YOUR FACILITATORS
Get to know the humans
About Tina
I grew up with an eclectic spiritual upbringing - a Dutch, Presbyterian mother who introduced her daughters to liberal Christian teachings and a church community, and a German father who declared himself devoutly agnostic and wanted to teach his daughters about everything from weather patterns and cloud formations to the history of the railroads and more. I also grew up spending time every summer with our dear family friends from Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, running with the other children through forests, making games out of whatever we could find. Throw in a wild love of horses - in a family who knew nothing about them, and despite their fear of them somehow managed to nurture this love from the time I was a toddler - and maybe you get a sense of varied threads woven into my life.
I was most at home in nature, with my hands dirty, and also loved reading, school and thinking big thoughts. I rarely felt like I fit in anywhere and still managed to have good friends. I tried to follow a “successful” career path (the hope of my immigrant parents) but had this regular, every five years-or-so habit of veering off the path to try something creatively odd.
​
I sort of fell into the field of consulting and instructional design but in hindsight it fits perfect with my insatiable appetite to discover and explore new ideas and ways of seeing. I’ve built programs for hundreds and hundreds of corporations, nonprofits and solopreneurs - millions of people around the world have taken the programs I’ve created.
​
In around the early 2000’s, as I tried to make sense of why certain themes were so consistent in a our culture, I began to become aware that there was something bigger than individual beliefs and stories - a sort of invisible water we swim in. I've been immersed in the study of consciousness and culture for more than 20 years, having studied at the graduate level with pioneers in the field.
​
I’ve studied and practised mindfulness meditation since the mid 90’s with a host of profoundly beautiful teachers including the Dalai Lama. However, the roots of my spirituality continue to find their home deep in the soil, with the trees and wild and domestic animals.​
My deepest teaching and explorations have come from horses and in specific since 2015, living with and tending to The Courage Herd - a journey that started with a radical promise to them: to learn and honour their choices as much as possible in a domestic setting. What started as simple things, like giving them the choice to be groomed and if so, which brush they preferred, has taken me down a seemingly endless hole of unearthing colonialist patterns I had no idea were living through me.
​​
Every day is a revelation, a heart-break, and celebration of what may yet be possible for us all. Wild Learning is, in one sense, an invitation to join me on this exploration, and also an offering born from a deep desire to do something to cocreate a culture worthy of life.
more on Tina's
certifications & training
Bachelor of Commerce, Honours
1988, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON
Shambala Training: The Art of Being Human, The Birth of the Warrior
1994/95, Karmê Chöling, VT, USA
The Five Tibetans, Transformative Mindfulness
2004, Centre for Compassion and Wisdom, ON, CA
Master of Arts, Conscious Evolution
2006, The Graduate Institute, CT, USA
Authentic Thinking for Creative Expression
2008, Yasuhiko Kimura, Buddhist Scholar, NY, NY, USA
​
Facilitated Equine Experiential Learning (FEEL)
2015, Horse Spirit Connections, ON, CA
Orphan Wisdom School (2 year immersive)
2018, Stephen Jenkinson, ON, CA
Certified Executive Coach
2018, Coaches Federation, ON, CA
Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness, Advanced Certificate
2021, David Trealeven, Ph.D.
Advanced Certificate in Ecotherapy
2022, Pacifica Graduate Institute (with Linda Buzzell and Mary-Jane Rust)
Nature-based Expressive Arts Certificate
2022, Trauma-informed Practices Institute
Polyvagal Expressive Arts Certificate
2024, Trauma-informed Practices Institute
As well as dozens of other courses with David Abram, Bayo Akomolafe, Vanessa Andreotti, Animus Valley Institute, Elizabeth Debold, Charles Eisenstein, Tiokasin Ghosthorse, Thomas Hubl, Joanna Macy, Dr. Gabor Maté, Elsa Sinclair, The Work That Reconnects, Gavin Van Horn, Andreas Weber, Tyson Yunkaporta, and more. Incredible human teachers calling for patterns to be broken and the creation of something more.
About Lia
I’ve always loved a good story. I’ve been an avid reader my whole life, and as the granddaughter of a storyteller, I grew up appreciating the power of a story - bringing people together, a new perspective, and thoughtful discussions. As a child, I’d consume books ferociously, and Indigo was my favorite store. I would identify with heroines going on great adventures, becoming warriors, in fantastical worlds with magic all around them. In reality, I was a dorky horse girl with a disability, and practical to a fault.
This practicality served me well - I went to university, studying the imagination and cognitive science to fully understand how the human brain worked. I did research at the Science of Imagination Lab and was featured many times on the Canadian science show, Quirks and Quarks. After graduating, I found myself in my mid twenties, working in tech, highly successful and miserable, escaping to my imagination - when my own brain wasn’t hurting - during evenings and weekends.
I would tell stories where I could - through food, mainly. Inspired by the characters in the books, the places I’d explored, and the history of my family I could create a canvas for myself to tell stories in a way that was practical, and brought people together. I’d imagine myself making bread, unique dips, or yummy treats.
​
I began to envision a rustic tale where the lush, untamed beauty of nature intertwines seamlessly with the vibrant flavors and traditions of food. As the story unfolds, I as the protagonist find solace and inspiration in the serene land, drawing parallels between the cycle of growth and the richness of culinary heritage. Every dish becomes a canvas, infused with the essence of sun-kissed tomatoes, fragrant basil, and the earthy depth of freshly harvested roots from my garden.
The connection between storytelling, nature, and food emerges as a celebration of life's simplest pleasures—gatherings under starlit skies, the crackling of a fire, and the shared joy of savoring meals that nourish both body and soul.​​
So that is what I do now - I tell the stories of this beautiful place through my focaccia bread and preserves, deep relationship with the herd and the forest and I work to spark the imagination of others through the sharing of lovingly crafted food.
more on Lia's
credentials
Bachelors of Cognitive Science with a specialty in Computation, Carleton University, 2014 - 2019
​
Research Assistant in the Science of Imagination Laboratory, Carleton University, 2015 - 2019
​
Regular Cognitive Science Contributor to the CBC Radio show Quirks & Quarks, 2017 - 2020
​
Learning and Enablement Professional in the Fintech, Market Research, Procurement Tech Industries, 2016 - 2024
​
Flying Moon Farm head maker & baker 2023 to present