Class Leaders

I teach Monday evenings at 5:00pm at Noblitt Park in Columbus.

 My name is Maranda. I’m married to Kyle and we have 3 children. Our son, Roman, is 6.5. Our daughter, Ezri, is 4 years old. And our youngest daughter, Amarie, is 1 year old. We live on 5.5 acres in Brown County and have 1 dog, 3 cats, and 2 bunnies ( and we’ll probably have ducks and chickens soon too!). As a family, we love spending time outdoors hiking, camping, and really any outdoor adventure.   Pre kids, I was an elementary school teacher at a school in Indianapolis. While I loved teaching, I quickly realized that I didn’t want to teach in a traditional classroom. So I went back to school and earned a degree in environmental science/ecology. I got a job at a national wildlife refuge where I led environmental education programs for people of all ages.   I became a stay at home mom when my son was born. After my first daughter was born, a couple of my friends and I started a local chapter of Free Forest School. Free Forest School is an organization that promotes unstructured, child-led outdoor play by hosting regular meetups across the country. I facilitated meet ups until the start of the pandemic.   My family has been involved in Nature Explorers Club since it’s beginning. It’s been a wonderful experience, learning about nature and connecting with other families that love the outdoors as much as we do. It’s been neat to see the club grow and evolve!   In my spare time, I enjoy reading, gardening, hiking, biking, drinking copious amounts of coffee, and cooking. I’m a vegetarian and am always trying to make recipes that even my meat eating family will love. We are also a homeschooling family.  I’m so excited for this opportunity to teach and I can’t wait to explore nature with you!

Reach me at maranda.mynatureclub@gmail.com

I teach the Babies class at 11 am on Wednesdays at Griffy Lake in Bloomington

Hi! My name Jael Martin. I am from Michigan City, studying Public Relations and Media at Indiana University, which has brought me to Bloomington, IN. I am a mom to a sweet 10-month old little boy! 

Being outside and enjoying nature has been one of my solace’s since childhood, and activities like camping, kayaking, and hiking are among my favorites. 

I’ve partaken in numerous of hobbies and activities but my favorite is photography, a passion I’ve pursued for a couple of years, for which I see a way to capture life’s fleeting moments. 

I have many nieces and nephews so I have learned and grown with children since my childhood! I also spent time as a Teacher Assistant at a Montessori school for a couple years. 

Family time holds a special place in my heart and my love for learning and nurturing has deep roots. As a first-time mom, I’m on a journey to explore and grow with my son, eagerly anticipating the Nature Club experience with fellow parents and our little ones by our side.

Reach me at jael.mynatureclub@gmail.com

I teach the mixed age class on Wednesdays at at 3 pm at  

Old Town Waverly Park in Martinsville 

Hello! I am Bre. My husband, Billy, and I are high school sweethearts and have been married for 7 years.
We have 2 kiddos! Claire is 7 years old, and Korbyn is 4 years old.
Claire is my social butterfly! She is full of energy. She wants to be dressed up fancy, but she also better have her bug catcher on hand.
Korbyn is more introverted but is a really silly dude. He's the best lightning bug catcher on this side of the Mississippi!
We have a cat named Salem, a dog named Oz, and are currently raising tree frogs.

I became a stay-at-home mom when my daughter was born. It was very important to me at the beginning to get outside each day just to break our usual routine. This quickly snowballed into going on hikes and finding outdoor adventures. I then saw Breanna's post in a local Facebook group about a nature class she had.
We joined Nature Explorers in the hopes of finding something that really spoke to us. We were not disappointed! We all 3 absolutely adored Breanna's class and all the love and dedication she puts into these classes. We learned, we played, and we felt welcomed.

I am beyond excited that I have been given the opportunity to continue enjoying nature while hopefully giving families the same feelings we experience. I truly believe teaching our kids about the world they live in and how to treat it is so important. The appreciation for nature will only continue to grow, and we might be raising the next Planet Savers! I truly can not wait to get started and grow our nature village!

Reach me at bre.mynatureclub@gmail.com

I teach the mixed ages class on Mondays at 10 am at Johnson County Park in Trafalgar

Hello! My name is Ruth and my husband Jim and I are about to celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary! We have a 2 year old daughter Matilda, and are expecting our 2nd child in December. Matilda is shy, but spirited when she gets to know you! She absolutely loves her dog Alina, a 10 year old Labrador mix that we rescued as a baby. 

