“The future will belong to the nature-smart—those individuals, families, businesses and political leaders who develop a deeper understanding of the transformative power of the natural world and who balance the virtual with the real. The more high-tech we become, the more nature we need.”
Richard Louv
The Basics
We need nature—and each other.
Science has proven that connecting to nature makes us happier, stronger, gentler, calmer, braver, bolder, wiser.
I connect people to nature to help them heal and thrive. I connect organizations to nature to help them think differently and excel. And through nature, we connect to one another.
This sounds like common sense, because it is. It seems simple, because it should be. However, life today is often designed to keep nature out, turning what I do into the art and science of letting nature back in—in ways that are safe, relevant, accessible, sustainable, ethical, fundable, and invaluable.
From private therapy to public initiatives, I make nature part of the solution. I live and work in Kitsilano and Gambier Island, and take special projects and corporate contracts in the Vancouver Lower Mainland.
Bio
A finance degree and four chickens.
My adult life started on a fairly well-trodden path—with a BComm in finance and plans to get my CFA while working at an investment banking company in Calgary. But deep down I knew this just wasn't for me. So I took a leap. With $500, a sleeping bag, and a backpack, I went to the most beautiful city I had ever seen: Vancouver, British Columbia.
I soon learned that I preferred the less-trodden paths. I became a telecommuting contractor before that was really a thing—working for VanCity, MEC, Dairyworld and others. I jumped into the newly emerging world of CSR (corporate social responsibility) and joined the CBSR board in its early days. I also went back to school to study community economic development and completed an interdisciplinary master's degree at Simon Fraser University. By that time, I was revelling in my longtime love for community and now had my heart set on finding and caring for land. I completed my permaculture design certificate, my horticultural therapy certificate, and began dabbling as a naturalist, grower, and maker—while starting the beautiful gong show of having a family.
Today, I run a unique type of social enterprise that creatively integrates all my backgrounds: my lifelong love of nature, along with my knowledge of finance, project management, community organizing, horticultural therapy, and permaculture. I use this skill set to broaden the applications of nature-based solutions—through my business and through my board work with the Canadian Horticultural Therapy Association. At the same time, I am pioneering a space for "workplace naturalist" by collaborating with forward-thinking corporations intrigued by the power of nature.
So in short, I have a keen analytic mind and a love for soil under my nails. I have an enterprising spirit and four delightful chickens.
