Hi, I’m Stacey. I am a Nevada County transplant by way of the deep south and southern California.

I have a Bachelor of Arts in Biology (pre-med) from a small liberal arts college in SW Florida, with a heavy focus on cell biology, nutritional biology, and herbal medicine. The small honors college facilitated and celebrated an individualized approach to education by replacing grades with narrative evaluations and empowering students to integrate their personal life goals with their educational goals. It was a profound experience that laid the foundation for my pedagogical approach.

I started my career in education as an edible school garden coordinator in SW Florida in 2008. In 2011 I transitioned into a more traditional role as a classroom teacher, albeit still very alternative, at Fusion Academy, a private school in Orange County, where all classes were taught one-to-one. I taught the full spectrum of science and math for grades 6-12.

In 2014 I moved back to outdoor education and apprenticed under a Waldorf-trained teacher at a nature-based non-profit in the desert chaparral of Orange County, CA. I taught forest kindergarten and homeschool enrichment programs while simultaneously working on a small organic vegetable farm.

Seven years into my teaching career, I was inspired to go back to school to get my Masters in Nursing. I moved to northern California in anticipation of attending grad school at UC Davis, but the Universe had other plans. Nursing school was a bust, and in 2018 I landed in Nevada City by serendipity. In 2019 I began working as a private tutor and mentor, focusing primarily on science and math. As the pandemic unfolded in 2020, families were needing more full-spectrum support beyond academic tutoring. A decade in the field of education prepared me to offer support as an educational manager & student/parent advocate in the public and charter school system.

In 2021 I was invited to be on the team of The Ohmapi Nature Project, a local organization committed to an interdisciplinary approach of teaching kids about nature while in nature.

I believe in a whole-brain, multi-sensory approach to education, meeting the child where they are intellectually and emotionally, working toward finding balance between making academic concepts relevant to the child's interests and cultivating buy-in to engage abstract concepts with curiosity (e.g. algebra). Most of all, I believe nature is our greatest teacher and the land wants to be in relationship with us.

Inspired by nature-based educational experiences, I have fallen in love with ancestral skills, most especially cordage, weaving, fire by friction, plant identification, building shelter, and sit spots. Some of my favorite nerdy topics of discussion include the magic of photosynthesis, the water cycle, fire ecology, microbiology, neuroscience, waste management, permaculture, regenerative life skills, and nutrition. In my free time I enjoy exploring local trails, camping, foraging, cooking, gardening, making herbal-infused oils, DIY projects, and surfing mellow waves on sunny days. Every summer I offer a surf camp in Marin or Sonoma County. Please inquire if interested.

Transformational jobs and experiences:

  • Working on small organic farms for 10+ years

  • Volunteering with school gardens in SW Florida

  • Coordinating support for edible school gardens in a couple dozen schools throughout two counties in Florida

  • Attending Alice Water’s Edible Schoolyard Academy (2009) in Berkeley, CA

  • Facilitating outdoor education with Earthroots Field School, Orange County, 2014-2015

  • Volunteering at a senior adult day health center, 2017

  • Permaculture Design Certification, 2021

  • Wilderness First Aid Certification, 2022

  • Attending my first prescribed burn, Nevada City, 2022

  • Adult Literacy Tutor with Nevada County Library, 2023 - present

  • My ongoing personal healing journey, supported by coaching, strength-training, Alanon, and ACA.