Between the Trees for Children & Youth

1:1 and small-group mentorship for children aged 6–18

Can you relate to this?

Your child is underestimated. They do great when they’re around people who get them (which, actually, isn’t that hard). But… these people seem few and far between. Your kid tries so, so hard… every day… but their effort goes unseen, unheard and un-believed. You love them, and so you blame yourself at times (we all do). STOP… give your head a shake. Your kid is awesome. Your kid is normal. Even if they have three legs or x-ray vision or both. What isn’t normal… is this crazy world we live in. Your kid is a shining light, and the most important thing in the world is to help them shine bright.

Overview

Between the Trees (BTT) is an out-of-school mentorship program for children aged 6–18 that focuses on mentor-to-learner connection, autonomy, safety, and trust. Between the Trees (and Fireside Adventures) is owned and managed by Creative Toolbox. Our services:

Help learners join group settings, starting from 1:1 and moving toward small-group 1:6 settings with similar-aged peers. How? Scroll down to the section called “OK, but what do you actually do?“;
Occur in local communities and the outdoors (eg. familiar local parks) as well as a wide variety of community and outdoor environments (eg. community centres, forests);
Are experiential & hands-on, focused on communication, confidence, physical & food literacy, personal/emotional safety, inclusivity, and self-efficacy;
Designed to support all children, including those with neurodiverse designations, identified learning and/or behavioural challenges, and/or complex emotions;
Take into account times of transition (eg. middle school to high school; high school to adulthood) and life opportunities (eg. employment, recreation, social networks)

On life & social skills

Yep! We do focus on what we call “life & social skills”. We do focus on achieving goals, but we ALWAYS require the parent, BTT team, and learner to be aligned before moving forward.

WAIT… you might prefer a different framing. That’s great, and we would be happy to work with you to find common ground if you’re willing to reach out and chat.

Compassion: you can’t fake that!

We hire neurodivergent mentors, too. We consult with neurodivergent parent advisors, too. We are inclusive of neurotypical practitioners, too. Our mentors are outdoor educators, guides, and youth workers – ALL with deep experience supporting neurodivergent young people in outdoor environments.

BTT is a community-based team of experts

Our staff and associated service providers hold a variety of relevant certifications, including, but not limited to:

– M.A., in Special Education (Concentration in Autism and Developmental Disabilities)
– Behaviour Analyst (Board Certified)
– BC teaching certificate & M.Ed
– Early Childhood Educator (ECE)
– Child and Youth Worker (CYW)

WHERE

We will come to an outdoor space near you: services are available in Vancouver, Surrey, Richmond, Delta, and Burnaby.

WHEN
We prioritize flexibility and choice for you: including before or after school, 12 months per year, seven days per week.

STRUCTURE & FEES
Please read the service guide below.

BTT Service Guide

Between the Trees (and Fireside Adventures) is owned and managed by Creative Toolbox.

OK, but what do you actually do?

Here is the basic rundown of what BTT actually looks like. Please refer to our Service Guide for more info.

1. Initial consultation meeting. We’ll talk about: Your child, their interests and needs, your goals as a family, program fit, funding options and next steps. No pressure. No obligation.Just a real conversation. Book it now!

2. Let’s meet in person: time for us to meet (parent, child and either the Director, Coordinator or the lead mentor that we believe will fit you best). Super super important… before there is a signed contract, we need to all be confident that the learner clicks with the mentor, and that we are all aligned.

3. Agree on first contract: We will commit to a block of (typically) 25 hours, which we will divide up into a number of sessions as agreed upon by the family and BTT. Before we start, the activities, goals and schedule for this contract are agreed upon in advance. The service guide outlines the parameters, but please keep in mind… we are a small team, and we are highly flexible. We do custom arrangements, too.

5. Delivery of first contract (including oversight and supervision): We provide written plans and reports for each session, as well as instant communication between the parent and the entire BTT team via WhatsApp. Each step of the way, our mentors are supervised by our Coordinator and Director, who are guided by our parent advisors. This team includes certifications ranging from CYW, clinical counsellor (MC), inclusive arts education (MA), certified teacher (B.Ed), certified BCRPA paddling instructors, and wilderness first responders.

6. Mid-contract strategic meeting(s): your BTT team will meet with you to review, re-assess if needed, and plan for the next contract.

7. Beyond: We will continue with BTT contracts, breaking things up so we are constantly stopping and re-assessing. If group participation is desired, this will eventually “graduate” from BTT contracts to integration into and/or full enrolment in one of our many recommended programs, or something of your own preference. BTT was created as a response to the requests of parents who sought to have their kids join our group programs; it is never our intention to keep a learner indefinitely in BTT, nor is it our intention to rush them through.