Built for outdoor educators, not therapists

Park staff, naturalists, and nature-based educators — not clinicians. Every strategy in this course was designed to work in the field.

Six modules. One clear framework.

Disability awareness, sensory processing, environmental access, communication, safety, and family partnerships — all organized around See It. Name It. Shift It.

Tools you can use at your next program

Field reference cards, protocol templates, visual supports, and intake guides you can print and put in your bag before your next group arrives.

About the CIOP Course

The CIOP Foundations Certificate is a six-module professional credential that teaches park staff, naturalists, and nature-based educators how to recognize, respond to, and design for the access needs of children with disabilities — in the field, not the classroom. This isn't a disability services training. It's built for the people who are already out there leading programs and want practical tools that actually work in outdoor settings.

Meet Your Instructor: Chantelle Fehlandt, OTR/L

I'm a licensed occupational therapist with 12 years of experience working with children with disabilities — and for five of those years, I've been running a nature-based playgroup at Patrick Eagan Park specifically for kids with disabilities and their families. I created the CIOP credential because the gap I kept seeing wasn't in therapy rooms — it was in parks, at camps, and on trails. Outdoor educators wanted to include every kid. They just didn't have the tools. I'm also a ConTiGO Certified Nature-Based Pediatric Therapist and the founder of Branch Outdoors LLC. Everything in this course comes from real programs, real kids, and real outdoor settings — not a textbook.

Course Curriculum

7 Chapters · 24 Lessons

  1. 1
    1. (Included in full purchase)

      How to use this course

  2. 2
    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Understanding Disability in Outdoor Programs- went with this

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Could You Tell the Difference?

    3. (Included in full purchase)

      What You Might See in the Field

  3. 3
    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Sensory Foundations

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      My Sensory Style in Nature

  4. 4
    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Identifying Challenges Outdoors

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Techniques for Regulation

    3. (Included in full purchase)

      Environmental Assessment Tool

    4. (Included in full purchase)

      Environmental Assessment Tool

    5. (Included in full purchase)

      Welcome! Tell us about you!

  5. 5
    1. Visual Communication Toolkit Free preview
    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Understanding Elopement: Prevention & Response

    3. (Included in full purchase)

      Elopement Field Guide

    4. (Included in full purchase)

      Elopement Prevention Protocol Template

  6. 6
    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Creating inclusive programs

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Evaluating Program Effectiveness

    3. (Included in full purchase)

      In Practice: Introducing a Communication Board to Your Group

    4. (Included in full purchase)

      Intake Questions That Actually Work

    5. (Included in full purchase)

      Equipment Spotlight- Thumb Trigger Release for Inclusive Archery

    6. (Included in full purchase)

      Equipment Spotlight- Identiflyer

    7. (Included in full purchase)

      Equipment Spotlight- Identiflyer Handout

  7. 7
    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Wrap Up

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      CIOP · Course Complete

Ready to Transform Outdoor Education?

Enroll now and start your journey towards becoming a Certified Inclusive Outdoor Practitioner. Join a community dedicated to inclusive outdoor education and make a lasting impact on children with disabilities.

$239.00

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