Kodiak Bear with a gumboot chiton at the tidepools.

Jordan “Kodiak Bear” – Program Director
Kodiak Bear grew up in Maryland where he was often in the woods when he wasn’t playing sports. He has attended and worked at Quaker backpacking camps in the Appalachians since he was 8 years old. Kodiak graduated from St. Mary’s college of Maryland and worked as an archaeologist for a few years around Maryland. Kodiak has since taught 5th grade, highschoolers at a Quaker boarding school on a farm, and students with autism in Santa Cruz. When he moved to California, he found his true home and calling, working as a naturalist on the Central Coast. Kodiak has worked for several outdoor schools and lived at Pigeon Point Lighthouse. He is and avid nature photographer and his work can be found in several shops and restaurants in the area. Kodiak loves walking and sitting in the woods with students and does so every chance he gets.

Leah “Hedgehog”-Program Coordinator
Leah “Hedgehog” grew up in North East where she learned to ski and enjoy the outdoors. She has traveled as far as Scandinavia to compete in skiing. She recently came to us from our neighbors at San Joaquin Outdoor School where she has worked for several years. You may see Leah traveling across the East Bay and beyond, visiting all schools who come here. She will be wearing a smile and can probably answer any questions you may have about our program. Leah also enjoys all manor of baked goods.

Sarah “Peat Moss”-Health Care Supervisor
Peat Moss was born and raised in the great state of Michigan. She spent her childhood outside exploring her backyard and local state parks with her family. She graduated from Michigan State University (go green!) with degrees in Political Theory and Environmental Science Policy. After college she found herself moving to California to work in Outdoor Education at San Joaquin Outdoor School. Recently she found herself working as a Health Supervisor at Exploring New Horizons Outdoor School at Loma Mar. Peat Moss spends her days exploring the redwoods and planning her future adventures. When you come to Outdoor School be sure to find her and say hello!

Aaron – Naturalist
Aaron is currently celebrating his 9th year at Exploring New Horizons. Aaron grew up in LaCrosse, WI exploring the lakes, bluffs and rivers. He started working in outdoor education in South Eastern Oh. back in 1998. In his spare time he enjoys percussion, disc golf, and the ever-joyous ride to watch his second favorite non-profit organization (The Green Bay Packers) win Super bowl 42.

Joshua “Bobcat” – Naturalist
A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Bobcat had his first experiences
exploring the outdoors with his parents and sister. At age 4, Bobcat
started playing the cello. Since then, music has been a constant part of his life. Later on, in high school, he picked up the guitar and in the last couple years, the tenor banjo and mandolin have joined his instrumental repertoire. Bobcat graduated from Earlham College with a B.A. in Music.

Through the mentoring of summer camp counselors and his cousin Mike, Bobcat became very interested in tracking and nature awareness. Birding and bird language have also become topics of particular interest. His love of birds has been furthered by the time he has spent working with Tyto the barn owl.

Bobcat was a naturalist intern at San Joaquin Outdoor School during the 2005-2006 school year and has been a naturalist at Exploring New
Horizons since the fall of 2006.

Lisa “Sol” -Naturalist
Sol began her career in the education field as a classroom teacher for primary grades in Michigan.  After attending Michigan State University to earn her teaching credential and teaching in the classroom for 3 years, Sol decided it was time to leave the confined, rectangular classroom and teach outdoors where the options for hands-on, experiential education are endless.  To further her own education in the field, Sol earned her Master’s degree in Science Education at the University of Washington and from there she has been teaching as a naturalist and enjoying the beauty and excitement of the countless teachable moments that our outdoor “classroom” offers us each day.  In her free time you might find Sol collecting medicinal plants from the forest or doing something crafty such as painting or making candles.  Or you might just find her sitting beneath the redwoods, listening to and observing the beauty of nature.

Cypress at home in the Garden

Alexis “Cypress”-Garden Coodinator
Alexis “Cypress” was born in New York City and grew up in nearby Montclair, New Jersey. She is a graduate of Vassar College where she studied Neuroscience and Italian. During college, Cypress spent some time living and farming in northern Italy. Her passions for travel, nature, and organic agriculture eventually landed her in California. She adores plants (growing them, eating them, and studying them), fungus, playing guitar and banjo, and the smell of fresh lavender from the garden. Some things that make her feel very happy are: full moons, running chickens, feet in the creek and laughs that leave you with a sore belly. Cypress came to ENH in 2007 and worked as a naturalist for 4 years. She is very excited to get her hands dirty with kids this year as the Organic Gardener.

Kim “Dandelion” -Naturalist
Native to the East Bay, Kim has always loved the mix of city and country she found growing up. Starting as a young sprout, she has fond memories of hiking through Tilden Park, cross-country skiing in the Sierra Nevadas, and visiting San Francisco art museums.

Her true love of nature stems from her yearly family trips to the Adirondacks in upstate New York. In the fresh air of these jagged mountains, Kim enjoyed swimming and canoeing in a spring-fed, motor-free lake as well as hiking some of the famous High Peaks. She attributes her love of nature in part to her grandfather who was an advocate of sustainability and environmental awareness.

Eventually, Kim became a near resident of the Adirondack region when she attended Skidmore College. After 4 years of study, she earned her degree in Geosciences and Art History in May 2008.

Kim has enjoyed bringing outdoor fun to children with another environmental education program, Tree Frog Treks located in San Francisco, CA. Someday, with her geologic background, she hopes to pursue studies in renewable energy.

