DATES:
July 03 –Jul 23, 2027 (21-day)
Jul 24–Aug 13, 2027 (21-day)

AGES
13–18 (co-ed)

LOCATIONS
BC Locations: Vancouver • Sechelt
Yukon Locations: Whitehorse • Carmacks • Yukon/Teslin Rivers

STANDARD PRICES
8 to 12 participants per group
21-day: $5,599 + GST (CAD)
Earlybird offering: Save $400 if you book before November 15, 2026.

Non-refundable deposit: $1,000 CAD + GST

Canada is more than hockey and maple syrup. What defines Canada are its stunning, sweeping landscapes and the dynamic character of the people who call it home. Join World Bound: Wild Roots Canada and embark on a multi-week journey across Canada’s most iconic and untouched wilderness. From the lush, endless rainforests of British Columbia to the expansive, untamed valleys and tundras of the Yukon, this is a life-shaping experience.

We are excited to offer a unique outdoor 21 day youth leadership course, taking teens to some of our favourite places in British Columbia and Yukon.  This is our invitation to Canadian and international youth to sign up for training in backcountry expeditions, urban exploration, paddling rivers and oceans, leadership training, specifically designed climate change, cultural education, outdoor skills, and hiking.

We begin this adventure surrounded by the glass towers of Vancouver (one overnight/2 full days) before heading to the famous Sunshine Coast, where we’ll build our canoe and outdoor skills while exploring the coastal temperate rainforests. The Sunshine Coast is Fireside’s home base location as it offers incredible paddling, hiking, foraging, and camping.

Then, we head north to Whitehorse as we begin an epic canoe trip down a part of the Yukon River. The river will bring us into contact with the ruins of the Gold Rush, sweep us through landscapes that feel larger than life, allow us to encounter iconic Canadian wildlife, and - most importantly - give us the opportunity to connect with and honour the knowledge and traditions of the local people and their home that we travel through.

• Follow the wake of history during a back-country canoe journey down the Yukon and Teslin Rivers that have carried Indigenous nations and gold prospectors on their water

• Canoe through bioluminescent water in the Sechelt Inlet

• Safely encounter wildlife you’ve only seen on TV, like orca whales, moose, seals, bears, and so much more

• Become more competent in the outdoors by learning critical outdoor skills like camp set-up, outdoor cooking, plant and animal identification, and Leave-No-Trace principles

• Experience endless day and find out why the Yukon is called ‘the Land of the Midnight Sun’

• See first-hand the effects of climate change, including rising sea levels, river erosion, and the ‘drunken forests’ that mark melting permafrost

• Immerse yourselves in Canadian arts and culture through the stories, songs, and artwork of the Yukoners and British Columbians

• We are working towards adopting UN Sustainable Development Goals in everything we do and experience.

Challenge. Strive. Learn.

Fireside programs are built around experience, challenge, service and reflection... helping young people expand their comfort zones, discover what they are capable of and carry that learning back into their schools, relationships and communities. Inspired in part by educator Kurt Hahn, we intentionally create opportunities for curiosity, initiative, physical engagement, self-discipline, compassion and meaningful responsibility... qualities young people need opportunities to practise, not simply be told about.

Our youth and young-adult programs are phone- and technology-free. For some, that feels like a digital detox; for others, it is a chance to reclaim a piece of childhood and adolescence... to be fully present, build real friendships and experience adventure without a screen between themselves and the moment. This practice comes from more than 20 years of working with young people and hearing, again and again, how valuable it is to have a place where everyone disconnects together.

Wherever we travel, we are grateful visitors... our hosts are “the spectrum of experts”. We strive to work alongside local and Indigenous guides, knowledge keepers, storytellers, educators, families and service providers, recognizing that knowledge comes from many people and that those who live within a place carry perspectives, histories and relationships to the land and community that are not ours to speak for.

We welcome participants from different social and economic backgrounds, cultures, identities, beliefs and perspectives. We ask everyone to arrive with curiosity, respect and a willingness to listen, question assumptions and consider another point of view... because just because we say it, think it or have heard it before doesn’t necessarily make it right.

Our leaders don't tell participants what to think. Our responsibility is to connect experience with learning, provide credible context, ask good questions and create space for thoughtful conversation, disagreement and reflection. Across our programs, climate change, conservation, culture and our changing relationship with the natural world are explored at a depth appropriate to each journey.

Ultimately, Challenge. Strive. Learn. is about creating value-based experiences that matter beyond the trip... helping participants expand their comfort zones, better understand themselves and others, and return home with greater confidence, perspective and responsibility for the communities they are part of.