Rachel worked for 15 years as director of education at the Chippewa Nature Center in Midland, Michigan. Not only does she write and speak extensively on connecting children to nature through high-quality, nature-based early childhood education, Larimore is also pursuing a PhD in curriculum, instruction, and teacher education at Michigan State University.
Patti Ensel Bailie, PhD, is one of the leaders in the national nature preschool movement. She is an assistant professor of early childhood education at the University of Maine at Farmington and has worked in early childhood environmental education for 30 years. She is the founding director of the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center Preschool and served as the codirector of the Early Childhood Outdoors Institute at the Fontenelle Nature Association in Omaha, NE. She presents at regional and national conferences on connecting young children to nature.