Kwey! Bonjour!
Warm Greetings to You!
Hillside House is a tiny Outdoor Learning Centre with a big vision!
Our Purpose
Hillside House was established to allow the land and seasons on this acreage
to inspire children and their families to make connections and build
community through outdoor play.
Our Vision
Hillside House will offer young children and their families inclusive
programs which support child-led and inquiry driven, facilitator
supported learning and where each person can contribute, belong, and make
connections through regular access to natural spaces and outdoor play.
Land Acknowledgement
Nestled on a little hillside outside of town, we acknowledge that the area where we live is the unceded traditional territory of the Algonquin-Anishinaabe, as is the rest of the Ottawa Valley.
Indigenous People have come before us and are still here in the Ottawa Valley. As the first caretakers of this land, their ways of living and being on the land inspire and inform the way that we choose to engage with the natural world and with each other.
We are grateful for the privilege to explore this land, to care for it, to appreciate its natural resources, to learn from its history and to call this place home.
We are hopeful that the Algonquins of Ontario land claim will be successfully negotiated so that it can become Ontario’s first modern day constitutionally protected treaty. Hillside supports the TRC Calls to Action. We invite you to be part of the important work of reconciliation as we listen, learn, care, and grow community together outdoors.
Environmental Sustainability
Activities at Hillside are held in the same natural space over weeks and seasons allowing participants to become familiar with and knowledgeable about the area.
This deep connection to the natural world nurtures children's desire to care for the land.
The fields and forests that we access do not belong to us and are used by others for farming, trapping, logging, and hunting in appropriate seasons. Consideration and planning allow us to find a balance whereby we promote children's connection to nature while also fostering an ethic of care and sustainability.
We minimize our ecological impact by rotating our sites for play, staying on trails where they exist, and keeping activities with the highest impact in our main areas.
As often as possible, we choose natural materials, renewable resources, reusable items or recyclable materials. Many of the structures around the yard were planned and built with locally sourced, repurposed, or recycled materials. Loose Parts Play supports
sustainable practice & environmental stewardship.
Our journey to sustainability and earth friendly
programming is just beginning. We welcome your ideas as we get acquainted with each other and with the land!
Our Policy on Inclusion
Hillside is an inclusive community that welcomes people regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, language, physical ability, or socioeconomic status. We make our programs accessible and relevant to participants with varying skills and abilities, learning styles, and ways of knowing and being.
Hillside hopes to address barriers to participation. We invite you to discuss needs and accommodations with us- we are committed to creating a community that is safe and welcoming. We are so glad that you are here! Your feedback and ideas help us improve.
kindness matters
Contributions from community members help keep our program costs down, thus making it accessible to more people. If cost is a barrier for your family, please contact us to discuss options.