Tuesday, May 21st, 2024 from 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM in Dead Man's Flats, AB

Eco-Mindfulness Workshop: Identifying Flora, Fauna And Fungi

Explore the interconnected web of life through native flora, fauna and fungi in the Rocky Mountains and learn how to develop your ecological mindfulness awareness through experiential learning practices.

Join The Workshop
Forest Meditation Circle In Stanley Park

Rewild Your Health And Grow Your Ecological Awareness Through Experiential Learning Outdoors

It’s common today to be able to instantly identify 1000s of corporate brands but only a small number of native plants, birds and mushrooms.

The goal of this experiential learning workshop is to change that.

This guided Eco-Mindfulness Workshop will explore the native species of edible and medicinal plants and mushrooms that grow in the biodiversity-rich montane and riparian ecosystems along the Bow River Valley.

We will walk along the Bow River Flats where you’ll learn how to identify all those fascinating plants and mushrooms you’ve been wondering about on your hikes in the Canadian Rockies.

You will develop your pattern recognition skills and learn how to catalog what you discover so you can gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the amazing biodiversity found in the vast mountains, grasslands and river valleys of Western Canada.

Along the way, we’ll do a series of mindful walking session that will provide you with some powerful techniques to expand your awareness and feel a deeper sense of awe and wonder through ecological mindfulness practices.

If you are someone who would love to be more mindful but find you struggle to quiet your mind and do sitting meditation daily then I’m sure you’ll enjoy these mindful walking meditation practices.

Enjoy the added bonus of marvelling in awe at the incredible beauty of the Bow River Flats and surrounding mountains during the golden hour, sunset and twilight.

On this wonderful and spellbinding section of the Bow River, we regularly see beavers, bald eagles, coyotes, deer and a rich diversity of birds.

What You Will Learn During This Experiential Learning Workshop

Flow States And Experiential Learning

1. Flow States And Experiential Learning

Learn how to make learning a fun and playful activity so you can get into immersive states of deep embodiment and flow using the art of gamification and experiential learning practices that develop your pattern recognition skills and ecological awareness.

2. Identifying Native Flora And Wildflowers

Learn how to identify common plants and wildflowers that grow in the Rocky Mountains. Most plants conveniently bloom into eye-catching wildflowers and abundant berries during the times when they are most ripe and high in medicinal alkaloids, tannins and flavonoids that benefit the health of humans and many other species.

Rocky Mountain Paintbrush Wildflower
Owl

3. Identifying Native Fauna

Learn how to identify the species and habitats of common mammals, reptiles, fish, butterflies and birds found in the Rocky Mountains. Learn which species thrive in each of the 4 major ecosystems found at different elevations in Alberta’s vast mountains, forests and grasslands.

4. Identifying Native Fungi

Without fungi, there would be no terrestrial life on Planet Earth since they create fertile soil and recycle dead flora and fauna. You will learn how to identify common mushrooms that you will find growing in the Rocky Mountains and throughout Alberta.

Morel
Calgary Alberta First Nations

5. Indigenous Reconciliation

Learn about the cognitive biases and limitations of the Western secular materialist worldview and the importance of reconciling modern scientific knowledge with the spiritual ecology of local indigenous peoples and their ancient kinship worldview.

6. Cultivating Awe And Wonder

Awe is a state of opening our minds and senses to vastness, spaciousness and mystery. Wonder often arises out of awe and is a mental state of openness, questioning and curiosity. You’ll learn a scientifically-proven mindful awe practice you can practice anywhere to hit the reset button on stress and feel a greater sense of peace and tranquillity in your life.

Wonder

In addition, all participants get a 50% discount on our Rocky Mountain Ecology course.

All participants will get access to 3 apps we recommend for continued lifelong learning. Get our Experiential Field Guide To Rocky Mountain Ecology course if you want to go deeper with 15 experiential outdoor learning challenges.

1. Rocky Mountain Fauna

Get a digital field guide for identifying over 100 species of mammals, reptiles, fish, butterflies and birds commonly found in the Rocky Mountains.

Rocky Mountain Beavers

2. Western Flora And Fungi

Learn to identify over 180 common flora and wildflowers that grow in the 4 different ecosystems found in the Rockies and over 50 mushrooms that grow throughout Alberta and BC.

Shaggy Mane

3. Mindful Birdwatching Guide

Discover the amazing world of bird language and how to meditate effortlessly by listening to spring birdsongs with the practice of mindful birdwatching.

Birds

About The Instructor

Kyle Pearce is a certified instructor in mindfulness, somatic breathwork and flow state psychology.

