When Jenn Smith Nelson speaks about viewing birds and wild places on her guided tours, it’s less about launching a new business and more about inviting people to slow down and immerse themselves in the natural world many overlook in their day-to-day lives.

“It is my aim to create a company that is a little bit more holistic in nature, so it’s not your typical guided tour business,” she said.

Nelson, a Moose Jaw-based travel writer, photographer, and naturalist, officially launched her new company, The Wild View, on Feb. 9. Operating under the handle “Wild View Tours,” the business is now booking guided experiences across central and southern Saskatchewan, with programming that blends birding, wildlife viewing, and wellness-based elements.

“I definitely want to slow down the pace a bit and have people really pay attention,” she said. “There are ways you can … really immerse yourself in the landscape, and I will be introducing some of those elements.”

Programming takes place across prairie, wetland, and woodland environments, including Last Mountain Lake, Grasslands National Park, Buffalo Pound Provincial Park, and urban birding locations in Moose Jaw and Regina. The company features full-day and half-day tours, multi-day trips and retreats, family experiences, youth workshops, and custom private bookings, welcoming both seasoned birders and those who are simply curious, with options tailored to “more hardcore birders” as well as a “more naturalist type of tour.”

Nelson said she’s intentionally casting a wide net early on.

“In all fairness, I’m trying to see what sticks for people and what resonates locally,” she said.

Her style moves beyond the quick “spot-and-go” approach that can define some wildlife outings.

“It’s not just seeing the birds that makes the experience,” she said. “It’s creating an experience. It’s about teaching people.”

That instruction includes helping the group see what an experienced birder might spot instinctively.

One upcoming retreat, scheduled for June 5 to June 7 at Camp Wolf Willow near Outlook, Sask., is titled “Flightpath to Stillness.”

“It’s about resetting in the spring and connecting with yourself, with the land, and with wildlife, in ways that refuel you as a person,” Nelson shared.

Some tours are being developed in collaboration with local experts and operators to strengthen programming, support other Saskatchewan-based businesses, and bring additional expertise into the field. Those partnerships include working with flora expert Emily Soveran on select Buffalo Pound tours and collaborating with Kyla Bouvier of Back2Nature Wellness.

A cornerstone of her business model is a donation-based initiative called Community Days, designed to reduce barriers for seniors and people facing affordability or accessibility challenges.

“I really think it’s important to take care of groups that, really, I don’t think are targeted within tourism in this province,” Nelson said, describing her belief that “Nature belongs to everyone” and that the tours are “about creating space for shared learning and meaningful time outside, especially for those who may not see themselves reflected in traditional outdoor tourism.”

For those seeking a private or customized experience, the business is also open to building tours around specific goals, destinations, or group occasions.

Nelson wants ethics and reciprocity to be the foundations of her operating baseline. As part of this approach, she has committed to donate three per cent of profits back to conservation groups for select tours, supporting Nature Saskatchewan and Prairie Wind & Silver Sage – Friends of Grasslands Inc.

In the meantime, Nelson is still preparing for her first round of tours, with the first, “an urban wildlife tour,” set for April 4 in Regina. Her urban series will include offerings there and also in Moose Jaw.

As she looks toward spring, Nelson hopes people leave her tours with more than just a few photos.

“I have always connected the outdoors to personal wellness and mental well-being. Once you (see others make this connection), you know the joy on their faces to just be able to see it with their own eyes,” she said. “That’s why I do this, and that’s what gives me purpose — sharing that with others.”

For more information, visit TheWildView.ca or contact Nelson at WildViewToursSK@gmail.com. The company is also on Facebook at “Wild View Tours” and Instagram under “wildviewtours.”

Aaron Walker

Reporter

Moose Jaw Express