Meet our Nature Explorers staff team for Summer 2024:
Camp Co-Director: Kristina Weeks joined BEEC in 2012. She loves exploring with youth of all ages to discover together the wonders of nature. She enjoys tracking in the sand mud and snow, playing games becoming animals, and creating nature arts and crafts. Kristina grew up in Papua New Guinea and Botswana with parents who loved adventure, which instilled in her a great love of the natural world. At Antioch University New England, she earned her M.S. in Environmental Education, with a focus on a continuum of outdoor and place-based education through the elementary and middle grades. Kristina has always had a connection with cats, so one of her favorite local mammals is the bobcat. One of her favorite plants is the dandelion for their brilliant color and that the whole plant is edible; and their name, for their jagged leaves, is derived from French “dent-de-lion” meaning ‘tooth of the lion’ – oh, another cat connection. (Director for weeks Jul 1, Jul 15, Jul 29, Aug 5)
Camp Co-Director: Sarah Tsalbins is happiest when rambling in wild places and working with young people. She loves that she gets to do both with BEEC. For 15+ years Sarah has created and led learning experiences everywhere from museums to riparian zones to botanic gardens to traditional classrooms. As an educator, she loves to share her passions for ecology and history while nurturing a sense of curiosity and interdependence. Sarah earned a teaching credential and M.A. in Education from Mills College and taught for five years at public schools in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she also worked as a museum and environmental educator. After two decades on the west coast, she is happy to be re-rooting in southern Vermont, one of the first places where her sense of joyful connection with the natural world bloomed as a child. Sarah enjoys bird-nerding, running in the woods, riding her bike, reading, and learning to play guitar. Shooting stars (dodecatheon) are one of her favorite plants. She’s also enchanted by the mutualistic magic of lichen. She really likens wolf lichen. (Director for week Jun 24)
Camp Co-Director: Charly Sperling has loved spending time in nature ever since she was young. She grew up attending wilderness programs with Vermont Wilderness School, Kroka Expeditions, and was also a camper at BEEC long ago. Charly loves working with young people—their curiosity, playfulness, and wonder inspires her. In recent years, she taught nature-play afterschool programs in Windham County and worked as a wilderness expedition instructor at Kroka. In 2018, Charly designed and led a nature program for young girls in her community called Wildwoods Girls. She is a recent graduate of College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine and is very excited to be joining BEEC this summer. Charly believes that connecting with and spending time in nature brings great benefit, and is passionate about helping to provide this opportunity for young people. She loves exploring in the woods, spending time at & in bodies of water, riding her bike, making fires, and singing & playing guitar. Charly’s favorite animals are turtles, owls, and porcupines, and she loves trees – one of her favorites is the beech tree. (Director for weeks Jul 8, Jul 22, Aug 12)
Camp Co-Instructor: Anna Cummings has lived in Brattleboro since she was three. She has been hiking and exploring the outdoors since before she could even walk. She is full of energy 24/7, and loves to see the world through the eyes of children. She often organizes and hosts accessible events for teens through Brooks Memorial Library. In the future, she hopes to spend a year abroad in France as an au pair. When not organizing events and attending local concerts, she spends much of her time hiking. Anna loves to search for insects, cool rocks, and trees to climb. Her favorite insects are ants, her favorite rock is any climbable glacial erratic, and her favorite type of tree to climb is hemlock. (Instructor for all weeks)
Camp Co-Instructor: Fiona DesJardins has an adventurous spirit. Attending summer camp at BEEC helped Fiona foster her love for the outdoors and she has come back as a camp co-instructor to help foster that same joy in this year’s campers. She is a rising sophomore at the University of Vermont where she studies geography and philosophy, partly to help her understand how she should relate to the natural word. When Fiona isn’t devoted to her studies, you can find her cooking or hanging out in the woods. She loves to document wild edibles and play in streams when she spends time outdoors. Her favorite tree is the red mulberry, her favorite wild edibles are chicken of the woods mushrooms, and her favorite mammal is a beaver. (Instructor for all weeks)