We moved back to Indiana 3 years ago and started our little farm (which is very much a work in progress). Matilda loves the outdoors! She would spend all day outside if she could…and she usually can! She loves to garden, explore, play in any form of water, and her favorite pastime is chasing birds. I’m always amazed at how some fresh air and sunshine can instantly turn a child’s mood. That’s why when I read about the Nature Explorer’s Club I signed her up immediately!  We have loved our adventures, all of the new friends that we have both made, and we have learned a lot in the process.

I’m so excited to be a part of a new group of nature lovers! I look forward to meeting new families, cultivating your children’s love for the outdoors, and creating a community that recognizes and appreciates the beauty that is all around us!

Reach me at Ruth.mynatureclub@gmail.com

I teach the mixed ages class on Wednesdays at 10 am at the grounds of Servant of Christ Lutheran Church in Indianapolis

Hey! My name is Courtney! My husband Ryan and I have been married for 11 years and we have two beautiful, active little boys! I grew up going hiking around Indiana at state parks like Turkey Run and Clifty Falls. I am ‘solar powered’ and feel most at peace when outside in the sun and fresh air. My husband and I lived in Georgia for over a decade and during the first year of covid, my oldest son and I thrived exploring the woods and river behind our house in our little Atlanta suburb. We spend as much time as we can outside everyday and we are always the first of our friends and family to get dirty! My boys attend a co-operative preschool where I am an active board member and I also serve in our church kids ministry leading the one year old class on Sundays. Reading and spending time together are so important to us, and I hope to share our love of the outdoors and learning to everyone around us!

Reach me at Courtney.mynatureclub@gmail.com

I teach the mixed ages class on Wednesdays at 4:30 at Clifty Falls State Park in Madison

Hello! My name is Kendra. I have lived in Madison for the last 8 years. I am a dedicated wife and the mother of two sweet boys. I have a bachelors degree in elementary education. I took a step back from teaching to raise my kids, but teaching still remains my passion.

Our family is made up of my husband, Shad, myself, and our two sons, Parker and Hudson (who always goes by Hudsy). We are a pet family. Lots of animals live in our house! We have three bearded dragons, a lepord gecko, a corn snake, a red eared slider turtle, five goldfish, four cats and five dogs! We also have a toad that lives on our porch; the boys have named him Steve. Nearly all of our pets are rescue animals. They are all very spoiled and loved.

In addition to being big animal lovers, our boys also REALLY love bugs, mud, flowers and all things nature! We spend a lot of time outdoors, playing tball, hiking, collecting bugs, frogs, rocks and leaves. When I was a little kid I spent every summer going camping with my parents. We were at campgrounds so often, I actually earned several junior DNR patches. I still have them and I remember the time I spent learning about nature as one of my favorite parts of my childhood!

I cannot wait to have your families join us for nature club and learn about nature and why our family loves it so much!!

Reach me at Kendra.mynatureclub@gmail.com

I teach the mixed ages class on Mondays at 10:00 at Lion's Park in Zionsville

Hi! I’m Laura, married to my high school sweetheart Tim, mama to two beautiful kids and two fluffy dogs. 

A passion for access to clean drinking water led me to study environmental science as an undergraduate and environmental engineering in grad school. As a volunteer with Women in Engineering, I taught programs for elementary students that made all things science and nature fun and engaging, and that connection to environmental education has remained important to me. 

I am working towards becoming a certified Indiana Master Naturalist, and have learned a lot over the past decade through my involvement with the Indiana Native Plant Society. I’ve become slightly obsessed with the importance of native plants in home landscaping, which led me to plant over 100 native plants, trees, and shrubs in our yard last summer. 

I love being outside with my kids and experiencing the beauty of the natural world through their eyes. We love exploring parks and playgrounds, trails and gardens, making friends with trees and flowers and birds along the way. 

There are countless lifelong benefits to spending time outdoors, especially for children with their caregivers, and I’m thrilled to have the chance to share that with more families. I can’t wait to spend time outside with you and your kids, learning, playing, and exploring together!

Reach me at Laura.mynatureclub@gmail.com

I teach the mixed ages class on Tuesdays at 5:00 at Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge in Seyour

Hey! I'm Lindsey, a full-time health teacher with a passion for outdoor education. My husband and I have an almost two-year-old, and we love planning our vacations around great food and the best hiking spots. Green spaces are my happy place, and I can’t get enough of sunshine. When I'm not teaching or adventuring outdoors with my family, I'm coaching wrestling.

Reach me at Lindsey.mynatureclub@gmail.com