Nathan Larson has worked in the fields of nature-, farm-, and garden-based education since the dawn of the 21st century. Over the past two decades, he has enjoyed and felt deeply grateful for many opportunities to work with students, educators, colleagues, and community partners to establish and grow vibrant garden-based education programs and networks. He currently leads the Cultivate Health Initiative, a joint public health project of Rooted and the Environmental Design Lab at UW-Madison to grow and sustain the school garden network and movement in Wisconsin. He also serves on the advisory council for the national School Garden Support Organization Network and on his local school district’s Wellness Advisory Council. Nathan lives and tends a garden with his wife and two children in Madison, Wisconsin.

 

Becky Hiller is a local Madison artist who enjoys creating art with a variety of media, gardening veggies and flowers, and working with young people.  She worked closely with Nathan Larson to illustrate this book, and bring to life the vibrant energy of Rooted's youth gardens.

 

Alex Wells is the Managing Director of the Environmental Design Lab, whose mission is healthy places for everyone. She manages the research, implementation, and evaluation of projects related to kids’ health and well-being, neighborhood placemaking, outdoor learning, and garden-based education.

 

Samuel Dennis, Jr. is Professor of Landscape Architecture at UW-Madison and the Research Director of the Environmental Design Lab. His work focuses on understanding and designing outdoor environments that support health and well-being with an emphasis on young people. He uses participatory methods to engage people in community planning, design, and placemaking.

 

Whitney Cohen is the Education Director at Life Lab and a lecturer at UC Santa Cruz. She is a teacher, trainer, and author with tremendous commitment to, and expertise in, place-based education, student-led inquiry, strategies for engaging a diverse student population, school gardens, and the intersection between environmental education and the public school system.

 

Mary Kay Warner is the owner of Sandhill Studio LLC. She was the art director on Teaching in Nature’s Classroom.