Youth Program Instructors
“If a child is to keep alive their inborn sense of wonder…they need the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with them the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in.”
Ramzy Berbawy — Lead Instructor for School-year and Summer Youth Programs
Ramzy’s naturalist journey began stargazing on a football field, sparking a deep passion for the outdoors. He’s since worked on small farms across the Olympic Peninsula and Methow Valley, where he deepened his connection to the land. Ramzy has completed the Wildlife Tracking Intensive with the Wilderness Awareness School and is currently continuing his studies through CedarRoot’s Wildlife Tracking Immersion.
Ramzy is now in his fourth year as a youth nature studies instructor with CedarRoot and is also involved in adult programming. This year, he will co-lead CedarRoot’s new multi-month Wilderness Skills Immersion, sharing his extensive knowledge and mastery with those eager to dive deeper into learning these ancient and essential practices. His hands-on approach and passion for nature inspire his students, equipping them with practical skills and a lasting connection to the wild world around them.
Scott Brinton — Lead Instructor for School-year Youth Programs
Scott has nearly three decades of nature education experience. He has mentored hundreds of students in practical wilderness skills and nature awareness. He co-founded the Riekes Nature Studies Department in California, has taught Environmental Science for Peninsula College, and taught Islandwood’s graduate students in the Natural History and Ecology program. Most recently, Scott founded CedarRoot to help continue natural history and rural skills education.
He is passionate about applying ecological lessons discovered in nature to areas of regenerative design, sustainable development and agroecology. Education: B.A. in Agriculture and Alternative Energy, The Evergreen State College; M.A. in Natural History and Education, Prescott College. Certifications: Current Wilderness First Responder and Level 3 Track and Sign certificate, trackercertification.com.
Thuja Noba — Instructor for School-year Youth Programs
Thuja grew up on Duwamish territory, in what’s now known as West Seattle. Her love for nature connection began through permaculture studies and naturalist training at Fairhaven College in Bellingham. A life-changing immersion in regenerative farming followed, leading her to study and work on farms across the country.
Over the past three years, Thuja has been with the Wilderness Awareness School (WAS)—first as a student in their nine-month adult program, then as staff working with youth, and later training to mentor adults in nature connection. She’s also spent the last two years with Rites of Passage Journeys, supporting transformative experiences that help people reconnect with land, self, and community.
After two years away, Thuja is thrilled to return to the peninsula and join the Cedar Root team, continuing the work she loves.
Michelle Fox — Saplings Instructor
Michelle has spent over four decades inspiring and learning alongside children, with the past 15 years devoted to nature education. With an Elementary Teaching Credential and a passion for creative, immersive learning, she’s brought joy and connection into bilingual classrooms, Spanish immersion, preschool, and art, always rooted in curiosity and a deep love for the natural world. She founded TreeSong, a nature education nonprofit in SW Washington, and spent ten years there as director and lead youth instructor.
Now settled on the Olympic Peninsula, Michelle is thrilled to be CedarRoot’s Program Director and lead instructor for Saplings, continuing her heartwork of guiding people of all ages into deeper connection with the natural world.
Chloe Lampert — Lead Summer Camp Instructor
Chloe has been a part of the CedarRoot community for over a decade, evolving from student to instructor! She is grateful to have grown up under the mentorship of many local naturalists and organizations. She cherishes every opportunity to give back to the community that raised her, passing along the knowledge, skills, and joy accumulated throughout a childhood spent mostly barefoot and sopping wet.
Chloe is an undergraduate student at Colorado College, majoring in Organismal Biology and Ecology with a particular interest in mycology and entomopathogenic fungi. She spends her summers home, foraging for woodland trinkets and wild food, playing the guitar for snails, chasing tides and waterfalls, and dancing under the stars.
She believes in fostering love, curiosity, and reciprocity as mechanisms to bridge the cultural divide between “nature” and “human”.