As an educator and facilitator, I have:

• Taught in undergraduate and graduate classrooms

• Directed college theatre productions

• Guest lectured through invitation

• Co-designed and co-facilitated online workshops and classes focused on grieving, healing, embodied awareness, and nature engagement

• Presented research at national and international conferences

• Created the Grief Pen Pal Network, which I’ve facilitated for seven years

• Continued my own learning through classes, books, garden visits and forest hikes, and volunteer opportunities

Workshop Examples:

• Engaging our senses in the garden

  • we explore differences between smells, textures, sounds, tastes, and color; we emphasize embodied awareness and mindfulness, detailed description, and respect for individual preferences

• Life phases and cycles

  • we use plants as guides for thinking about what it means to germinate a wish/idea, to seek out the best growing conditions, to prune as necessary, and to compost what no longer serves us

• Tending plants, tending ourselves

  • we focus on self-care, empowerment, and courage by observing what specific plants and trees need to grow and how we can support them, AND by reflecting how it feels to cultivate self-compassion

• Embracing the seasons

  • we tune into signs of seasonal change and consider the challenges and benefits that each season invites in our gardens and in our lives; we engage with a nature-based ritual to ground ourselves

• Herbal tea-making 101

  • we explore different plants known for their ability to support our bodies in gentle ways; for example, chamomile, lavender, lemon balm, and rose; we sip and savor, reflect and share