Charissa is the founder and director of Fern Gully Forest School and has been in the environmental education and conservation field for over 15 years. Charissa's expertise in program management comes from coordinating programs for local governments, environmental organizations, nonprofits and parks departments. She also has many years experience leading groups of all ages in all-weather conditions.

 

She especially enjoys teaching about wildlife, the cycles of nature and the ecosystems of the PNW, wilderness awareness, art and wildcrafting, and  celebrating the seasons on the wheel of the year.

 

Charissa lives with her son on the mini-farm that she was inspired to create from volunteering for over a decade at a nonprofit called Animals as Natural Therapy. As a mentor and facilitator for youth programs she witnessed the awesome power of animals to help heal trauma and teach compassion and other important life lessons.

Gregory has his Bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley. He's a certified Storm Water Steward and Agri-preneur Business Training Graduate. He is a music teacher and a long-time volunteer for Wild Grief, facilitating peer groups for children and adults who are grieving a death by creating the space for sharing, connection, and healing in nature. He has been a teacher’s assistant in preschool, 1st and 2nd grade prior to coming to Fern Gully Forest School.

 

He is safety-oriented, loves to play, gets on the level with kids, and has a caring, compassionate attitude with a natural ability to help kids better understand themselves and work through their big emotions. He teaches coping skills and compassionate communication to be able to work as a team and build life-long friendships.

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He is also a trained mediator and has a talent for applying these skills with the children in their social interactions to build empathy and problem solving.