FOUNDER and EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Dawn Robinette, Founder and Executive Director of The Ohmapi Nature Project, invites families and educators to rediscover the natural world as a place of deep learning, wonder, and connection. With over 13 years of experience in outdoor education, she has cultivated a way of teaching that brings academics to life, where reading, writing, mathematics, and science unfold through direct experience on the land.

Through her work, she has developed a thoughtful, holistic curriculum that guides homeschooling families in weaving academic learning into the rhythms of nature.

Dawn’s approach blends storytelling, curiosity, and hands-on exploration, honoring the child’s innate sense of wonder. She believes that the natural world is not only a place to play, but a living, breathing teacher, one that invites us to slow down, observe deeply, and learn in ways that stay with us for a lifetime.

WILDERNESS INSTRUCTOR

Scot is a wilderness awareness specialist and organic gardener who has lived in Nevada county for 50 years. Scot has an extensive background in naturalist studies, animal and human tracking, wilderness living skills, disaster preparedness, and organic agriculture. He loves to share the wonder and satisfaction of “seed to harvest.” His tracking is all about cultivating awareness - employing the arts of observation, intuition and questioning to reveal the great mystery of nature in all its forms.  Scot trained in tracking through many organizations, including the Tracker School, Universal Tracking services, and Fernando Moriera’s Professional Tracking program. He is a certified Level 3 tracker with the Cyber tracker program, and has been a leader on Nevada County’s Search and Rescue tracking team. Locally, Scot has taught youth and families through 4EEE's Fox Walker programs and now OhmapiNature project. 

HANDWORK INSTRUCTOR

As the oldest of seven, Shan was blessed to grow up on a beautiful farm in Central Illinois, where nature and life skills were a part of daily life. 

After graduation from the University of Illinois with a degree in Microbiology, Shan moved to Cambridge, England with her husband and worked and taught in a small college biology laboratory.  Later as a young mother, she began teaching in her children’s schools: first in a Montessori School and later in a Waldorf School. She completed Waldorf teacher training at Rudolf Steiner College in Fair Oaks, CA in 1989 and taught as a class teacher in Grass Valley, Santa Cruz and Fair Oaks for 10 years.

  In July of 2023, Shan completed a 4- year Applied Arts Handwork Teacher Training Program through the Fiber Craft Studio at the Threefold Educational Center in Spring Valley, NY. This training program helped solidify her work as Handwork Teacher for all ages: Children, adults and a teacher of future handwork teachers. 

STORYTELLER INSTRUCTOR

Stacey began working with schools in 2008. She started teaching professionally in 2011 as a science and math teacher for grades 6-12 at a private school in Orange County, where all classes were taught one-to-one.

She believes in a whole-brain, multi-sensory approach to education, meeting the child where they are intellectually and emotionally, working toward making academic concepts relevant to the child's interests. Most of all, she believes Nature is our greatest teacher. Inspired by nature-based educational experiences, she has a love for many ancestral skills including cordage, weaving, fire by friction, plant identification, building shelter, and environmental awareness.

Stacey grew up in rural coastal South Carolina and graduated from a small liberal arts college on the west coast of Florida with a BA in Biology.