Our Roots

 Tapiola was developed by the Finlandia Association in the 1960s, to be a centre for community growth, outdoor recreation, and seasonal festivals. The name Tapiola is derived from the Finnish national epic poem called the Kalevala, which describes the enchanted realm of Tapio, the ruler of the forests. In the summer of 2020, Arlene Thorn and Joe O’Hearn purchased the property with the goal of preserving this vision and developing a Waldorf inspired nature-based education centre. With their investment and support from the community Tapiola has grown to be a space to explore 13 acres of fields, forests and streams. Shifting to new ownership spring of 2024 the land continues to be a beautiful space to come together to honour and connect with nature.

Owner of Tapiola Wildlings Liisa Hymander began dreaming of this space almost two decades ago when she moved to Thunder Bay. Helping to build Northern Lights School (a local Waldorf inspired school) Liisa has been offering nature based Waldorf educational experiences at Tapiola since 2017. Changing as the season goes she has offered a variety of different programming over the years from Parent and tot  to summer camps, from learning pods to bushcraft sessions. Now sharing Tapiola with Bushcraft for Kids and Keewaytinook Okimakinak a variety of outdoor educational programs are offered throughout the seasons.  Visit www.Tapiolaoutdoors.ca for more information about land use.

The property is 13 acres of fields, forests and streams. There are gardens and a field house and the beautiful North McIntyre River runs through the property, where decades of children have played in the waters and the community has held concerts, events and saunas. Tapiola Wildlings experiences the land with reverence and hopes to impart on children and families to hold the land with respect and kindness.