12-20 September 2026
Presenter: Dr. Stephan Natynczuk (Spare Krab Adventure Therapy) Abstract: What does borshch have to teach us about meaningful, helpful, and useful conversations? In this session, I will take a playful look at the ingredients of a good conversation and, using the...
Presenter: Peta Lawler Abstract: Periods can quietly push girls out of outdoor programs—through discomfort, shame, or lack of support. This session explores the real impact of menstruation in the outdoors and what we can do about it. We’ll share practical strategies,...
Young people can often find themselves in the crosshairs of intersecting crises - crises that can be exacerbated by the vulnerabilities of youth and the disregard that can be present for young people’s wellbeing and needs. Not only are young people grappling with...
This public forum brings together a group of scholars and landscape practitioners whose work troubles separations that are often artificially drawn between 'nature' and 'culture'. Looking at a diversity of actors, from estrogens and wild animals to water and plant...
Presenter: Doug Moczynski Abstract: Have you ever paused to consider how the young people you work with perceive you? Through your words, actions, and presence, the example you set shapes what meaning they make from their experience. Are you actively creating...
Presenter: Graham Pringle, PhD (The School of Therapeutic Practice) Abstract: The Conversational Model (Meares) struts onto the therapy stage, ready to fix complex trauma with some serious swagger! We're diving into how complex trauma (ISSTD) messes with your...
Presenters: Will Dobud, PhD (Charles Sturt University) and Nevin Harper, PhD (University of Victoria, Canada) Abstract: Amid rising concerns about a so-called youth mental health crisis, this presentation challenges simplified narratives and explores the deeper...
This presentation explores the use of cognitive or adaptive dissonance and involuntary treatment foin Wilderness and adventure therapy (WT, AT) for youth. Past WT participants have protested that involuntary, inescapable and harsh conditions harmed them through PTSD...
Smart meets silly in The Peer Revue, where cutting-edge research fuels improv comedy. Each show features a different superstar researcher who tells stories from their research, which inspire a cast of talented improvisers to create brand new, unscripted comedy. The...
Since 2010, we’ve experienced a 40% increase in youth mental health diagnoses. In that same decade, prescriptions of psychiatric medications increased by 50%. With suicide becoming the number one cause of death for young people today and half of the population now...