Our species staff are committed to creating positive outdoor experiences for youth and adults, weaving fun, games, learning, instruction and exploration in the basket of "invisible schooling". If you are a nature educator living in Western MA and would like to offer a program through our co-operative, please get in touch.
Felix Lufkin - Director, Sumac School, Forest After School,Groundnut
Felix works with K-12, college and adult students at a number of programs in the Valley teaching nature awareness plant ecology at in and after school programs and public workshops. He has worked in the field since 2003 with well known nature education organizations like the New England Aquarium, Burgundy Center for Wildlife Studies, Mass Audubon, WolfTree Programs, the Vermont Wilderness School and Earthwork Programs. He has lead nature programs at NorthStar Teen Center, PVCICS, Four Rivers Charter School, the Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School, and taught wild edible plants at UMass Amherst. He also directs Help Yourself, Inc.
Felix works with K-12, college and adult students at a number of programs in the Valley teaching nature awareness plant ecology at in and after school programs and public workshops. He has worked in the field since 2003 with well known nature education organizations like the New England Aquarium, Burgundy Center for Wildlife Studies, Mass Audubon, WolfTree Programs, the Vermont Wilderness School and Earthwork Programs. He has lead nature programs at NorthStar Teen Center, PVCICS, Four Rivers Charter School, the Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School, and taught wild edible plants at UMass Amherst. He also directs Help Yourself, Inc.
Maggie Ranen - Office Manager, Forest After School, Hide Tanning, Full Moon Circle, Groundnut Director
Maggie is passionate about earth living skills and supporting people in their nature connection. She is deeply driven by her commitment to being an active community member and strives to live in harmony with the land and the beings that dwell in it. Maggie has worked at several nature education programs since 2012. Maggie works with Help Yourself Edibles as an operations coordinator, is a birth doula and is currently pursuing a deeper study of Herbalism.
Jacquelynn Ward - Groundnut and Adult Ancestral Skills classes
Jacquelyn grew up running around the woods, eating herbs straight from the garden, sleeping outside whenever possible. The Amherst HS Survival Living class sparked an interest in how to thrive without the trappings of the consumer world. She has worked for Hawk Circle, Vermont Wilderness School, Wolf Tree, Earthwork, and Art of Mentoring programs. BA in Historiography and Alternative Historical Narrative from Marlboro College, and a MA in Viking and Medieval Norse Studies from the University of Iceland. She spent two years in Iceland and Denmark, and six months on farms in Devon, England and exploring the landscape and stories of Dartmoor. She is passionate about mythology, history, and food cultures, and the ways in which they connect people to place.
Dean Colpack - Spore School, Mushroom Walks Series, Groundnut
Dean moved to Western MA when he was eighteen and has since fallen in love with wild nature. He has worked as a nature educator in public elementary schools, has taught holistic, ethical butchering with gratitude to adults, is a member of the Pioneer Valley Mycological Association, and has been a prison justice activist focusing on reproductive rights and abolishing solitary confinement. He holds a MSW from Smith, and is working towards a social work practice that integrates group therapy and nature literacy.
Daniel Kieval - Forest After School
Daniel fell in love with ecology and living systems at age 18 while reading about sustainable farming, and has been entranced ever since. He studied biology (AKA "radical amazement") at Wesleyan University, and Permaculture and Ecovillage Design for five months at Kibbutz Lotan in southern Israel. Since 2008 Daniel has worked for many nature and farm education programs, including Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary, Teva, Abundance Farm, Eden Village Camp, and the Pearlstone Center. He is also an experienced songleader, multi-instrumentalist musician, and songwriter. He loves connecting with people and earth, being playful, following his intuition, and trying new things.
Martha Hoffman -Full Moon Circle
Martha grew up frolicking in the forests of Eastern Mass and Maine. She graduated Oberlin College with degrees in Dance and East Asian Studies, and a passion for the wide open spaces of the midwest. In addition to working as a interfaith group dialogue facilitator and somatic educator, she has worked as a trip leader and outdoor educator at Alford Lake Camp, Camp Chewonki, Oberlin's Outdoors Club, and Earthwork Programs. Her ideal day would include discovering a hidden nature spot, picking blackberries, and hosting an extremely enthusiastic dance party!
Fledge Dog - Forest After School, Sumac School, Field Director, Canine Outreach
Fledge is an avid outdoorsman, enjoying long romps in the woods and exploring the forest floor from a olfactory perspective. Keen to ingest all forms of animal biomass, this thoughtful and friendly canine is a mostly good listener. Fledge enjoys playing with younger humans at Forest After School and Earth Walkers, and his unique and gentle mentoring style helps students develop comfort and confidence around other members of his largely endearing species.