Camp Co-Instructor: Giselle Palacios is an enthusiastic, playful, and creative educator. They love inspiring young people to be curious and connected with the world around and within them. Giselle has a master’s in mental health counseling and a background in early childhood education, horticultural therapy, and violence prevention education. Their style for working with children is centered on empowerment, respect, agency, and experiential education. They are passionate about using art, nature, movement, and play as a way of learning and healing. Having recently moved to southern Vermont from central Florida, Giselle is excited to learn about the Vermont natural world alongside the BEEC campers this summer. Back in Florida, Giselle enjoyed swimming in the springs, canoeing in the river, and shark tooth hunting in the creeks. When they’re not bouncing around outside, they can be found making a collage, practicing yoga, or writing in their planner. They are excited to bring their experience to the BEEC team and are looking forward to facilitating a fun and engaging camp experience this summer. (Instructor for weeks Jun 24, Jul 1, Jul 8)
Camp Co-Instructor: Iris Morehouse loves to connect with nature and has learned to ground herself in her environment. Growing up in rural Vermont she has built a strong relationship with the outdoors and wants to be able to support others in their exploration and learning. Ever since she was little she found herself fascinated by the natural world and how interconnected everything is. She believes that to know yourself you must also know about the world around you. After volunteering with BEEC for two years she is excited to hold space for new generations of nature loving kids to grow. (Instructor for weeks Jun 24, Jul 1, Jul 8)
Camp Co-Instructor: Molly Schoales grew up in Vermont and spent a good amount of their childhood at BEEC’s summer and winter camps, which fostered a lifelong love of and respect for nature. Returning as an adult, now with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from UMASS Amherst, they are excited to help continue the cycle. Molly has also worked as a camp counselor at Vermont Institute of Natural Science and Vermont Wilderness School. They love climbing trees and catching frogs, and can often be found with a good fantasy novel. (Instructor for weeks Jul 15, Jul 22, Jul 29, Aug 5, Aug 12)
Camp Co-Instructor: Siri Harrison has lived most of her life between Vermont and New Hampshire, exploring the forests by her homes. She loves taking long walks in both the sun and the rain, and is especially drawn to bluebirds, cedar wax wings, and wildflowers of all types. She developed an appreciation for the natural world at a young age, climbing trees, frequenting swimming holes, and mushroom scavenging with her dad. Growing up with one parent a science teacher and the other a primary school teacher, she learned by example how to interact with and care for children and the environment in turn. (Instructor for weeks Jul 22, Jul 29, Aug 5, Aug 12)
Leader-in-Training: Lily McGillion is originally from Brooklyn, New York, but has lived most of her life in Dummerston with three cats, a dog, and a small flock of chickens. Lily attended a Waldorf-inspired pre-school and participated in various nature-based programs and summer camps. She also grew up skiing and biking with her dad. Lily is passionate about working with kids and was fortunate enough to take a college-level course on early childhood education and a community-based learning class during her high school career, both of which included internships at an Early Childhood Education Center. In the fall, she will be attending JCU, a small liberal arts school in Rome, Italy. Lily is very excited to join the Nature Explorers team this summer!
Volunteer: Hayley Rojas’ experiences in outdoor programs and Montessori settings have provided her with countless opportunities to be inspired and passionate about child development and education. Observing how children find tools in everyday objects and curiosity for the things often misunderstood and overlooked has changed how she imagines the human spirit. Children show us how to remain in love with discovering the world within and beyond ourselves. Some of Hayley’s most cherished moments with students have come when surrounded by nature and learning how to understand the environment and our purpose in it. From mindful moments watching wildlife, to sensorial play in muddy puddles, to ingenuity and craftsmanship while building structures- she has found that there is a profound joy in letting children be.
Nature Photo Explorers 2024, Mountains to Moss:
Co-Instructor: Kelsy Alan lives in an off-grid tiny house in the woods. She enjoys hiking, kayaking, snowboarding, and any excuse to be outside. Kelsy has a background in land stewardship and nontraditional outdoor education. She received a Bachelor’s degrees in Natural Resource Management and Environmental Science, and has had opportunities to play and work in the woods with kids of all ages through various positions with BEEC, nature museums, schools, and land trusts across New England. Kelsy particularly loves getting excited with folks about finding small creatures and eating wild foods.
Along with a co-instructor from In-Sight Photography Project.