People

I am from Melbourne, Australia and moved to the US in 2015.  I love being outside any chance I get.  My favourite hobbies are hiking, moutain biking, kayaking, camping, photography, playing soccer and travelling.  I have been involved in the sports industry and environmental education with camp work.  

Jen has over 15 years of interactive teaching, community engagement, & environmental literacy experience. She holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Studies & Education from Antioch University New England & is a Certified Interpretive Guide through the National Association for Interpretation.

Terri Gorman is the Pearl Homes and Pearl Neighborhoods Coordinator for Lynnhaven River Now who works with residents and communities on incorporating earth-friendly practices in and outside their homes that impact our waterways and nature. Terri is a Virginia Wesleyan University graduate who completed her liberal arts degree in Sociology and Studio Arts.  Born in the Appalachian Mountains and raised in a rural town in Connecticut, Terri has made Virginia Beach her home for the past 30 years where she enjoys the beauty of Virginia Beach natural areas. She credits her father for teaching her to respect and protect nature and the environment. In her spare time Terri can be found creating art or walking her dog Coco along the Virginia Beach waterways.

I am a retired engineer and informal educator. I am especially interested in water quality, preservation of watershed references, citizen science, and aquatic environmental chemistry/ecology.

Being a lover of children and the outdoors brought me to becoming a business owner of an early childhood school in 2004.  The journey went from childcare to being Reggio-inspired and then being Natue Based.  Connecting with other nature-inspired educators with the No Child Left Inside mission. We were inspired by Richard Louv's Last Child In the Woods and started moving past our fenced-in yard to visit state land behind our school. In 2014 I visited the schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy—so much formation of our journey. Our school has gone through a transformation from our outdoor classrooms to weekly nature walks visiting the pond and Highland Recreation Area year around.  Creating an environment where teachers and children thrive spending most of the day outdoors learning in a "Wonderful" environment to grow, play, and learn. 

My prior work includes 16 years as a public school teacher and many years as a natural history museum educator and camp director/counselor. I believe in the power of environmental education to change people and places for the better.

What Would Leslie Knope Do?