Birch came to the Sierras for the stable snowpack, bluebird powder, and the best tree skiing on the planet. He's stayed for the mountain biking, amazing back country and the neighborhood bears. Like any Birch, ours loves to be near water and has spent his summer surfing in Santa Cruz, swimming and camping at every lake between Tahoe and the Pacific while working for a conservation exchange. Birch earned a political science degree from Ball State University and was a social worker for at-risk and under-served youth in the Chicago suburbs.
Program Facilitator
A resid
ent of South Tahoe, Kokanee has been working with Great Basin Outdoor School since 2008. She has three, active teenage boys, is a leader for Boy Scout Troop 468/594, and a Whittell HS Boosters member. She attended UC Santa Barbara studying Geography and Environmental Studies, and had a career in City Planning before moving to Europe and starting a family. Her favorite hobbies are traveling, baking, and any sport that is outdoors.
Sage Lucas "Sage" Baxter earned a BS from UNR in Forest and Rangeland Management and has lived in the Great Basin and Tahoe area for six years. He built trails for the Forest Service lovally and spends every spare moment on the trails either on his bike or in his boots. He loves connecting with the children at Great Basin Outdoor School and sharing his knowledge of the great outdoors with them.
Water Lily Lizzy "Water Lily" Bauer graduated from Humboldt State University with a degree in English and Creative Writing. Having grown up in the southern Sierra Nevada near Sequoia National Park, she has always had a love for nature and the outdoors. She has worked as a park ranger in Sequoia National Park where she also gave cave tours and in Redwood National Park. At the Oregon Zoo she trained animals and taught children as a naturalist and camp leader. She loves backpacking, whitewater rafting, and learning and teaching about nature.
Foxtail Adam "Foxtail" Hesse is a marine biologist, having just completed post graduate work in New Zealand. He is also an accomplished artist and has exhibited his oil paintings throughout southeastern Europe and the U.S. He plans to pursue biological and zoological systems and their relation to modern society.
Manzanita Marika "Manzanita" Baren is our true Nevadan who was born, reared, and educated in Northern Nevada. She earned her BA in Spanish and English at UNR and has traveled extensively in Latin America and Spain. She also tutors children in Washoe County schools and uses her Spanish skills helping English language learners.
