The modern world isn’t conducive to connecting deeply to ourselves, others, or nature. This can leave us feeling confused, stressed, unfulfilled and unhappy (believe me, I’ve been there).Humans have evolved in synchrony with nature over tens of thousands of years, we aren’t meant to spend all day at computers worrying about everything.

At least, that’s where I found myself a few years ago.

I was totally burnt out and on the wrong path to nowhere. One divorce, a layoff, and two moves later, I found myself enrolled in a Master Gardener course through UCONN that then opened the doors for a Permaculture Design Certificate and career coaching business. In the middle of a global pandemic my fiance and I manifested and moved to our dream farmhouse in rural Connecticut. We immediately set up shop to build a vegetable garden and start our own flock of chickens. My life has changed drastically in just a few short years, but I have never felt more in my element, never more certain of what I’m here in this world to do. Which is awfully close to Frodo’s blessing to Sam in The Return of The King:

“Your hands and your wits will be needed everywhere. You will be the Mayor, of course, as long as you want to be, and the most famous gardener in history; and you will read things out of the Red Book, and keep alive the memory of the age that is gone, so that people will remember the Great Danger, and so love their beloved land all the more. And that will keep you as busy and as happy as anyone can be, as long as your part in the Story goes on. “

I feel this calling deep in my bones to help modern people reconnect to the magic of nature, not just the physical world but also our human natures. We are living in a time of so many crises and yet the solutions are simple and they all center around our connection to the land and to ourselves. Although I’ve recently reconnected with this part of myself, I realize that it’s been there all along.

When I was little, I would spend hours outside simply appreciating all the little things I noticed. Clusters of May bluets, drifting leaves, roadside wildflowers and sunsets. With my disposable camera in hand I faithfully documented everything that appealed to me. Simply observing and appreciating the glorious scenery around me. My mom always had a garden – she turned our shady hilltown home into a perennial plant oasis.

I loved to make brews and concoctions from plants, mint tea, “pioneer stew” (which was carrots, pepper, and water. I even tried grinding grass-seed heads to make flour. We also had pigs, chickens, goats and a parade of cats and dogs. As an adult, this morphed into self-sustainability and reducing my impact on the environment. I started growing more gardens, buying less plastic, and generally trying to source things in my life more locally and sustainably.

I’m learning more every day about food security and food justice and how I can be part of the solution to creating true equality and a healthy planet.  ​I went to Smith College and studied Art History (which is really cultural history!). Since then I’ve been a mostly a nonprofit fundraiser – but also a Massage Therapist, Career Coach, Master Gardener, Landscaper, MBTI Personality Type Administrator, and now on my way to a Permaculture Design Certificate. ​

If you’re into making yourself a better person, taking care of the environment, and connecting with the world around you, let’s work together.