He has a B.A. in History from the University of Victoria with a specialization in ancient civilizations and the history of the modern world.

He began teaching forest meditation and eco-mindfulness workshops in 2016 in Stanley Park in his home of Vancouver, Canada and since then has led mindful hiking adventures and retreats all over the world.

He has a lifelong fascination with mushrooms and got into foraging for edible and medicinal mushrooms with the Vancouver Mycology Society. He has led over 15 mushroom identification workshops in Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia.

He has run an online education company promoting self-education as a way to learn 21st century digital skills since 2011 and this has given him the freedom to work remotely and travel the world studying animism, meditation and ancient wisdom traditions all over the world.

Mindful Ecotourism grew out of his passion for how experiential learning and group storytelling outdoors can be a catalyst for growing ecological awareness and building grassroots community that can address climate change and biodiversity loss locally.

If you can’t make this workshop, you can find out about upcoming events in the Banff And Canmore Hiking Community on Facebook.

Kyle

What Previous Workshop Participants Have Said

“I signed up for the Mindful Ecology workshop last January 30th, and it was an awesome experience. I always love walking in nature, and due to my busy schedule, I mostly go alone and sometimes with family and friends. Nature brings clarity and wholeness that many of us miss with indoor-oriented lives.

The walking meditation experience was beautiful and powerful, and it helped me realign and reconnect to the natural rhythms of our earth.

Kyle was a fantastic guide, and I appreciated his insights and gentle way of sharing his knowledge with the group.

I highly recommend it and look forward to future walking meditation events.”

F. Sandoval

“My experience at the mindful ecology workshop with Kyle was a great introduction into a vast new world of connections. The workshop was ideal for every level, as Kyle catered to the unique interests of all individuals that day. Kyle has a depth of knowledge that spans beyond pure mushroom ecology which creates a very dynamic experience. We were able to find many different species of mushrooms and identify them with Kyle's expertise. Kyle also provided a dense list of references and review from the session so there was no pressure to take notes and tons of resources to consult after the session! The forest meditation was an awesome experience and one that I have added to my meditation practices and can practice on my own. Kyle did a fantastic job making a connection with everyone and ensuring all questions were answered. He is so knowledgable on so many topics that he is able to add context to the geographic location, the ecology of the forest and even some anthropologic history. All around a fantastic experience that I would recommend to everyone regardless of their level of mushroom knowledge/interest.”

Brittany B.

“I had a really great experience with the edible and medicinal plant/mushroom workshop with Kyle. He was very knowledgeable and shared a lot of information with us. I would definitely be interested in more sessions!”

“I went on one of Kyle's meditation and ecology workshops in a local forest last fall and I was immediately hooked. Kyle not only chose a beautiful place to learn and meet like minded people, but has the education and charisma that left me more curious and has peaked my interest in mushrooms not only as a chef but for their amazing medicinal properties and their pivotal part in food sustainability. Kyle is engaged, entertaining and open minded. I could go on and on about going to this workshop I don't know what I expected but it was a great way to spend a Sunday morning and would recommend participating in anything Kyle has to offer because his passion about mushrooms is magnetic!”

Dana M.

“I loved every minute of the workshop. I found Kyle to be very informative and engaging, especially when it came to your knowledge of history. The workshop further piqued my interest in mycology and I really appreciated how you hung around afterwards to answer questions and share more stories. You can really tell how passionate you are about your work, which made the workshop even more rewarding. I highly recommend it to anyone. 10/10!”

Christina N.

Experiential Learning Workshop Outdoors

Eco-Mindfulness Workshop: Identifying Flora, Fauna And Fungi

Explore the interconnected web of life through native flora, fauna and fungi in the Rocky Mountains and learn how to develop your ecological mindfulness awareness through experiential learning practices.

Tuesday, May 21st, 2024 from 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM in Dead Man's Flats, AB. Get early bird tickets for this workshop until May 17th for only $35 (the regular price is $47).

Join The Workshop

About The Meeting Location

Dead Man’s Flats

We will walk along the Bow River Flats starting near the hamlet of Dead Man’s Flats, a 10-minute drive from the town of Canmore and a 30-minute drive from Banff.

If you’re driving from Calgary , it is a 1-hour drive from the city. Take the Trans-Canada Highway to Dead Man’s Flats – exit 98.

Exact meeting spot will be provided when you register. Need a ride or want to offer a seat in your car? Contact us about carpooling options.

Please arrive at least 5-10 minutes early so we can get started on time.