Monica Wiedel-Lubinski

Monica Wiedel-Lubinski brings over two decades of leadership in nature-based education to local, regional, national, and international platforms. Her love of nature-based education blossomed at Irvine Nature Center where she was the founding director of The Nature Preschool. She launched several programs including a parent/child nature program, an immersive forest kindergarten, and a long-standing partnership with a preschool for Baltimore children in homeless situations. She was a key collaborator in the design of a Nature Explore Outdoor Classroom and visioned an annual Nature Preschool Conference (2012), which earned a 2016 Innovator of the Year Award under her leadership. She has since co-founded Wild Haven Forest Preschool (2017) and serves as the founding director of the Eastern Region Association of Forest and Nature Schools (ERAFANS). She advocates for nature-based education through teacher training, outdoor learning programs, and consulting to help others create nature-based programs and natural play spaces. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Art Education and a Master's degree in Early Childhood Education from Towson University.