Parry Sound Forest School is a Not For Profit organization. Any dollars generated by the business, must therefore go back into it. Most of our revenue is used to pay for insurance, rent, salaries, training and for learning resources.

We believe that time spent in nature should be part of every child’s formative years and not a privilege dependant a family’s finances.

To this end, we have taken the following steps to keep our programs as accessible as possible.

• While most of our programs break even or bring in some revenue, others, most notably Nearby Nature (the program where schools bring their classes for visits), often run at a loss. We choose to manage the business this way in order to keep school visits accessible to as many children as possible.

• Through a partnership with High Five Ontario and the Parry Sound District Social Services Administration Board (DSSAB), we have a service agreement whereby the DSSAB offers subsidies for qualifying families for after school care as well as Summer, PD Day and March Break Day Camps.

• We have a clothing lending library including rubber boots, winter boots, rain pants, rain suits, winter hats, mittens and some snow suits that we are happy to loan to children who may need them.

• In April, we reach out to local agencies, such as CAS, the Friendship Centre, and public school Principals to assist us to place ten children into a fully subsidized week of summer day camp.

• Our Work or Materials Exchange allows families to pay for all or part of their children’s fees by using their skills (wood working for example) or materials (firewood or green wood for children to use for whittling) instead of cash. Have an idea of a way you could contribute to the school in exchange for your child participating in a program? Tell us about it!!

Sliding Scale

A sliding scale is in place to support families who experience financial barriers but cannot be supported by DSSAB.

This can mean: single parent households, low-income families and participants with mobility, physical, emotional, or mental challenges, or simply families who have been significantly affected financially by Covid-19.

The sliding Scale is a self serve option for those facing financial barriers, offering up to 75 percent off the program cost.

How it works: Simply type ACORN as a PROMO code at registration checkout + a multiple of 5 at the end, anywhere between 5 to 75, all one word. This will adjust the cost of the program by that percentage.

For example: ACORN5 for 5 % Off • ACORN50 for 50% Off, etc.