Our Team

Educators

Shaylyn holds a BA in Environmental Studies from Naropa University and an MA in Learning, Developmental and Family Sciences from CU Denver. She also holds a Colorado Teaching License in Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education, as well as a Science Education 7-12 endorsement and is a certified kids yoga teacher. She finds deep joy in experiencing the magic of nature through children’s eyes and believes strongly in the benefit of nature connection for development of the whole child- physical, cognitive, and social/emotional- as well as the power of nature-based education for creating earth stewards to lead our society into a beautiful, whole, and sustainable future. In her free time she enjoys practicing Ashtanga Yoga, hiking, camping, painting, reading, baking, and eating yummy vegan food.

Nathan is completing his MSc in biology at Colorado State University, where he teaches introductory animal biology. He worked as a Wilderness Fellow for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, assisting wildlife refuge managers with the implementation of improved conservation strategies. His educational philosophy focuses on creating a dialogue between educators and learners, moving away from the traditional role of the teacher as a lecturer. In his research, he uses next-generation genetic sequencing techniques to investigate the evolution of behavior in Trinidadian guppies.

Julian attends an M.S. program in Ecology at Colorado State University. He has taught undergraduate introductory biology and evolution courses, and facilitated workshops focused on training other CSU graduate students to create more inclusive classrooms. When he is not teaching, he spends his time researching honeybee behavior for his master’s thesis and exploring Colorado’s vast natural areas in any way imaginable.

Marina is a PhD student in the Biology Department at Colorado State University whose research focuses on understanding and predicting the fitness effects of climate on migratory birds. In addition to her studies, Marina is passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM as well as engaging with the next generation of scientists through ecology education.

Advisor

Meena Balgopal is a discipline-based educational researcher and an insect ecologist. Her training is diverse and spans agro-ecology, insect ecology, and science education. For the past 15 years she has been studying the role that instructional strategies have on learners’ environmental (and scientific) literacy. Her research interests center on “writing to learn,” group work, and place-based curricula. Her research is conducted in both formal (school and college science classrooms) and informal (citizen science, community gardens) settings.

Board Members

Executive Director. B.A. in Environmental Studies from Colorado University, in Boulder, Colorado.

Director Board, Educator, Curricula Designer.