WHOLE EARTH - Key Persons
Growing up in Southern California, Bailey fell in love with the great outdoors while camping with her family on the coast, seeking out nature in the suburbs and exploring the desert at Girl Scout camp. After spending many summers as a camper, Bailey started working with youth in high school, first as a leader in training and then as a camp counselor. Her favorite part of connecting kids with nature quickly became using outdoor experiences to build their confidence.
Bailey spent a year in AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps, where she worked with a team of other young adults on projects to remove invasive species, plant trees, provide disaster relief services, lead environmental education programs and build homes in underserved communities across the southwest. These experiences cemented her passion for public service, and inspired her to pursue environmental education and public policy in college.
Bailey went to school in snowy Vermont, where she spent many hours exploring the forest while getting a Bachelors of Environmental Studies, with a minor in Environmental Education from Green Mountain College and a Masters of Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law School.
In addition to having a range of experiences working with youth in the outdoors, Bailey's been a tutor, an intern at a climate change non profit, a community organizer and a ghost tour guide. When she's not working with kids, Bailey can be found hiking, organizing around justice issues and the climate crisis and reading with her adopted cat, Winnie.
Job Titles:
- Outdoor School Coordinator
Carolyn grew up on the edge of town in Las Vegas and spent her childhood running around the Mojave desert in Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. She considers herself a desert rat forever - she hiked across dusty flat playas and climbed steep rocky mountains, looking for lizards and wild burros and examining the intricate patterns of spikes on cacti. She got over her fear of claustrophobia by canyoneering through narrow slot canyons.
In college, she worked as an outdoor adventure camp counselor and trip leader while getting her undergraduate degree in linguistic anthropology. She is at her absolute happiest when she gets to be outside, sharing her love for nature with others. Carolyn is inspired by the resilience of nature and animals, how seriously tough creatures and plants can be, and how much we have to learn from Indigenous cultural and ecological knowledge. She is currently working on her masters in educational technology at Western Oregon University. She will be working toward integrating technology with outdoor education to provide inclusive and accessible tools and resources for students to learn about and connect with nature and culture.
Outside of work, Carolyn loves to travel and learn languages. She has been studying how to read, write, and speak Japanese for three years. She loves playing the piano and singing, dancing, running, and sketching. She is part Punjabi, and loves cooking traditional northern Indian recipes passed down to her from her grandfather. She is also a lowkey huge hockey fan (go Knights!) and loves cuddling with her cat and reading books about history and philosophy!
Hales is an avid mushroom forager with a love for animals and a background in biological science and the veterinary field in their early career and education. They grew up hiking and camping in Arizona as part of a parent-child outdoor group and taught youth about animal care at the Phoenix Zoo.
Jade grew up in Eugene, Oregon, where he spent his time camping, hiking, canoeing, rock climbing and backpacking with his family. Some of his fondest memories are spending time in beautiful wild places with people he loves. At nine years old, Jade began doing camps through Whole Earth Nature School where he began develop his primitive skills, outdoor knowledge, and love for nature. He is a graduating senior at the Academy of Arts and Academics in Springfield Oregon, where he is a theatre major. He incorporates his love for theatre into his work through telling stories and providing positive and creative energy to every situation he can. Jade is a graduating member of our FOREST program and loves spending time with friends outside. More than anything he hopes to provide what was given to him through Whole Earth to new campers, an incredible learning and growth experience!
Job Titles:
- Treasurer / Professional Wildlife and Sports Photographer
Jordan Lindstrom-Demant has been working professionally with children for over 10 years in summer camps, day cares, after school programs and most notably for a children's entertainment company singing and face painting dressed as fairytale characters.
Jordan is a nature enthusiast and caretaker and is so happy to have the opportunity to educate children in and about the natural environment.
In her spare time Jordan is a dedicated yogi practicing for over 9 years. You can find her locally teaching kundalini yoga and workshops combining therapeutic art and yoga.
