MY STORY :

My first official teaching assignment, out of undergrad, was as a counselor for a full-immersion English language camp in France. The seeds that were planted on this pilgrimage so many years ago, formed the roots of my journey as a teacher.

My first placement was in the Pyrenees Mountains. The accommodations were rustic yet charming and the experience was rich. Guy, the owner of the off-season ski chalet was a true mountain man. He emanated a sense of ease and contentment which made his company quite wonderful. He knew no English and had no desire to learn. Every so often, Guy would spontaneously spout the most beautiful bird calls. If you were in his presence when it happened, he would promptly turn to you and say the name of the bird in French and then go on about his business. I became quite fond of those little moments. In me, Guy planted the seed that in life one can choose to learn the language of nature and this can be a pathway for connection. 

My next site was in a beautiful chateau outside of Lyon. The full-immersion camp model meant that some weeks we had no idea what the children were saying and visa versa. Nevertheless, communication and connection unfolded in wonderful ways. One day, while playing hide and seek in the garden, a little girl, who called herself “Florence and the Machine”,  scurried over the path to plop next to me in the ditch where I was hiding. We hid there quietly, eyes peeled, smiles wide. Suddenly, "Florence" picked a leaf from a plant and ate it. She could see the concern on my face and quickly yet gently picked one for me too. She named it for me in French and signaled to me that it was okay... to try it. I reluctantly chewed a tiny piece from the tip of the leaf and was immediately illuminated. It was a gorgeous, earthy, peppery flavor. Just amazing. I couldn’t believe it. Looking back, I’m pretty sure what she had shown me was wild rocket (arugula). In that moment, "Florence" reconnected my spirit with the primal memory of foraging and Mother Nature's desire to nurture us freely.

Following my time in France, I went on to teach English for the Spanish Ministry of Education in Barcelona. After which, I returned to the U.S. to earn my Master’s degree in Education and served as a high school Social Studies teacher for many years. My teaching journey since lead me into becoming a farm education and outreach coordinator, a Governor's School art teacher, and an extension educator for a land grant university. As an extension educator for Virginia Tech, I created youth curriculum and won grant awards for my work in the realms of mindfulness, cooperative entrepreneurship, gardening, and urban nature connection. 

In 2021, I was invited to pursue my dream of creating a nature school of my own and Little Mojave was born. I came with the calling to simply nourish the true nature of children at their budding and am humbled by the privilege to guide little ones in this magical Mojave Desert we call home. 
 

FORMAL EDUCATION :