Youth Rites
Japanese Town Park, Cumberland
Monthly Fridays
10am - 4pm
September 11, 2026
October 9
October 30
December 4
February 12, 2027
March 12
April 23
May 21
June 12-13 (overnight)
13-19 years
$849 + GST
8 sessions plus overnight
Payable by etransfer or credit card instalments.
* We accept funding from PIE, SelfDesign, NIDES, Christian Heritage Online and other Distance Learning organizations.
Youth Rites is a co-ed monthly program for teens who want real time on the land — learning, connecting, and stepping into something a little bigger than the school week.
Gathering through the seasons at Japanese Town in Cumberland, and culminating in a spring overnight solo on the land, Youth Rites offers a different kind of space: unhurried, skill-rich, and rooted in a genuine relationship with the natural world and with each other.
This is a program for Teens to come back to. Each year brings new skills, new terrain, and new challenges — and returning youth bring depth, mentorship, and earned belonging to the group. The solo is a highlight every year: a chance to be alone in the wild, to sit with yourself, and to mark where you are right now — not as a final destination, but as a moment worth noticing.
Guided by the core values of Danu Folk School — place, ancestral knowledge, and rooted identity — Youth Rites holds space for the real work of adolescence without rushing it. We don't prescribe what growing up should look like, we offer good ground to do it on.
The program is hands-on and seasonally responsive. Over the course of the year, youth might learn to fall a tree, read a compass, build a survival shelter, or navigate several kilometres of bushland to a rendezvous point — in pairs, without adults figuring it out for them. They might spend a day on friction fire or flint and steel, on knots and bear hangs, on foraging or hide tanning, on axe and saw work, or knife skills. Some days are about precision and technique, and some are about pushing through something hard. All of them involve laughter, camaraderie, and being genuinely useful on the land whilst also being yourself.
Woven through the practical work are council circles, storytelling, solo time in nature, and the kind of peer connection that tends to happen when a group of teens is focused and working toward something together. There's also space for contemplation, reflection, and the deeply personal journey of growing up in a complex world. Our facilitators care deeply about young people, and about the world, and believe in the magic of mentorship that aims to inspire and guide, as well as to teach.
Youth will:
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Develop real bushcraft and wilderness skills across the seasons
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Navigate, problem-solve, and lead in small groups
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Build confidence through challenge and collaboration, not performance
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Practice traditional skills rooted in ancestral and land-based ways
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Participate in council and storytelling that foster honesty and mutual respect
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Prepare for and undertake a supported overnight solo — a threshold experience within the rhythm of the year
Our site at Japanese Town gives us access to the riparian forest of Perseverance Creek, Coal Beach, and the rocky bluffs above Comox Lake. The spring overnight takes place at a wilderness site within 90 minutes of the Comox Valley.
Teens consistently tell us our programs give them something school doesn't: room to breathe, to be seen, and to feel genuinely capable. Youth Rites is designed to be a monthly anchor — something to look forward to, and to grow into over multiple years.
Co-led by Kes and Dani, Youth Rites is a held, honest, and adventurous space for young people who are ready for something real.
"I really enjoy the Teen program. It provides a space where you can get away from everything and just have fun. Kes is an incredible mentor with so much knowledge. The Teen group is welcoming and always ready to go on an adventure. Some activities that are often enjoyed are carving, tracking, hiking, fire building, learning about edible plants, birding, and hide tanning. This learning environment is an awesome way to learn how to be prepared on the land. This preparation leads to a new found knowledge that allows for a deeper appreciation for what is around us."
- Meadow, 16
Program Stewards
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Kes
Dani
"It has been a true gift to have had our three children learning on this land with Kes. Through this learning my children have stepped into a world of bow and arrow building, fire making, navigation, tracking, bird language, plant identification, food and medicines, games and story. Kes provides a learning environment that fosters a deep connection and honouring of the land, of each other and of oneself. Truly his intuition leads to learning that is full of passion, laying a foundation that inevitably leads to deeper personal connection. His curiosities are infectious, fostering and encouraging learning that is meaningful and purposeful. Kes provides the opportunity for learners to feel seen, heard, valued and welcome. One of his special skills as a mentor is to encourage students to have bravery in accepting risk. He skillfully guides learners through personal inquiry to discover what was previously unknown. This unique approach strengthens their learning journey. It is indeed this journey that leads to a car ride home that is full of excited conversation and the words “I can’t wait until next week.”
- Carrie, parent
“Dani has been a wonderful mentor to both of my daughters. She has a kind, caring and nurturing approach to working with youth in an outdoor setting. I would highly recommend any program she is running, or involved with. My girls always come home happy after a day out with Dani learning, crafting and playing games. Overall awesome human.”
- Ally, parent