People

Project GROWS is a nonprofit educational farm in Augusta County, Virginia with a mission to grow a healthy community by connecting all people to nutritious foods. Our farm stewards a healthy ecosystem that yields nutrient-dense food as well as providing beautiful, engaging natural spaces that promote self-discovery and joy. We provide experiential, hands-on education through summer camps, in-school activities, and mentorship programs. Our team also manages multiple farmers markets that improve food security and contribute to our local food economy. We envision a world with an equitable food system where everyone has the access and knowledge to choose, grow, and enjoy foods that support a healthy life.

Professor of Environmental Education at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point;  Director of the Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education

Reclaiming the roots of education!

• We believe in the holistic benefits of nature-based learning for children.
• We endeavor to heighten awareness of the importance of understanding child development in learning environments.
• We seek to contribute to sweet communion through networks of support, inspiration, and collaboration.Our methods include: forming authentic relationships, offering LIVE online certification courses, facilitating on-site training, providing affordable consulting services, organizing regional retreats, and helping envision sustainable site development plans. 

FSTI training and certification is endorsed by the MSED in Outdoor Teacher Education at Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, Tennessee.

In 2021, Jean retired as Wauhatchie School Director to further her mission of training others to teach and establish Forest Schools around the globe through the Forest School Teacher Institute, which she founded in 2018. With in-person sessions and the online Zoom program, she has helped train over 1000 forest school teachers and directors from almost every state in the US, Canada, China, Thailand, Korea, Italy, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Costa Rica, Mexico, the Bahamas, and Dominica.

I am currently a graduate student at UNCW pursuing my MS in Environmental Science and MAT in Middle Grades Education. My background is in biology with a concentration in microbio and marine science, as well as in experiential education primarily through rock climbing and other adventure-ed programs.

My name is Raegan Edwards and I work for the Burke Soil and Water Conservation district. I have been working for a few months, and have already learned so much about what conservation districts do in North Carolina. I have been enjoying my work so far as well as learning new things everyday. 

Brock Adler is an environmental education consultant and lobbyist, green investor, and Chair of the NAAEE Advocacy Committee. He has worked and volunteered in the field for many years, and helped lead the effort to include environmental education in the 2015 federal education bill.

I love animals and teaching people about animals and their part in the ecosystem, I want to preserve what we have and show people what will happen if these creatures and or habitats go away.

Favour Eragbie is a leading global environmentalist who is driven by the principle that you can only protect what you know about. She strongly advocates for climate education, climate justice and youth development.

Megan Fink serves as the Partnerships & Policy Manager for the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE). Working in the field of Environmental Education for over a decade, Megan brings a robust, place-based, outdoor education background to the NAAEE team. She has built enduring working relationships across the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the Mid-Atlantic region. As a graduate of Virginia Tech with a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Science and Biology, Megan began her career as an Environmental Educator at the North Carolina Aquariums before joining the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) in 2011. Through several program management positions with CBF she led students, teachers, school administrators, and environmental professionals on ecological, cultural, and historical investigations of the Bay. She also managed a statewide leadership program for high school students, teaching them how to become environmental advocates at the local, regional, and national levels.

Megan earned an Executive Master of Natural Resources from Virginia Tech’s Center for Leadership in Global Sustainability in 2020. In 2022-23, she served as Education Director for the Annapolis Maritime Museum & Park, supervising 15 Environmental Education Programs and expanding their reach to 14,000 participants annually. She also initiated and managed a project to launch a brand-new, nature-based preschool and served on the Maryland State Department of Education’s Workgroup to develop statewide Outdoor Preschool licensing standards. 

Throughout her career, Megan has designed programs that inspire participants to act on behalf of their local natural resources and enhance people’s understanding of and connection to the natural world through compelling environmental education experiences. In her spare time, she can often be found hiking, gardening, paddling, and spending time with her loved ones, including her dog, Ruby, splashing around the Bay watershed!