People

Abbey Matre is a Natural Resources, Environment, and Energy Educator with University of Illinois Extension serving Cook County. Her work focuses on environmental education, conservation outreach, and connecting communities with local natural resources through programs related to habitat restoration, water conservation, and climate resilience. She is passionate about helping people build meaningful connections with the natural world and turn education into action in their communities.

Mary Beth Factor is an environmental education professional with 15 years of experience supporting nonprofit organizations, government agencies, schools, and educators through administration, communications, and program coordination. She previously worked with the Missouri Department of Conservation and has contributed to environmental education efforts through organizations including Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center, Trees For Tomorrow, and the Missouri Environmental Education Association. Mary Beth is passionate about connecting people with nature and supporting the work of environmental educators and conservation organizations.

I am the Director of a Nature Based Preschool in the Washington DC Area. 

I have been teaching for four years now. I taught first grade for two years and taught third grade for two years. I am going into my third year teaching third grade. I love my job!

Access Fund is the national advocacy organization that leads and inspires the climbing community toward sustainable access and conservation of the climbing environment.

Emily has a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Science Education. Her research interests are at the intersection of Climate Emotions and Environmental Education. Emily is an adventurous, friendly, outgoing person who calls the Pacific Northwest home.

Grew up on a Dairy Farm in Owego, NY, right along the Susquhanna River.  Been teaching for 11 years in Virginia.

Ethan Peters is the founder and director of The HART Center, a nature based hybrid microschool and 501c3 nonprofit in Red Rock, Texas, serving children ages 3 to 18 through relational mentorship, nature immersion, hands on trade skills, and project based learning. He brings more than twenty years in education, including work as a school principal and as a quantitative ecological researcher, and his approach draws on intrinsic motivation science and indigenous learning models. Alongside his partner Angela, he is growing a village model learning community built on real relationships, hands on skill, and time on the land.

I'm Mac! I'm currently working at a school where I get to teach kids about environmental topics from composting to gardening. My K-5 kids learn how to properly dispose of food waste, the benefits of composting, and how this applies to our hands-on work in the garden. 

Jenna North is a passionate leader, plagued by her own climate-induced anxieties that likely seeded into her psyche when she was a young girl living in Vermont in the late eighties and read Bill McKibben's "The End of Nature"(arguably the first book on climate change). 

North Carolina Naturalist

I am a third-grade teacher at Chinquapin Elementary School, located in Duplin County, North Carolina. I am responsible for teaching Language Arts, Mathmatics, Science, Social Studies and Health. I taught kindergarten for 18 years, and this year I was given the opportunity to teach third grade. My goal as an educator is to integrate environmental education and global awareness as part of my daily instruction.