Priorities, Approach, and Rates
Priorities:
In choosing projects, I'm guided by my mission: to connect people to nature and each other, inspiring collective creativity and environmental action. Priority is given to work that has high impact and advances equity and inclusion in nature connection. I am most interested in work that involves training others, consulting with people and groups that will have powerful impacts, helping to establish permanent spaces or programs for creating with nature, and events that will have lasting influence.
Approach:
When I work with others, I strive for honest and clear two-way communication. I start with coming to agreement about project aims and our interpersonal working methods. I like to develop clear project plans, and build flexibility into those plans. I love to work as part of a group, valuing the perspectives and skills of everyone I work with. I'm prompt with emails, texts, and phone calls, and I'm punctual with meetings and other commitments. I only do work that I'm enthusiastic about, and I bring my full energy to bear on every project. 
Rates:
My fees are $35/hour for time spent working alone (planning, preparing presentations, transportation, etc.) and $100/hour for time spent with others (consulting, training, leading, meeting, etc.). I can sometimes reduce fees or work pro bono for high priority work. Fees for overnight work and long-distance travel are negotiated.
Selected Clients and Collaborators:
  • National Park Service
  • East Bay Regional Park District
  • Outdoor Afro
  • University of California
  • California Academy of Sciences
  • Peralta Hacienda
  • San Francisco Botanical Garden
  • Samavesha
  • San Francisco State University
  • Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
  • Presidio Trust
  • Children & Nature Network
  • Children and Nature Collaborative
  • San Francisco Office of Early Care and Education
  • YouTube
  • NatureTrack
  • San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department
  • Pogo Park
  • Friends of Five Creeks
  • Contemporary Jewish Museum
  • Sun Valley Center for the Arts
  • Bay Area Discovery Museum
  • Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose
  • Habitot Children's Museum
  • Urban Adamah
  • Park Day School
  • ALDOG (Albany Landfill Dog Owners Group)
  • Cal Performances
  • Stern Grove Festival
  • Girl Scouts of Northern California
  • Homeschool Association of California
  • Mosaic Project
Types of Work:
  • Events, Consulting, Training,
  • Building "Create-with-Nature Zones," Restoring and Protecting the Environment through Art,
  • Balanced Rock Sculpture (teaching and events),
  • Sand Globe Making (teaching and events)
See descriptions below:
A group of five people have all their hands on a balanced stack of wood pieces over 6 feet tall - a crowd of people is in the background
Public and private events
Collaborative tower building at a Public Create-with-Nature outreach event at Outside Lands Festival with San Francisco Children & Nature.
Notes from a consultant panel, including
Consulting
Graphic notes from a consultant panel hosted in 2016 by the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy and National Park Service for the Learning Landscape in the Presidio Tunnel Tops project. (Graphic note credit: Emily Shepard).
Hands-on staff training at California Academy of Sciences. On a rug inside the museum, three staff in orange vests facilitate a create-with-nature activity with 3 children and an adult, using sticks, leaves, stones, and pine cones.
Training
Educators at the California Academy of Sciences working with the public as part of a hands-on training I gave on making and facilitating Create-with-Nature activities.
A group of about 15 children and adults in a
Building "Create-with-Nature Zones"
A school group in the Create-with-Nature Zone at the University of California Blake Garden.
On the left, two adults carry a log together, on the right, two children and an adult point at a plant they have just planted
Restoring and protecting the environment through art
Participants helping build the pathway and planting native plants at the Redwood Regional Park Create-with-Nature Pathway.
A crowd of about 15 people making and looking at balanced rock sculptures
Balanced rock sculpture: teaching and events
Public balanced rock sculpture event at Crissy Field in San Francisco.
Montage of 6 photos including people of all ages making sand globes, and sculptures made from balanced or arranged sand globes
Sand globe making: teaching and events
Making sand globes is a wonderful way to connect with each other and with the earth. Learn more about sand globes at the Sand Globes Worldwide website.