About ubuntuoutdooreducation.ca
My Bio
Hi, I'm Milton Hill a Bermudian and lived there for the first 38 years of my life. In my teens I visited Canada for the first time as an Army Cadet in 1981. I did a few years of reserve military service in Bermuda, which entailed overseas trips. My point is that I enjoyed outdoor activities, even though they were a part of my military experience. I was able to share my love of outdoor activities with my two children & spent time working as a Park Ranger. (One of the most fulfilling jobs I've ever had).
I enrolled in the Outdoor Adventure Education Program at Fleming College (Lindsay) at the age of 52 and have been working in the Outdoor Education industry ever since. Outdoor Education has been the best match of my skills and talents with the outside world. I enjoy sharing nature knowledge & outdoor skills with people.
I enjoy canoe camping and kayaking, making my own clothing, bushcraft, working my dog & winter camping. I especially like seeing how the veil lifts from peoples perception and the sense of peace that emerges in their hearts when they embrace the natural world.
Why Ubuntu Outdoor Education?
Throughout the time I've been an Outdoor Educator, I have observed many things that were concerning to me.
Attempts to seperate Indigenous perspectives, knowledge and genius from Outdoor Education. (In Canada, ALL Outdoor Education is Indigenous Knowledge)
Meeting member's of the BIPOC community who have had to face racism, marginalization: and who are often sent out without any safety information. (I have taught many people on the spot how to paddle more effectively, how to portage a canoe)
Currently; Outdoor Education is taught and practiced in a way that reinforces the narratives of Dominant Culture (and it's foundational lie).
Our Method
Ubuntu Outdoor Education aims to make qualitative changes to how Outdoor Education is done. Outdoor skills remain fundamentally the same. What we are after is a qualitative change. This means in simple terms that rather than asking dominant culture to consider the needs of the global majority (cultural blindness), those of us who are professional outdoor educators teach people like us in a way that is meaningful to us. The false narrative of man against nature, or other forms of colonial reenactment exercises; has had its day. The sacred cows of colonialism are being sacrificed on the altar of time. The intent is to share global Indigenous teachings, particularly those from the global Boreal forest, as they apply to the ecology of Canada.
The philosophical approach includes:
- UKAMA: (The interdependence of all things).
- UBUNTU: (A person is a person, because of other people).
- NON-ViOLENT COMMUNICATION: (Self empathy & conflict resolution).
- SLOYD: (Crafting. Connecting the mind to the hands).
- AKINOMOOSHIN: (Learning by interacting with the Land)