Pinecone Project is a group of educators inspired to elevate teaching and learning in all settings.

We believe in the transformative power of education, and we believe that deep learning is attained
through self-discovery and connection.

We believe you can change your life and inspire the lives of others by acknowledging that which is already in you, and by taking steps to design the life and service you most want to bring to this world.

Our Purpose

Pinecone Project provides various experiences that aim to build skills, make connections, and demonstrate to participants that that which is required for success is already within them. We believe the world is a better place when people feel good about who they are and what they’re doing and hope to offer our community opportunities to build resilience, self-awareness, and self-confidence.

Why the Pinecone?

Our purpose can further be understood through our name.

As a symbol, the pinecone is representative of serotiny, an adaptation that occurs in over 500 species. Rather than being freely distributed, serotinous plants release seeds as a result of an environmental prompt or trigger. In some cases, like the jack pine (Pinus banksiana), the most northerly successful of Canadian pines, and the lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), that trigger is fire.

Being able to effectively give birth to new life in the most difficult of circumstances is what characterizes this adaptation as “evolving in the presence of fire". And it is this sentiment that drives our work everyday.

We endeavor to offer programs, products and services that acknowledge the challenges of everyday and reconnect us to our incredible gifts, talents, passions and interests.

The Pinecone Project sees us face our fears and envision new ideas for tomorrow.

The jack pine and lodgepole pine have traditionally been used throughout North America as a choice lumber for structural and ethno-botanic use including wood frames in canoes, tipis, telephone poles, fence posts, and railroad ties. Both have medicinal uses and serve as habitat for a variety of wildlife. Pine trees are pretty ubiquitous in boreal forests and are native flora throughout Ontario.

The pinecone is representative of our home, our base, our roots – and it is our inspiration.

Who We Are

Pinecone Project was founded in Toronto, Ontario in 2018 by Darlee Gerrard and Rachel Presutto. After years of collaborating on various other projects in education through the University of Toronto, the two set out to create something of their own. Something that blended their interests and passions with a greater purpose and showed the interconnectedness of the subjects that tend to be taught separately from one another.

Prior to Pinecone Project, Darlee spent over a decade creating and delivering science and engineering outreach programs with various universities. Her educational background is a medley of complimentary topics, including but not limited to biology, human kinetics, outdoor education, and bioenvironmental monitoring and assessment. She is currently working towards a PhD in Engineering Education through the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. During her free moments, Darlee enjoys puppetry, creating things, and spending time outdoors and on the water.

Rachel found her passion for both education and the outdoors in her first summer working at the STEM-based leadership camp that Darlee had created at U of T’s Engineering Outreach Office. This is where Rachel saw the power of transformational leadership, as well as the impact that a well-designed activity or experience could have on a student. Rachel has also worked as a respite worker for children on the autism spectrum, and has more recently spent time as a high school teacher and tutor in various subjects, with mathematics and phys ed being among her favourites to teach. Rachel also enjoys cooking and baking, taking in live music, keeping active with Muay Thai, and spending time near trees and lakes.