Hello, my name is Meredith English. I have been a nature lover and caregiver since adolescence. My formative learning years included outdoor educational experiences which sparked my love for being in nature. I have spent time leading outdoor team-building classes and was a rock climbing instructor for children. My journey teaching early education began in Los Angeles when I created a gardening curriculum for preschool, elementary, and high school aged children. Since moving to Tennessee ten years ago, I have become a certified herbalist and teach herbal and foraging classes for people of all ages. I have also spent my time in Tennessee working on a farm and cultivating my family’s small homestead.

My family strives to live with rhythms of nature and honor the gifts Mother Nature provides for us. For as long as I can remember, I have been passionate about sharing nature experiences with people and especially with children. I believe nature is a great teacher and it provides spaces for children to explore, build confidence and connection with the world around them. I feel it is important to cultivate compassion for each other and the natural world so we can leave this earth in a better place than we received it. 

For these reasons I have dreamed about building a forest school for many years. I am very excited to embark on this journey of curiosity, adventure and care with you and Mother Nature!

Hi, my name is Laura Look. I was raised in the northern pine forests of Maine, and have been living on the Farm community here in Tennessee for the past 10 years. Here I married my fellow northern sweetheart and brought our two little ones, Tiger and Maple into the world.

Some of my earliest childhood memories take place in my great big backyard - eating tomatoes right out of the garden, biking the wooded paths, and playing house under the low hanging limbs of my favorite trees. As a young adult I worked for a mobile art therapy program, specifically providing services to low-income neighborhoods with a large Somali child refugee population. Working with children and developing trusting, compassionate relationships with them lit me up.

Since then I have worn many, many, many hats. I have worked as a sous chef, managed a hostel, coordinated events and festivals…but more recently I have worked in school administration and as a birth and postpartum doula. Now, finding myself with a preschool aged child and a babe in arms, I wish to build something strong, purposeful, and magical for my children and our community. 

I have experienced and witnessed what a good “dose” of nature will do for a child. Raising resilient, curious, and compassionate humans is the best thing that we can do for this world - and I believe there to be no better teacher than Mother Nature. I look forward to growing this community with you all!