Our Mission…
Is to provide the tools necessary for our participants to move through the world as resilient, interconnected, and thoughtful members of their communities.
The black spruce can be a rather unsuspecting thing.
It is rarely viewed as mighty or majestic like the oak and maple are.
And at first - it may seem weak or insignificant.
In truth though, it stands as a shining emblem of resilience.
And this, may be what we need now more then ever.
We must work to show one another and our future generations the lessons that these Northern teachers hold.
We must foster the ability to thrive on little, rather than consuming everything we can;
the knowledge that we are strong when we support one another;
and the wisdom to live in accordance with the Earth.
We must honour the black spruce and these lessons - because without them, we are nothing.
The Three Pillars
Collaborative.
We believe that we can only reach our full potential by working within a vibrant ecosystems of relationships.
Black Spruce Education is dedicated to dismantling systems of oppression by ensuring that the development of our organization is done in concert with people who have historically and continue to be marginalized. We will ensure their voices are not only heard, but centered as the building blocks of how we operate. As well, we believe that it is critical to work with a broad spectrum of partner organizations to help ensure our path is not driven by our ideas alone.
Creative.
We aim to prepare present and future generations to be strong leaders and community members through innovative alternative education.
Black Spruce Education is committed to supporting the development of critical thought in order to find and develop alternative paths for society to take that begin to work against the generations of social and environmental injustices that exist in our world.
Regenerative.
We affirm that to exist as an organization in a way that is just, we must give back an equal or greater amount of energy to the systems we access in order to operate.
Black Spruce Education is devoted to supporting the systems that allow us to exist. This means, we aim to operate in ways that do not simply avoid harm to the environment or the communities we work with, but actively give back to ensure their continued health.