Where place-based learning meets leadership, wellness, and resilience.
In Canadian Rockies Public Schools (CRPS), learning takes place where the forest meets the foothills, and where the trails, lakes, and alpine meadows become the most inspiring classrooms. Through immersive, land-based learning experiences, students connect deeply with curriculum while building confidence, leadership, and a lifelong relationship with the natural world.
From early elementary through to high school, outdoor learning is woven into the fabric of the school experience. Students might explore ecosystems through a pond study at Middle Lake, practice numeracy by measuring natural objects, or study food webs through beaver ecology and campfire cooking. These hands-on examples of learning—rooted in the Alberta curriculum—are supported in large part by the generous contributions of the Wim and Nancy Pauw Foundation, whose partnership enables CRPS to offer rich outdoor programming for Kindergarten to Grade 8 students across the division.
Two flagship high school programs - WILD (Wilderness Inspired Leadership Development) and WimWe (Wim & Nancy Pauw Wilderness Experience) - provide students with transformative opportunities to develop outdoor competence, teamwork, and personal resilience. WILD is a full-semester course that blends backcountry immersion with leadership training, offering students certifications and skill development in navigation, first aid, flatwater canoeing, skiing, and camping. WimWe, offered to every Grade 10 student thanks to the support of the Wim and Nancy Pauw Foundation and Lake Louise Ski Resort, delivers essential outdoor safety training including Avalanche Canada’s AST 1 certification. Students participate in six field-based experiences that build confidence, foster critical thinking, and teach real-world safety in Alberta’s mountain environments.
Together, these programs reflect a powerful commitment: to educate not only minds, but hearts and hands. Whether snowshoeing through the forest, testing boat designs on local lakes, or navigating the backcountry with avalanche beacons in hand, CRPS students learn to lead, care, and thrive - in nature and in life.