EDUCATORS

Jenny Kapke is an elementary education teacher with a Master's in Educational Psychology and a profound passion for connecting others with wild spaces outdoors and within themselves. For over a decade Jenny has worked in progressive education in Denver, most recently in a multi-age classroom of 2nd and 3rd graders at the Rocky Mountain School of Expeditionary Learning. She took her 25 students on field work regularly and multiple over-night trips a year including rafting, climbing and snow shoeing. After the birth of her son, Conrad in 2016, her family moved from Denver to Durango where she connected with the local forest school community and began spending multiple days a week in the wilderness with her son. The growth, confidence and connection she has seen in Conrad during this time has inspired her to create and grow nature-based, self-directed education opportunities for members of the Durango community. She has recently earned a Nature Based Teaching Certification from ERAFAN's and is First Aid and CPR certified. Prior to becoming a teacher and mother Jenny was a wilderness adventure guide with Bold Earth expeditions leading middle school and high schoolers on wilderness adventures in Utah, Colorado, California, Hawaii and Australia. She also completed a NOLS semester in the Sonoran Desert where she spent three months climbing, backpacking and sea kayaking.In her free time she can be found floating rivers with her family, biking local trails, traipsing around the desert and learning about local birds and wild edibles.