Coffee @ Ten: Bringing Outdoors In with Outdoor Educators, Sarah Mayhew and Sarah Koetje

Sarah Koetje is an outdoor educator, and former Education Specialist at the Little Traverse Conservancy, who moved to northern Michigan after graduating from Western Michigan with a degree in Interpersonal Communication and business. She and her two sons, Gavin and Rowan, love exploring and learning as much as possible about the world around them. Adventures big or small; they are up for it all!

“My interest in environmental education stems from my passion for nature, conservation, and my love for children. I pinch myself daily— what a gift, what a tremendous advantage. I get to enlighten young minds as they are simultaneously illuminating me. It’s pure magic.”

Sarah Mahew is an outdoor educator, and former Director of Education at the Little Traverse Conservancy. The granddaughter of Dana Houseworth, a well-known Michigan state park manager whose duties included Petoskey State Park, Sarah has conservation in her blood. In 2006, she received a B.S. degree in Outdoor Recreation Leadership & Management from Northern Michigan University.

Since then, her experiences have taken her to places such as Hawaii and the Pacific Northwest, where she has taught in various education and outdoor leadership settings. “As an environmental educator, I can expand on a traditional classroom lesson into one that will reach multiple learning styles while providing real-life, hands-on experience. They can see it, feel it, smell it, and understand it. They are experiencing nature. This experience gives them a sense of adventure, confidence, and accomplishment. It’s a gratifying feeling for me to be a part of that experience.”