Introducing the VOS staff team

Jeff “Willy” Willis, Owner & Founder of VOS

Since 1991, I have developed and led camps and expeditions throughout Canada, Japan, Germany, Colombia, Ecuador, Yukon, Peru, Italy and the Arctic. My love of outdoor experiential education, years of experience in youth and family work, and passion for environmental education and social justice led me to create Vancouver Outdoor School.

When I became a dad, I realized my kids did not have access to climate change education at school and/or summer camp, so I created the World Bound climate change expedition series and built climate education in our Fieldschool program as a foundational principle alongside outdoor education and leadership training.

I am also the founder and owner of Fireside Adventures where Barnsy, myself, and many of the VOS team members create life & social skill-building outdoor experiences for children and youth during the school year.

Liam “Barnsy” Barnes, Director of VOS

I started at Fireside as a junior instructor. Since then, I’ve led many epic adventures spanning BC, Yukon and Ecuador. As Director, I helped build Fireside’s World Bound and Vancouver Outdoor School’s Fieldschool from the ground up. I also created our Parkour & Film-making curriculum, which we’ve shared with hundreds of kids in order to help them develop physical literacy and risk management skills.

I am preparing for Jeff to pass the family business on to me when the time is right. My mission is to co-create the punk rock or electric guitar of education – we need something fast, furious, out-of-the-box and real to help us stand against modern challenges.

Ethan Barnes, Coordinator of VOS

I joined the team as a writer but found myself pulled into the world of outdoor experiential education. I now work for Vancouver Outdoor School as an 1:1 mentor and support staff for Fieldschool. In the summer, I am a camp coordinator and staff with Fireside. I hold a Master’s of Linguistics from Lancaster University, a BA in Literature and Language from UBC, and I’m currently completing a Master’s of Counselling where I plan to apply the out-of-the-box wisdom I’ve learned from Fieldschool.

Paula Vera Cerezo, Instructor and Climate Education Specialist

Growing up in Spain, I was always passionate about nature and humans. When I was a teenager, my ecoanxiety grew and I felt powerless in a world that was letting such terrible things happen. One day, I realized the anger and frustration I had were closely tied to my passion for the natural world and could be turned into action. That’s how my activism started.

My social and environmental concerns led me to volunteer around the world (Senegal, Colombia, Romania, now Canada!), mostly in environmental education and preservation projects. This gave me first-hand experience with the truly global nature of climate change, including how people can come together to act. As I found my own power as a climate activist, I began supporting others to find their power too. I have been working with kids and young people in different roles since I was 18, helping guide them and support them in their learning process.

This year, I moved to Canada to join the VOS and Fireside Adventures team. After a summer of running Fireside’s kids overnight camps, I’m excited to bring my personal style of climate education to Fieldschool! As a person, I am a curious, life-long learner. I have tried many different activities: martial arts, music, theatre… just to name a few. I also speak a bunch of languages, and love sharing my culture and discover others.

Let’s be the change we want to see in the world!

Daniel “Dani” Mikolela, BTT & Fieldschool Instructor

As a young, Kenyan boy immigrating to a first world country, my life was changed forever by my first Fireside Adventures expedition. As I got older, after participating in numerous expeditions, I decided I wanted to pay those life-changing experiences forwards by becoming a Fieldschool and BTT instructor with VOS, as well as a camp instructor with Fireside Adventures in the summer.

Since then, I’ve worked with multiple kids in our Between-The-Trees program and been a supporting instructor with Fieldschool. I believe in this community’s transformative ability to improve kid’s self-belief. The reason for this belief is simple: I’ve seen it happen. Over my year in working with VOS I have seen so many kids go from anxious and obsessed with screens to young people full of self-belief, comfortable exploring the natural world, and part of a real community.

My personal interests include creating music and rapping, parkour, reading and learning of any kind, and – most importantly – connecting with people.

Charlie Muegge, BTT & Fieldschool Instructor

My name is Charlie. I’m currently attending Emily Carr University of Art + Design, and majoring in film. I believe there is a creative outlet for every child, and they just need to find it.

I’ve been camping since I was a child. Through this I gained not only skills but believe these experiences shaped me into who I am today, and allowed me to connect with others in a truly unique way, making lifelong bonds.

I grew up neurodiverse myself, in a neurodiverse family. I am very passionate about inclusion, and working to create strategies and tactics for different brain styles. It is one way to make it easier to exist in a world that was not built for us.

Clara Kirby, Fieldschool Instructor & Duke of Edinburgh’s Award

I absolutely love nature and you can often find me hiking, swimming, and paddleboarding. With VOS, every day I get to work with kids and encourage them to discover their own love for the environment!

I work between VOS and Fireside (our sister company) and have been for a couple years now. I’ve worked with kids from ages 3-18 and all of them have helped ignite my love for outdoor education. I hope to explore Vancouver with your child soon!

Arianne Gionet, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award 

My journey with outdoor education began with Fireside Adventures, where I discovered how meaningful and important it is to learn outside of a classroom. I’ve been working with Vancouver Outdoor School and Fireside for a few years now, guiding trips, leading activities, and connecting with youth, having the opportunity to share that same sense of meaningful learning with as many kids as possible.

I’m passionate about education and how we can learn while out in nature, trying new things and growing alongside others. I’m excited to help create the same kind of meaningful, adventurous experiences that shaped me, and to be part of a community that values curiosity, connection, and the outdoors.