Teaching Bio

A brief bio: My earliest garden memory is of crawling to the center of my mom's raspberry patch to sit and eat the ripe berries that no one else could reach but me.  For most of my adult life, I've had my own patch so that I can continue eating organically-grown raspberries fresh off the vine.  


A bit more:

I am an environmental educator who has gardened organically for over 4o years. Since the mid-1990's, I have taught gardening and nature programs for children and adults, and sustainable gardening classes for adults throughout the Puget Sound region.  I enjoy reaching a wide range of audiences, from preschool and elementary students to college students, and from new gardeners to professional landscapers.

From 1997-2017, I had my own landscape design and consultation business, specializing in wildlife-friendly and child-friendly gardens, edible landscapes, and more. Besides designing dozens of private gardens for homeowners, I have designed public landscapes at Bradner Gardens Park and Magnuson Community Center, school gardens at Orca @ Whitworth K-8, Sand Point Child Development Center, and Sand Point Elem. School, and a nature play area at the Mika e Dete Orphanage in Pleven, Bulgaria.

From 2005-2017, I also worked for the Seattle Dept. of Parks & Recreation as the director and lead educator for Magnuson Nature Programs.  My staff and I, and volunteer docents, provided hands-on environmental education for children and families via nature camps, classes, field trips, and guided nature walks.  During that time, I also taught garden and nature classes for the 70th & Sand Point Child Care Center, Jane Addams K-8, and Sand Point Elementary.

I "semi-retired" in the fall 2017, when I began spending much more of my time in the desert southwest and began to do volunteer teaching there.   I continued teaching in-person and online sustainable gardening classes for adults and families throughout the Puget Sound region until May 2023, but am now teaching only in southeastern Arizona. 


A whole lot more:

Education and Training:

During the past 25+ years, I have also attended dozens of conferences and workshops on a wide variety of topics, including: Children's Garden Design and Program Planning, Outdoor Classrooms, Community Gardens and Coalition-Building, Volunteer Management, Horticulture Therapy, the Soil Food Web, Integrated Pest Management, Plant Disease Diagnosis, Native Plants and Peoples, Salmon-Friendly Gardening and Water Quality, Orchard Mason Beekeeping, Drip Irrigation, Trunk and Root Exams, Slope Stability, Mosses and Lichens, Planting under Established Trees, Year-round Food Gardening, Planting for Pollinators, Gardening as You Age, and more.

One of the best things about nature and horticulture is that you can never know it all!  Besides attending organized educational events, I consider each day to be another exciting opportunity to learn.


Professional Experience:

* denotes work done pro bono or as a volunteer


Other Volunteer Experience: