The Children & Nature Network strives to support and increase the leadership and diversity of young people benefiting from and contributing to meaningful connections to nature, outdoor activities and outdoor-related careers. As part of this effort, we engage young leaders to serve on our annual Youth Advisory Council to help guide the planning, production and facilitation of our Nature Everywhere Conference and other key pieces of our 2025 Nature Everywhere vision. 

Composed of eight powerful young leaders, the Youth Advisory Council meets monthly to inform the conference planning process and share valuable insight into youth programming. Council members must be between the ages of 20-30 years old and must have some connection to the movement for children and nature. To learn more about the inner workings of the council, check out “Beyond mentorship: Engaging young people in designing nature programs,” a Finding Nature News story.

This year’s Youth Advisory Council members include:

Emma Boicken, She/Her

Emma lives in Madison, Wisconsin, but was born and raised in a small farming community in Illinois. Growing up, Emma was always outside, which fostered her love for nature. Not only is Emma passionate about nature, she is also extremely passionate about event planning. Emma’s current role with the City of Madison Parks Division combines both of those things. Emma connects the Madison community to the Parks system by planning “Learn to” events and other special events in parks throughout the city. She loves being outside and watching people in the community enjoy the many activities that Madison’s parks have to offer.

 

Jared Bynum, He/Him

Jared is an environmental justice advocate and community organizer in Denver, Colorado, and a student of urban planning and sustainability policy. Passionate about all things that connect people with the pristine landscapes, towering peaks and spacious valleys of the Southern Rockies, he helped guide efforts to establish Colorado’s Outdoor Equity Grant Program, which provides millions of dollars in resources to engage BIPOC youth, youth with disabilities, and LGBTQ youth and their families in outdoor recreation. In his free time, Jared serves on the boards of several local, state and national political advocacy and environmental organizations, and enjoys hiking, backpacking and exploring Denver’s urban and mountain trails network.

 

Rowan Koester-Jess, She/They

Rowan grew up exploring Madison’s city parks as well as visiting the woods, prairies and lakes all around Wisconsin. These early introductions to the outdoors created a love for being and learning in nature and a passion for making sure these opportunities are available to all. Rowan has a degree in Outdoor Education with an emphasis on equity and inclusion from Northland College. Currently, they are an environmental educator at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center and are loving spending time playing, learning and exploring the outdoors with students. In their free time, Rowan loves to garden, swim, cook and craft!

 

Rachel Metz, She/Her

Rachel Metz is the assistant director of the California Nature Art Museum on the central coast. In her position, she spearheads all things museum “programs” – volunteer, field trips and community education & outreach. Her areas of passion and expertise include curriculum development, community education and outreach, fostering new and existing partnerships, and environmental philosophy/advocacy. She earned an MS in Philosophy (specializing in environmental philosophy) from the University of Edinburgh in April 2022, and while all flora and fauna are close to her heart, she has always been especially drawn to coastal and marine conservation. 

She was born and raised in a suburb of Southern California (about 50 miles from the coast) and now lives in Solvang with her two young daughters, Tigerlily and Fawn. The three of them enjoy tide-pooling, visiting National & State Parks, beachcombing, kayaking and nature journaling together in their free time.

 

Zara Noreen, She/Her

Zara is a Chinese American adoptee raised as a “city girl” in Hoboken, New Jersey. She has had an interest in science and nature from a young age, attending nature camps, conservation sustainability policy summits and putting samples of everything and anything under a microscope. Currently, Zara is a scientific program manager supporting work within scientific research, education and communications in the government sector. As an avid diver, she enjoys underwater photography to educate and bring awareness to endangered species and coral health through organizations such as Tortuguero Vive Mar, Oceans2Earth and PADI AWARE. Zara is extremely grateful to have the opportunity to travel to places like Mexico, Puerto Rico and Hawaii’s Big Island while raising awareness for conservation education and nature access, both in her professional and personal life.

 

Siri Nycklemoe, She/Her 

Siri Nycklemoe is an environmental educator at Aldo Leopold Nature Center in Madison, Wisconsin. She has a background in child development and previously worked as a Certified TimberNook Provider for Edina Public Schools. In her free time, Siri enjoys cross-country skiing, cooking and camping with her husband Sam and their basset-hound pup, Luka.

 

Leidy Pineda Flores, She/Her/Ella

Leidy is based out of Boulder, Colorado, where she has had the opportunity to serve the community as an environmental educator, naturalist and community connector. She is currently serving as a bilingual education and outreach senior representative for City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks. Leidy is also undertaking undergraduate studies in Environmental Studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Her experience in the outdoors growing up in Boulder has enabled her to address barriers and inequities to outdoor access. She is deeply passionate about co-creating relevant and meaningful experiences with underrepresented youth and families in outdoor spaces. During her time off, she enjoys hiking with family and friends as well as taking a lot of photos.

 

Kimiko Lorraine Russell-Halterman, She/Her

Kimiko was born and raised in Oakland, California, the unceded home of the Muwekma Ohlone, and always felt a pull to the sea. She is now grateful to be in community with the Ocean and many friends and family, including her ancestors from many shores, through wave riding, free diving, harvesting and anything she can do to be in the sea. Kimiko had the privilege of living and working on Pimu, or Catalina Island, in outdoor education, and was deeply impacted by the many experiences she shared with young people in the water there. Kimiko is passionate about education and nature reconnection as justice, and grateful to be part of the Brown Girl Surf community as environmental education specialist and summer program manager. Currently, Kimiko is pursuing a Ph.D. in education and learning from Black and Brown youth leaders about how community-based and culturally sustaining “outdoor ed” can be a radical tool in dismantling the injustices that have tried to separate Black, Indigenous and all People of Color from nature, something we have and will always be part of.

The Children & Nature Network’s annual international conference brings together leaders from a broad range of disciplines, all committed to the health and well-being of children and communities. Click here to learn more and register for the 2024 Nature Everywhere Conference, which will take place May 28-31 at Monona Terrace in Madison, Wisconsin.

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