People

I quit my full time job in July 2011 to become a stay at home/homeschool mom to my two children. Besides being a busy mom I am also a devoted wife, blogger, fieldtrip expert, naturalist and social media guru. I am passionate about getting children outside and immersed in nature.

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Career focuses have included public communications and marketing (including public television) and secondary school special education teaching. Have been retired ten years. My primary retirement activity has been as a Master Gardener, which I began upon retirement. I created my unit's School Gardens Advisory Team five years ago, and it is my passion. 

Create floralscapes.

Am an avid reader, and participate in two, and until recently, three book clubs.

Enjoy scavenging, bargaining, creating something out of almost nothing. 

 

 

 

 

 

Sydney spent the bulk of her childhood learning and growing under the canopy of the southeastern deciduous forests that make up her home state of Virginia. She earned her B.A. in International Studies with a minor in Environmental Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. Following her undergraduate schooling, she began working as a youth environmental educator, leading her to eventually pursue her M.A. in the University of Utah's Environmental Humanities Program to study how nature-based programs can better support nature-connections across diverse groups. While in Utah, she also co-founded Camping in Color, an overnight program designed for black youth and their families in the Salt Lake Valley area to enhance a sense of belonging, appreciation, and engagement in the outdoors. She joins the Natural Start Alliance team excited to further her work in making quality early childhood environmental education more accessible to all.