Hannah Saunders
Founder  | Director  | Nature Guide

Hannah started Second Nature Outdoors and Growing Roots Garden Camp in 2019 because she wanted to provide more opportunities for New York City children and families to connect with nature. She has worked in youth outdoor education for 10 years,  including work with organizations such as the Rudolf Steiner School, New York Botanical Garden, Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Nature Camps, Inc, an outdoor summer camp in Maryland. She has a BA from NYU in Environmental Studies and is a graduate of the program The Inner Life of the Child in Nature at the Center for Education, Imagination and the Natural World. 

Hannah lives in Washington Heights. You might find her picking wild berries, looking up at the gigantic trees in Inwood Hill Park, or turning over rocks to find salamanders. She also likes singing and playing guitar, baking bread and discovering waterfalls and swimming holes outside the city.

Maddie Dyer
Administrator   |  Lead Nature Guide 

Maddie is a recent graduate of New York University where she received a degree in Drama with a minor in Child & Adolescent Mental Health Studies. Her love of nature stems from her grandfather who, as a geologist, taught her at a young age how incredible the Earth can be. She grew up in Houston, Texas where she could always be found holding frogs, digging in the dirt, or collecting rocks and leaves. 

Samantha Mairson
Business Manager  | Nature Guide 

Sam first joined Second Nature Outdoors in 2020 because she wanted her child to experience nature in a group setting. 

She has a diverse background that includes serving as a trailworker in Yosemite National Park as part of the CCC Backcountry Trails Program, working as a wildland firefighter in AmeriCorps NCCC,  and hiking the Appalachian Trail. She graduated from the University of Connecticut Honors Program with a Bachelor of Arts in Digital Media and Design and a minor in Spanish. She then obtained a Master's in Library and Information Science from Syracuse University. While in college, she was trained to lead hiking, rock climbing, mountain biking, stand-up paddleboarding, whitewater kayaking, and skiing trips. Sam lives in Inwood with her husband and two sons. Find her at the playground, exploring the forest with kids, running through a sprinkler, or staring up at the sky.

Leah "Frankie" Meshnick
Lead Nature Guide

Frankie grew up in North Carolina playing by a creek with her siblings. She started teaching art and nature classes at a sleep-away camp and has been working with kids ever since. Leah studied education and human development at Brown University and has worked as a reading, social studies, and art teacher. Leah is particularly interested in the intersection of play, creativity, and learning.  

Danielle Strader
Assistant Nature Guide

Danielle grew up exploring the lakes and forests of Upstate South Carolina, where she spent her high school years teaching dance to local children. She graduated in 2023 from Marymount Manhattan College with a BFA in dance and a minor in creative writing and has a passion for sharing her playfully artistic worldview with others. Throughout her college years, Danielle has spent her summers as a resident advisor or counselor for summer art camps, helping young people to adapt to and thrive in exciting new environments. Now, Danielle spends her evenings as an usher for the New York Philharmonic and spends her days working on solo dance projects and wandering through Inwood’s beautiful parks. 

Corey Curtis
Assistant Nature Guide

Corey is originally from New Hampshire and is currently pursuing their creative writing MFA at the New School. They have worked at summer camps, outdoor education programs, as well as after-school programs. Being outdoors with kids is their favorite. In the summer they work at a circus camp in Vermont, and in their free time, they enjoy rock climbing, writing, and learning about sharks. 

Sarah Manton
Substitute Nature Guide 

Sarah's love of nature began early in life in the hills, moors, and forests of her native England.  She has been an educator for the last 20 years alongside work as an actress and particularly enjoys working with preschoolers and engaging their innate wonder and curiosity for the natural world.