Guiding Vision: 

The Langley Environmental Awareness Program seeks to nurture practices of learning and teaching to include a significant portion of the school year spent in meaningful, outdoor place based settings throughout Langley. Learning is cultivated in local places close to the program schools and in other parts of Langley. Experiences in natural settings are made so that diversity, complexity, stewardship and sustainability become part of the students’ understanding of their place and world. Educators use the current curriculum and the CARE document to organize and conceptualize environmental learning.

CARE includes:

COMPLEXITY: considering the complexity and inter-relatedness of natural and human-created systems, and how humans interact with and affect those systems

AESTHETICS: developing an aesthetic appreciation for the natural world that encourages students to learn about and protect the environment

RESPONSIBILITY: providing opportunities for students to take responsible action and explore the environmental impact of their decisions and actions

ETHICS: providing opportunities to practice an environmental ethic based on an examination of values that can give rise to new visions, possibilities and actions.

The Langley Environmental Awareness Program opened its doors at Fort Langley Elementary in September of 2017. Mrs. Marlee St. Pierre (kindergarten) and Ms. Ashley Harder (grade 1) were hired as the teachers of the two classes, and their passion for outdoor learning has ensured a strong start for the program. As of September 2023, LEAP has transition into an Academy with classes from Kindergarten to Grade 6.

The goal is to be learning outdoors 60 percent of the time: Mondays and Tuesdays are for learning outdoors, with Fridays designated for Community Walks. Wednesdays and Thursdays are for learning in classrooms at Fort Langley Elementary. An Education Assistant is dedicated to the program, providing extra support to teachers and assisting in ensuring student safety in outdoor environments.

Please note that LEAP Kindergarten registration for the 2027-28 school year happens very early as it takes place in October of 2026 through a lottery process (Choice Program Registration). Completing the Expression of Interest form is not part of the registration process. 

Click here for more information about the program.

Follow our adventures on Instagram: @leapsd35