While pursuing her bachelor’s degree in Magazine Journalism at California State University Long Beach, Karin developed a profound love of nature after selecting a Wilderness Studies emphasis. The curriculum required that she and a close-knit circle of fellow students regularly flee the concrete jungle to backpack, rock climb, kayak, canoe, cross-country ski, or snow camp in the Sierras. Longing to develop a deep sense of place and experience wilderness in her own back yard, she arrived in Ashland 21 years ago to earn a master’s degree in Environmental Education at Southern Oregon University.

With degree in hand, she dedicated many years to helping develop an exemplary environmental education program at North Mountain Park Nature Center in Ashland. After initiating a beloved pre-school puppet theater program, she became known as “the puppet lady” to many of Ashland’s youngest residents. Other rewarding environmental education moments came while spending long summer days with wide-eyed campers or observing the process by which 6th-grade girls usurp the role of structural engineers from their male counterparts while erecting a group survival shelter.

As much as Karin anticipated that her new career would be spent in the outdoors with young people, an astute professor noted that she could do well combining her degrees in journalism and environmental education. An interpretive design business was born, resulting in the creation of exhibits, interpretive materials, and wayside signs for many Southern Oregon and, more recently, Central Oregon locales. When time allows, solo or partnered adventures like backpacking the Baja peninsula, cycling the Pacific Coast, tracking turtles in Greece, exploring the mountain towns of Guatemala, or yoga/ocean swimming retreats on Hawaii’s big island serve as a reminder of the incredible healing power of nature.

Ready to book? Contact me or visit my AirBnB or VRBO pages.