Get to know Lori Powell (she/her), our CAP Instructor at New Vista High School! With experience ranging from experiential education to play-based learning, Lori knows how to bring life to a classroom! Learn more about Lori below, and read our other staff and board profiles here!
What led you to become an environmental educator?
I love spending time outdoors and have been excited to work outdoors as well as teach people about outdoor and environmental topics. I believe that people can learn a great deal about themselves when removed from the indoor environments where we tend to spend most of our time.
What is your favorite environmental topic to teach?
I enjoy teaching students how to set up camp, including hanging a bear bag and preparing to spend the night outdoors in a new place.
Do you have a formative memory of when you learned to love the outdoors?
I have general memories of spending a significant amount of time outdoors as a child with freedom to roam around in the woods and natural areas not far from where I lived in Washington state. I remember enjoying the opportunity to explore and be immersed without any significant goals or agenda.
How do you connect to nature?
I have done a variety of outdoor activities over the years, and I currently tend to spend my time camping, hiking, paddle boarding, and snowboarding. I like to find quiet spaces where I can get great views and feel like I have the place all to myself.
What do you do outside of working for Cottonwood?
Outside of work I can be found spending time with my family and our newly adopted dog. I also love reading and baking in addition to spending time outdoors.
What is your favorite snack to eat in the woods?
I love to enjoy chocolate outdoors and especially as a reward for an accomplishment like getting to the summit of a peak. I fondly remember eating one Snickers bar at each of three different rest breaks when hiking to the summit of Mt. Rainier many years ago.
What’s an unusual skill people might not know you have?
I used to teach sign language as a tool for early communication for infants and toddlers, and I still know hundreds of ASL signs.
We’re so grateful to have Lori on our team! Follow us for all Cottonwood news this fall:
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