I am a retired Early Childhood educator (mostly Kindergarten), with a B.A. in biology. Since I was a young child, I have always been fascinated with the natural world. A generalist, I nevertheless have a special interest in plants and bugs, animal behavior, symbiosis, and in interpreting species diversity through evolutionary mechanisms. Birds, mammals, and marine life also interest me, though I am far from being expert in those areas.
In retirement, I have been particularly interested in merging my educational knowledge with my interest in biodiversity, and have produced a number of presentational devices and other educational products. I see the direct, interactional involvement of young children in the natural world as being critical for developing a sustainable relationship with the life that we share this planet with.
Finally, I am a proponent of place-based approaches to the education of young children in the natural processes of the natural world, starting with what is common, familiar and local, and then branching outward.