Joshua Lowe, LMFT, is a licensed therapist, public educator, musician, and nature-oriented rites of passage and grief ceremony guide. He brings 20+ years’ experience supporting others in transformational journeying and has supported teens and adults in various communities including high school, men’s groups, nature, prisons, and in the therapy office. Joshua brings a deep reverence for the power of nature as a healing force and takes great joy in supporting others in deepening their relationship to self and community through nature immersion.

Instructor Claire Schneeberger is an educator leading workshops, classes, and healing circles related to meditation, mindfulness, compassion, and well-being. She facilitates a regular mindfulness meditation circle for WomenCARE, a center serving women with cancer in Central California, and holds teaching certifications in meditation from the San Francisco Integral Yoga Institute and in applied compassion from Stanford’s Center for Compassion and Altruism (CCARE). She is passionate about building communities and connections focused on compassion, empowerment, and well-being.

Instructor Lewis Regen has extensive and diverse experience teaching various Mindbody practices including Qi Gong, Tai Chi, Bagua, Yoga, Nature Therapy and Meditation. Lewis, who has studied with a variety of Grandmaster teachers since 2009, brings together the best of these practices and presents them in a transformative, engaging and accessible way. His ultimate goal is to embody and share the healing wisdom of these ancient techniques for Longevity, Mindfulness, and Compassion with everyone. Full bio and more information about Lewis at www.QiGongSantaCruz.com.

Our “Doc” is Steven Leib, M.D., whose career goal has always been to educate and inspire his patients to make healthy lifestyle choices—one step at a time. As a Diplomate in the American College of Family Medicine and Lifestyle Medicine, Dr. Leib has served our community for the past four decades. He would love to share his knowledge and experience of lifestyle medicine while walking alongside you in this lifelong journey towards optimal health. As such, whether it’s for the physical, mental, emotional, social or spiritual benefits, we hope you consider taking this Walk with a Doc.

Inspirational Nature Guides Dawni Pappas and Coleen Douglas have been co-creating with nature and leading educational experiences for over 20 years. Dawni is a lifelong student of nature, educator, author, plant communicator, and friend of Findhorn Foundation. Coleen is a singer who knows the power of music to open hearts. She has a BA in biology and is a group facilitator, energy healer, and grandmother. Dawni and Coleen are called to “Bring people back to nature, and nature back to people.”

Instructor Chelsea Moyer, LMFT, holds a Masters in Expressive Arts Therapy and certificate in Ecotherapy. Chelsea is passionate about working with creativity and nature to support people through life’s challenges. She was raised between the Rockies and plains of Colorado, and currently loves making the Santa Cruz mountains home. Chelsea integrates a variety of holistic approaches that are grounded in trauma-informed, person-centered, and culturally responsive care. Chelsea also offers counseling online and/or outdoors through her practice, Roots of Resilience Therapy.

Instructor Deanna Renee Falge (founder of Earth Embodied Journeys) is a passionate guide and Earth steward who has dedicated her life to supporting the unfolding of people’s life journey and transformation by nurturing their emotional and spiritual connection with the Earth, their body, community and self. Deanna is a Nature-Connected Coach (NCC) and Transformational Wilderness Guide (TWG), nature-based rites of passage guide, outdoor educator, backpacking guide, and embodiment facilitator. She facilitates women’s wilderness programs and retreats throughout Santa Cruz, Big Sur, and the Bay Area, which you can read more about on her website: earthembodiedcollective.com.

Instructor Ariana Candell, LMFT, Somatic Ecotherapist and founder of The Earthbody Institute, an Earth-centering, community-creating organization that train professionals to help people to connect to the sacredness and wisdom of the Earth for healing and life-regeneration. She has been guiding individuals and groups to develop relationships with the natural world for the last 15 years and includes the poignancy of "Honoring our Pain for the World" from The Work that Reconnects in her classes and workshops. She believes that healing and responsive actions for the Earth come from being held in community with humans, trees, waters, creatures and all beings. Ariana is a California native who has loved redwood forests since she was a child.

Aaron Bartley is an ecopsychology guide and naturalist with a passion for helping people rediscover meaningful connection with wild places.  For over 15 years Aaron has been a facilitator of men’s groups, nature immersion circles, and wilderness-based rites of passage. He has guided solo nature immersion programs in the Sierra Nevada, Death Valley, and throughout Central California and is a certified Wilderness First Responder.  He works to support individuals as they embody their authentic voice, strengthen their belonging to nature, and find renewed vision for their lives.  Aaron also serves as a guide at a nature reserve, where his mission is to inspire the public to build transformational, personal relationships with the lands they love.

Elexis Padrón is an artist, naturalist, and educator who is passionate about helping people deepen their connection with nature through practical, fun artistic practices. She was born and raised in California and has lived in many different human and natural ecosystems. Her practice is informed by the deeply rooted belief that humans are not separate from nature, and that recentering that bond that was never lost is crucial to moving forward in our current climate.

Kai Siedenburg is a poet, nature connection guide, and Ecotherapist who is passionate about helping people connect with nature as a path to greater peace, joy, and healing. Kai has lived in Santa Cruz for 36 years and has a deep and co-creative relationship with our local lands and waters. She is the author of three books of nature poetry and practices, Poems of Earth and Spirit, Space Between the Stones, and Love Poems from the Earth. Her teaching approach is rooted in listening to nature, infused with love for people and the Earth, and informed by 30-plus years’ experience. Learn more about Kai at www.OurNatureConnection.com.

Sarah Orre is a local artist and painting instructor who serves as the Youth Art Director at the Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center where she teaches adult and youth classes. Sarah grew up in the San Lorenzo Valley and her artwork is inspired by Santa Cruz Mountain landscapes. From the gorgeous California coast to the majestic redwood forests, there is endless inspiration to draw upon. Sarah’s passion for art comes through in her paintings and in her enthusiasm for inspiring others to learn and grow.

Sonya is a local yoga instructor who comes from a diverse background that includes studying Environmental Engineering at Cornell University, graduating from the Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco, running a multicultural environmental education program for the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, writing science curricula for the Community Science Workshop Network, teaching kids how to use SCUBA equipment at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and providing personal yoga instruction. She has spent the past two decades leading families and local school groups on field trips throughout the Monterey Bay Area hoping to instill a love for science, nature and the environment in all of her students.