Kaity Heflin grew up climbing trees and playing in the farmlands of the midwest. She spent summers visiting a wide variety of national parks throughout the Western United States with her family. They explored new lands through hiking and backpacking, biking a hundred miles a day, surfing, rock climbing, and mountain biking. While biking on a hot summer day it was rare that they passed up a swim hole or an ice cream stand. Kaity is a Scientist and a Naturalist. She understands the world on a molecular level, and enjoys sharing awesome facts with the kids when an opportunity arises. Inspired by the personal growth she experienced after receiving a scholarship to Outward Bound at age 16, Kaity went on to seek a way to connect children to nature while teaching useful skills. She volunteered at organizations such as Nearby Nature and Big Brother Big Sister, and worked as a Wilderness Therapy Instructor in the backcountry with teenagers. She appreciates the way that nature grounds people and helps us get in touch with our true selves. Running in the woods and spending time in nature nourishes her soul, and she seeks to help others feel more connected and whole through spending time in nature.
Although the corn belt of the United States is not particularly known for its wildness or natural beauty, Laura's most memorable and formative experiences while growing up in eastern Nebraska were centered around nature and the outdoors. Laura grew up climbing haybale towers and trees alike, but her favorite activity has always been to explore streams and rivers. Growing up within a highly modified agricultural landscape helped Laura to develop an appreciation for the fact that nature is everywhere and connection to the outdoors can occur in unlikely places.
Since young adulthood, Laura has consistently pursued her two passions in life: connecting with youth outside and learning as much as possible about natural ecosystems. Laura credits her passion for working with youth outdoors to her experiences at Camp Kitaki, the YMCA summer camp she attended for over a decade as both a camper and a junior counselor. While time spent exploring the outdoors at Camp Kitaki was important, the most valuable part of being at camp for Laura was that it was always a safe place to be herself.
In 2007, Laura moved to Eugene to pursue her undergraduate degree in Environmental Science at the University of Oregon. Laura intentionally graduated a term early from her degree program so that she could return to Camp Kitaki as a summer camp counselor and give back to the camp that meant so much to her growing up. In addition to her experience at Camp Kitaki, Laura has also worked as an instructor at Wilderness Nature Camp in Lincoln, Nebraska, where she simultaneously led environmental education programming and encouraged kids to sink thigh deep into creek mud. More recently, Laura has volunteered with Nearby Nature to lead nature walks for youth in Alton Baker Park.
Laura recently graduated with her master's degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Oregon. During her graduate studies, Laura became an expert in freshwater mussel ecology and studied populations of freshwater mussels in the South Umpqua River. Laura is excited to combine her passion for youth engagement and exploration of the outdoors in her work at Whole Earth Nature School.
Meadow Scott is a mother, educator, adventurer and self-proclaimed plant geek. Growing up in Alaska instilled a deep love of wild places, and Meadow spent plenty of time romping around in the wilderness. She lived in a treehouse for many years, kayaked in Prince William Sound, and even spent a winter mushing sled dogs near Denali. Her thirst for adventure took her around the world as well, backpacking and working on farms in such far-flung places as Iceland and Australia.
Becoming a mother led Meadow on yet another adventure and she quickly discovered the joy of sharing nature with small people. She especially loves the way young minds just drink in new experiences like moss soaking up the first rain of winter. Meadow spent as much time as possible outdoors with her two kiddos, watching them learn through direct experience, and gently guiding their understanding Earth's complexity.
As soon as her own kiddos started school Meadow began a new chapter in her life as an environmental educator. Starting with the Prince William Sound Science Center in Alaska, then Partners for Sustainable School here in Eugene, and finally with the Whole Earth Nature School, Meadow has enriched her skill as an educator with many years of experience, both in the classroom and outside of it. Meadow shares a contagious enthusiasm for the natural world, and loves watching kids' innate curiosity lead them into discovery and deep connection with nature. She believes that these quiet moments nourish a sense of place and belonging that eventually leads to stewardship of our Earth and all the critters we share it with.
