We began with questions about our own child.
Before these projects had names, we were simply parents asking what kind of childhood we wanted for our son. We wanted to give him the best parts of the childhood we remember: being outside, making things, finding adventures and discovering what we could do for ourselves.
We also wanted to create the experiences we dreamed of having as children. Now we can build, invent and turn some of those ideas into something real, then share them with our son and the children who come here.
We worry that adventure is being squeezed out of childhood. Screens can fill so much of the day, while the fear of every bump or mistake can leave little space for discovery. We want children to try, explore and meet manageable challenges, with thoughtful guidance from the adults around them.
That is the childhood we want to help make possible: one that encourages learning, confidence, curiosity and critical thinking. For us, Beaver Club is home, and we want families to feel they belong here too.
Some of the things we wished for as children are now experiences we can share with our son.
The island trips came first.
Our survival island adventures began before Beaver Club officially existed: our family, some gear and a curiosity about life away from everyday comforts.
Those experiences helped shape the way we thought about learning. Preparing food, cooking over a fire, fishing and exploring the shoreline gave ordinary tasks a purpose. You needed patience, attention and a willingness to help.
As we began taking small groups of children on these trips, the island became one of our favourite classrooms. We could see independence and teamwork taking shape in the things children did for themselves and for each other.
We wanted to make more room for that kind of learning in everyday life.
A few memories from our own family adventures by the coast.
More of the island story →Opening the circle to other families.
In 2022, we created Beaver Club & Forest Camp. Outdoor camps, hikes, sports and practical activities gave us a way to share the experiences we valued with more children.
Working with other families widened our perspective. Each child brought a different personality, level of confidence and way of joining in. It kept us thinking about when to offer help, when to give space and how to make a challenge feel possible.
Over 1,000 children have now joined our camps and workshops. Along the way, parents stayed for coffee, children made friends and families started sharing birthdays, meals and trips.
The families who choose Beaver Club for their children make it possible for us to keep building, creating and bringing those childhood ideas to life. Their trust and support have helped turn our family’s hopes into something we can share.
We started by thinking about the childhood we wanted for our son. We found ourselves building a life to share with other families.
Our homeschooling questions became TruePath.
Choosing to homeschool our son brought a new set of questions. How could we give academic learning proper attention while keeping time for sport, projects, travel, hobbies and family life?
And how could we give him a consistent group of friends to learn and grow with?
We started TruePath in 2025. It grew from those personal questions: a place where children could continue their education with guidance, work alongside other learners and have a day they actually wanted to come to.
It also pushed us to think more deeply about our role as parents. We want to help our son learn how to learn, take responsibility and ask for support when he needs it. We are learning how to give him that balance of guidance and freedom.
The learning community that grew from this →Another lesson in growing together.
Fury Hawks brought another part of our thinking to life. Football gives children a place to practise commitment: turning up, listening, trying again and learning to trust the people beside them.
There is a different kind of responsibility in being part of a team. Your effort affects other people. A difficult game asks you to manage disappointment, support a teammate and keep playing.
Watching the players take those steps has become part of our own learning, too. We care about their progress on the pitch and about the habits and relationships they carry away from it.
Fury Hawks is another way our family’s interest in active childhood has grown into something shared.
Fury Hawks Football Club, part of the Beaver Club community.
The place has grown. So have we.
Building all of this has given our family more people to learn from and more questions to work through. We keep coming back to the balance between freedom and responsibility, ambition and happiness, helping children and allowing them to try.
We want to practise those ideas ourselves. Children notice how we listen, how we treat people and what we do when something is difficult. Our own example is part of their education.
The friendships around Beaver Club matter to us personally. A conversation over coffee, a shared BBQ or an afternoon of games can make a place feel like home. We want families to feel welcome bringing their own ideas and experiences into that life.
Following our curiosity a little further.
We want to keep taking this way of learning into the world, through family trips and educational journeys where parents and children travel together.
The island adventures and football experiences have given us different ways to connect people through something real. We would like to carry that forward: meeting people, discovering places and giving children experiences they can make sense of for themselves.
We are still a family figuring things out. Beaver Club, TruePath, Fury Hawks and the trips are parts of that journey. They grow as we do, and with the people who become part of our lives.