Working and traveling in a diverse array of cultures and natural settings has allowed Abigail to explore the human/nature relationship from a variety of perspectives. It has allowed her to reflect upon her own relationship with the earth and others, and to imagine and experience different ways of living and relating. Traveling and nature are the two threads that have consistently woven together an otherwise diverse array of experiences into the tapestry that is her life. Her passion is to be always immersed and always learning. In terms of formal education, she holds a BS in Terrestrial Ecology from Western Washington University and an MS in Environmental Education from Antioch New England Graduate School. Her work in both programs focused on Human Ecology; how and why humans relate to the natural world and how culture, religion, and upbringing affect this relationship. As an educator she works with programs that are lifestyle-based and skills-oriented and are asking some of the larger questions around how to live lives that are more sustainable and enriching.
Wim Aspeslagh is an educator in issues related to sustainable development, ecological sensibility and right livelihood. As a native of Belgium, he has been teaching and working in the US (University of Oregon, California Institute of Integral Studies) Europe (Belgium and Dutch Greens) Asia (Sarvodaya Movement, Sri Lanka; Auroville, India) Japan, Armenia, and Africa (Rwanda and Morrocco). Teaching topics include sustainable development and sustainable communities; cultural construction of nature; eco-philosophies and ecological worldviews; structural analysis of socio-economic and political globalization; and engaged spirituality. Wim has worked with educators, activists, students and non-governmental organizations with the intention to facilitate a holistic integration of personal development and political change. Wim holds an interdisciplinary MS in International Studies, focusing on the interrelationship between economic development, social justice and ecological sustainability within the context of an engaged spirituality.
Jenn has spent the past several years in Asia - as a Peace Corp Volunteer in Thailand, trekking and traveling in Nepal, and as a Geocommons Faculty in southern India. She is passionate about exploring people and their relationship to the place they live. With a B.S. degree from Trinity College in Environmental Studies with an emphasis on biology, and a MS degree from the Audubon Expedition Institute/Lesley College Environmental Education program, she brings to Geocommons years of experience co-creating authentic, experientially based learning communities of graduate and undergraduate students as faculty of the Audubon Expedition Institute. She resides in Maine when she is not traveling the world with students. She cultivates an organic garden and wildcrafts medicinal plants, while continuing a process of building a passive solar home.