Tonight, November 22, 2016, at 7pm, I will be sharing my photos from Borneo in a free educational presentation at Grow Benzie (5885 Frankfort Highway, Benzonia, MI).   Borneo’s Forest Battle: Palm Oil vs. the Rainforest   There are two islands in the world where orangutans survive in the wild: Borneo and Sumatra. The ancient rainforests …

Register for Nature Explorers classes at Grow Benzie by contacting amaliaceleste@gmail.com or 231-871-0276.    My environmental education organization, Nature Explorers International (NEI), has recently found an incredible community partnership at Grow Benzie. At my new office and classroom space, I have the opportunity to both ground NEI in the community, and give it room to flourish. My …

I’m very honored to have been featured in Something In Her Ramblings travel blog as part of the Women Who Travel Solo Series. I hope that my story about volunteering in Uganda will help to inspire other women to travel solo in Africa. Lauren Salisbury’s travel blog focuses on providing resources and tips for solo travelers …

  Observations from the plane on my first trip to mainland Africa for this week’s Throwback Thursday (January, 2011)…   Vast plains of sand spread below the airplane window as the orange light of the setting sun illuminated sandy peaks and a winding river. The Sahara desert is the largest in the world, covering one …

  After trekking for two days through a Thai bamboo jungle with a stomach bug, I arrived in a small Karen village. I was sick, muddy, sweaty, and exhausted. But the first thing that I did was find the children and took out the bubbles, crayons, and paper that had traveled all that way in …