About Our School
A community-grown vision for outdoor education in the Township of Tay
How Nature Nurtures Tay Took Root
Our passionate educator Ashley Lord and the Naccarato Family, who specialize in business leadership and community connections, decided to collaborate and further establish a shared vision for Nature Nurtures Tay Forest School. They have a passion and vision that mutually grew from a single belief: that children thrive when they spend meaningful time outdoors. We share an understanding that in a vastly changing world, our children deserve to have an education that promotes their well-being as much as their academics. We accomplish this by removing unnecessary stressors, providing an environment that moves at their pace, emphasizing the importance of fresh air and daily movement, and SO much more. Together we have formed a community-based non-profit, dedicated to bringing quality nature-focused education to this beautiful corner of Ontario.
Our school is set on land in Port McNicoll, surrounded by forests, fields, and waterways that become our living classroom. Every day, children have the opportunity to explore the elements, grow, ebb, and flow with the rhythms of the seasons, graciously guided by educators who believe in the power of nature to inspire deep, lasting learning.
Our desire is to continue building upon this vision as a community. As much as it is our vision, Nature Nurtures is ultimately curated for the children, and their needs are at the forefront of our design!
Our Educational Model
We weave together multiple models and approaches to create rich, meaningful, and unique learning experiences.
Nature-Based & Outdoor
The natural world is our primary classroom. Rain or shine, children learn through direct experience with the land.
Inquiry & Play-Based
Children's questions and curiosity drive learning. Play is valued as the most natural form of exploration and meaning-making.
Land-Based & Experiential
Hands-on activities, practical life skills, and land stewardship are woven throughout every day.
Community-Centred
Families, educators, and neighbours collaborate to build a school that reflects shared values and local roots.
Seasonal & Cyclical
Learning follows the rhythms of the natural year — from planting to harvest, from frost to thaw.
Place-Based
Our curriculum is rooted in the specific geography, ecology, and history of this place on Georgian Bay.
A Holistic Approach
Intellectual and Cognitive
Fostering problem-solving, critical thinking, and curiosity.
Emotional and Psychological
Building self-awareness, emotional intelligence, resilience, and stress management.
Social and Ethical
Encouraging empathy, teamwork, and building strong relationships.
Physical and Creative
Combining physical health, movement, and individual artistic expression.
Personal Identity
Nurturing every individual’s sense of purpose, moral values, and personal meaning.
Intellectual and Cognitive
Fostering problem-solving, critical thinking, and curiosity.
Emotional and Psychological
Building self-awareness, emotional intelligence, resilience, and stress management.
Social and Ethical
Encouraging empathy, teamwork, and building strong relationships.
Physical and Creative
Combining physical health, movement, and individual artistic expression.
Personal Identity
Nurturing every individual’s sense of purpose, moral values, and personal meaning.
Why Our Approach Works
Children learn best outdoors, in mixed-age groups, when learning feels meaningful and connected to real life. Here is some of the thinking behind our approach.
Benefits of Outdoor Learning
- Enhances social skills through collaboration, teamwork, and conflict resolution
- Boosts creativity and imagination with unstructured exploration time
- Improves memory retention by connecting learning to real-life situations
- Supports physical and mental health — time in nature lowers anxiety and improves mood, attention, sleep, and emotional regulation (“forest bathing” / shinrin-yoku)
- Connects children to nature and encourages mindfulness as a daily practice
- Adds healthy risk and adventure that builds confidence, resilience, and adaptability
- Makes hands-on STEAM learning genuinely engaging
Benefits of Mixed-Age Learning
- Children interact with different ages and abilities
- Children learn new skills from one another
- Older children develop leadership and mentoring skills
- Boosts confidence and self-esteem
- Children learn from each other’s strengths and collaborate to solve problems
- Allows children to progress at their own pace
- Reduces academic competition and the pressures attached to it
- Mimics real-life social structures
- Younger children often find peer learning less intimidating
- Develops perspective-taking skills
Where we started
A Living Classroom in Port McNicoll
Our school sits on beautiful land in Port McNicoll, in the Township of Tay. Surrounded by mixed forest, open fields, and a quick drive to the shores of Georgian Bay, this land offers an extraordinary setting for outdoor learning.
Children explore wooded trails, observe seasonal changes in the forest canopy, investigate creek beds, and learn to care for the land that sustains them. This place is not just where we learn — it is part of what we learn.
Our Team
The people behind Nature Nurtures Tay Forest School.
Frank and Royanne Naccarato
President & CFO (Frank) · Accounting (Royanne)
Board Members
Although not involved in the daily tasks, both Frank and Royanne are passionate about child development and education. As past foster parents and current full-time parents to 4 children, they strive to create a haven for children from all walks of life.
Ashley Lord
Director of Education & Programs
Board Member
Meet Ashley, a passionate and deeply reflective mama, educator, and child advocate; a lover of the dirt, trees, critters, and sees beauty in all living things. Ashley strives to create a connected world through reshaping the perspective of education. Dancing and the arts have been a consistent outlet in her life, motivating her intuition.
Ashley has 9 years experience working a variety of positions, from PreK-grade 8, and 2 years invested in homeschooling. Her 10 years of educational qualifications include:
- Ontario Certified Teacher
- Bachelor of Education - graduating with honours.
- Undergrad Diploma - majoring in English
- 2 years French Conversational Program
- General Arts and Science Certificate
- Additional Qualifications in Special Education and Health and Physical Education
- CPR trained since 2018
Ashley loves to learn, collaborate ideas, and connect with those who are also seeking different opportunities for themselves and their children!
Alessandra Naccarato
Director of Accessibility, Inclusion & Community Engagement
Founding Member
Ms. Ally is an animal lover, innovative educator and advocate.
Growing up, Ms. Ally faced undiagnosed learning difficulties and health issues; because of this, education was not always easy. However, she graduated from George Brown College with Honours in the American Sign Language Deaf Studies Program and then went on to graduate from NSCC (American Sign Language English Interpreter).
Now, as an educator and ASL/Deaf student support, she is passionate about making education engaging and accessible to everyone.
“I believe that everyone should be able to achieve educational goals. Each person’s path will look different and that is okay! If we were all the same, the world would be so boring.”
Ms. Ally frequently looks for, or creates, new resources, innovations and ways to help students learn, in a way that works for them.
As a lifelong learner, she is currently working with Deaf students while pursuing further degrees.