Creating a more 2SLGBTQ+ positive world
The Ten Oaks Project has been creating safer spaces and intentional magic for 15 years and we’ve learned a lot in the process!
As the first and only organization of our kind in Canada, we get a lot of questions about how to build safer, inclusive spaces for 2SLGBTQ+ communities. There’s a huge lack of resources detailing how to make this happen. 
Many of the organizations who reach out to us are struggling. They want to know about the experiences of queerspawn, gender creative children, trans youth, and lesbian/gay/ bisexual/ queer children and youth. They want to know why all-gender washrooms are important or what queerspawn’s experiences of homophobia and transphobia look like. We’ve been asked for our insight on what support is truly meaningful, how camp can be a transformative experience, and how oppression becomes internalized. Above all, other organizations have a keen desire to know how to build their own cultural competency to better support and serve children and youth from 2SLGBTQ+ identities, families and communities.
We offer custom workshops and consulting services
In order to share what we’ve learned over the past 16 years and help build the capacity of our communities and partners to create supportive, inclusive spaces and programs, we offer workshops for camp management and staff about creating safer, inclusive and celebratory spaces for children and youth from 2SLGBTQ+ identities, families, and communities
The goals of these workshops are to share knowledge about the identities and experiences of 2SLGBTQ+ identities, families, and communities, provide tangible skills and strategies to shape safer spaces for all children and youth, and help strengthen community services and camps to better serve 2SLGBTQ+ communities.
We love working with other organizations to share what we know about supporting 2SLGBTQ+ communities, and are happy to work with you to ensure your program is safer and more inclusive.
There are two ways we are able to offer support to your organization:
Workshop Facilitation and Design
Workshop Facilitation and Design
We offer tailor-made workshops to support your staff in their roles, whether that is a group of front-line staff/volunteers, managers and administrative staff, or a combination!
Some workshops we have offered in the past include:
- Creating Intentional Magic for 2SLGBTQ+ Youth at Camp
- Introduction to Gender and Sexual Diversity at Camp
- Gender Inclusive Leadership in Outdoor Education
All of our workshops include an introduction to up-to-date language and terms discussing gender and sexual identities, tangible examples of how to create more inclusive spaces, and opportunities for your team to ask questions and discuss relevant situations or experience from your organization.
Any specific topics or areas of focus you would like to cover in a workshop will be established in advanced to ensure our knowledge and experience is the most useful to your team.
Location:
- Workshops can be offered in person at your site; please inquire for more information about how far we can travel and scheduling dates
- Online workshops are available as of April 2020
Length:
It is hard to cover everything we feel is important in less than 90 minutes, though more time is even better! Most of our workshops are 2-3 hours in length. We are happy to work with you to create a workshop – or series of workshops! – that suits your needs and schedule.
Fees:
Our workshop facilitation fees are:
- $400 – 700/hour for nonprofits
- $750 – 1,000/hour for for-profit organizations
Any travel or accommodation costs are in addition. If the fee is a barrier for you, please contact us as we may be able to offer lower rates for small nonprofits and grassroots groups.
Consulting Services
We are pleased to be able to share our experience and expertise on a more intimate and specialized scale. If you are developing a new program, facility, or updating old ones, we are happy to lend you our perspective on inclusion and safety for 2SLGBTQ+ community members, participants, and clients.
Some areas we have lent expertise include:
- Input on building blueprints for camp washroom and shower areas
- Program development for children and youth in childcare contexts
- Developing staff training curriculum and content
- Drafting policies and bylaws for community organizations serving 2SLGBT+ communities
Location:
- When possible, we are happy to meet in person to work together (we are based in Ottawa and Huntsville, ON). Please inquire for more information about how far we can travel.
- Virtual meetings: we offer consulting services on a variety of platforms including phone, Google Hangouts, and Zoom.
Fees:
Our consultation fees are:
- $400 – 700/hour for nonprofits
- $750 – 1,000/hour for for-profit organizations
Any travel or accommodation costs are in addition. If the fee is a barrier for you, please contact us as we may be able to offer lower rates for small nonprofits and grassroots groups.
If you would like any more information, please don’t hesitate to email us any questions!