ontario with a focus on Whitewater Canoeing. At the end of ...