Meadow is a lifelong learner and has a passion for all things green and growing. When she is not leading camps, she is enjoys studying ecology, gardening or natural history. She is a Master Gardener, Certified Permaculture Designer, and an amateur botanist. She practices all of these disciplines in her family's backyard homestead where she can frequently be found petting plants.
After obtaining her B.A. in Child Development and Learning and her M.A. in Elementary Education, Meg taught Intervention K-5 and 1st grade in North Carolina. After moving to Oregon, Meg wanted to shared her passion for the outdoors with children to give them the same energizing experiences and appreciation for nature that she gained as a child. Meg captures students' high energy and channels it into learning and helps students learn their limits with the right balance of autonomy and support. She also makes challenging experiences like campers' first overnights comfortable by role-modeling preparedness and being super supportive!
Job Titles:
- Outdoor School Assistant Director, Instructor
Growing up on a sheep farm in Mid-Michigan, Peat loved being outside from the start. Whether it was farm work, adventuring in the woods, family camping trips, or helping Grandma in the garden Peat was almost always outside. Peat graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in Child & Youth Development. From summer camps, to outdoor school, to trail crews Peat has been connecting students with nature all over the country for almost 10 years. Bringing their love of learning along with them, Peat has found fulfillment in hiking, tree climbing, rock climbing, as well as self-sufficiency skills such as fire, shelter, edible and medicinal plants, and wilderness medicine. They are always game to learn something new and their favorite teachers are their students. When not exploring the great outdoors, Peat loves to cook, train dogs, and watch every nature show on re-peat.
Soma grew up in the big city of Los Angeles, dreaming of giant evergreens, mossy logs and wild, rocky rivers. She moved to Eugene in 2004 and jumped into the forest with both feet. She completed a 2 year Wildcrafting and Herbalism Apprenticeship program at Columbine's School of Botanical Studies in 2006 and has since taken courses in Mushroom Biology and Environmental Education at the U of O. After dreaming of wolves, she began to study tracking with Wilderness Awareness School and later at Tracker's Earth in Portland, where she completed a 9-month weekend immersion course. She's been a nature guide at Mt. Pisgah Arboretum and led old growth ecology walks for the McGowan Creek Science Project. She has also been a summer camp instructor at Northwest Youth Corps and Tracker's Earth. Soma holds a Level II certification in Track and Sign Identification from Cybertracker International. During the course of her wanders she's picked up some useful wilderness survival skills too. Soma is always looking to grow her understanding of the interconnected web of nature, and loves to share what she's learned with children and adults alike. When not exploring wild places, you can find Soma working as a massage therapist and yoga teacher, crafting, or playing in the garden.
Job Titles:
- FOREST Director, Instructor
Terance was raised in Coburg, Oregon. He graduated from the Northwest Youth Corps Outdoor high school. While with the Youth Corps he worked with crews on a variety of conservation projects all over Oregon and Washington building trails plus restoring habitat for animals and plants. His family taught him to love the forest and everything in it while helping him learn how to identify plants and mushrooms, how to hunt and fish and most important how to have fun and get muddy. He has been a counselor for a number of youth programs including: City of Eugene's Safety Town, Sempervirens Outdoor School located in the California Redwoods and Portland based Trackers Northwest.
Tim spent his formative years exploring the dunes of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, romping through the marshes and climbing trees. He loves camping and playing in the wilderness. While in the Boy Scouts of America, he learned the basics of how to be in the wild; learning knots, fire structure and tending. Tim volunteered at Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve cleaning up beaches, mapping and discovering new trails, making trail markers, and care tending the facilities. Tim developed a passion for sharing his nature connection with others while working at the Museum of Natural History in Brewster, tending the aquariums and learning the local species of birds. Seeing the people's expressions when learning about each animal or local lore, he noticed how important it is to include nature in our lives. Tim loves hiking, wood carving, learning primitive skills and teaching in the woods, passing on his excitement and curiosity of the natural world! Tim is driven by the desire to inspire the next generation to connect with the woods.