Marie “Moose”-Naturalist
“Moose,” named not after the large ungulate but after the mighty river that flows through the Adirondack Mountains, was born in East Tennessee and grew up traveling with her family in a pop-up camper all over North America. She has lived and studied at various latitudes on various coasts but is going on Year 4 of being happily settled in Loma Mar. Her previous careers cross a broad spectrum; in high school she taught cello lessons, in college she managed a neuroscience lab, and were it not for ENH she would probably still be a whitewater raft guide. Nowadays during the summer she can often be found wearing the shiny shoes and well-pressed uniform of a State Park interpreter, but don’t let that fool you – at the outdoor school she has been known to mix stripes and plaid, to say the least. She appreciates having the opportunity as a naturalist at ENH to exercise a wide skill set. No day is complete without a good mix of botany, bluegrass songs about botany, birding, and painting pictures – of birds. Her passions include but are not limited to kayaking, bacon, and the fine literature of the American West. Wendell Berry, Wallace Stegner, and Indiana Jones are her heroes.

Paul “Palm”-Naturalist-Naturalist
Palm earned his undergraduate degree in biology with a double major in Spanish at Wofford College in South Carolina. Following graduation from college Paul worked as a naturalist for two years at San Joaquin Outdoor School, right down the road from Camp Loma Mar. After honing his naturalist skills Palm then pursued a Master’s/Teaching Credential in science education at the University of

California Berkeley. Upon completing his graduate work, Palm was a classroom teacher for three years at a small private school in Santa Cruz, CA. Here he taught an assortment of different classes including 8th grade physical science, AP Biology and AP Environmental Science. He has a great passion for teaching children through song, hands on experience and allowing the natural world to come alive before his students’ eyes. In his free time Palm enjoys surfing, watching birds, and writing and recording music.

Philip “Polaris”-Naturalist
Philip “Polaris” Chung was born and raised in the state of New Jersey and is a graduate of Rutgers University with a BS in Environmental & Business Economics. Very much like his far journey from one coast to another, his career path has taken a stark change from the finance world to the great outdoors. In many ways he has gone back to his roots and passions of teaching and the environment. Philip has taught students in Taekwondo, Sunday Schools, Summer Programs and swimming lessons. Growing up along the Delaware Water Gap he has spent countless summers hiking, fishing, camping, and rafting where he developed a deep awe and wonder towards the richness of our earth. His new home resides deep within the forest where he wishes to continually teach and learn about our ties to the earth and be a catalyst for lasting change.

Nereyda “Seed”-Naturalist
Nereyda Seed was born and raised in the strange and wonderful land of Southern California. She was profoundly influenced by the ever-present Pacific Ocean to the West and the fragrant lemon trees to the East. She has since re-oriented herself in a more Northerly fashion so that the surrounding trees have red wood (instead of yellow fruit). You might spy such a Seed quietly seated beneath a fruiting madrone tree eagerly awaiting the cedar waxwings. Or you might find her singing songs about whales and whatnot on a picnic table. Or you might not find her at all as she is beginning a practice of invisibility…

Seed is celebrating her third year as part of the ENH community and is sprouting hearty roots of happiness every step of the way. She finds endless inspiration and joy in the magical combination of children and nature.

Katama “Flicker”-Naturalist
Katama “Flicker”was born and raised in the Valley Forge area of Pennsylvania. As a kid she enjoyed pretending to be a spy, making movies about superheroes, and eating spaghetti with cream sauce. She attended Vassar College (with Cypress!) where she studied Film, Italian and Anthropology. She has lived and traveled in Italy, sailed the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific and is now trying to figure out how she can go back in time and study the dinosaurs in person. Flicker loves playing the guitar, taking photographs, attempting to learn the banjo, building forts, and skipping rocks.

Sam “Quercus”-Naturalist
Quercus was born and raised in Durham, NC. While growing up in rural NC, Quercus spent much of his childhood playing outdoors and going on frequent camping trips. He is a graduate of Duke University where he majored in biology and computer science, but was fortunate to continue spending significant time outdoors playing ultimate frisbee and leading backpacking trips, high ropes courses, and team challenge courses with a student run experiential education program. He came to California to earn a masters in bioinformatics at UC Santa Cruz, before realizing that he needed to return to his true passion of playing in and sharing nature with others. He is excited to continue learning and sharing in his first year at Exploring New Horizons.

Ashley “Desert”-Naturalist Intern
Ashley “Desert” grew up in Castro Valley, CA and came to Exploring New Horizons at Loma Mar as a 6th grade student. She returned to the Outdoor School throughout her high school and college years to mentor as a cabin counselor. While in college at UC Santa Cruz, Desert furthered her study of Environmental Education and graduated with a degree in Environmental Studies with an emphasis in Agroecology (Sustainable Agriculture). She has worked with kids at both summer camp and Life Lab, a garden-based education program in Santa Cruz. The past two summers, Desert has lied in her tent on organic farms in Vermont and California. Desert enjoys barefoot running, hanging out with plants and birds, and eating her mom’s egg puffs.

Janice “Puma” -Naturalist Intern
A life-long Californian, Puma grew up just over the Coast Ranges in the Sacramento valley. Excursions to the Sierra Nevadas and Pacific coast color the memories of her childhood. Such outdoor experiences led Puma to pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. When she wasn’t hitting the books, you could find Puma hiking in the Santa Ynez Mountains or soaking up the salty breeze on the beach. Puma also spent time doing coursework abroad in South Africa and New Zealand. Now an intern naturalist at Exploring New Horizons at Loma Mar, Puma is excited to once again call gorgeous Northern California her home. She loves learning and teaching outdoors with awesome 5th and 6th graders. Puma’s favorite part about being an intern is sharing her passion for the natural world with so many young people. She is excited to be expanding her knowledge of local birds, plants, mushrooms, and the like. When she’s not on trail or working in the office, you might find Puma puzzling, meditating, or exploring the woods.