About Us

Larissa is a dedicated educator and guide who brings over a decade of experience connecting youth and young adults to the natural world. Whether in the forest or on the farm, she cultivates curiosity, confidence, and a deep sense of belonging through hands-on, earth-centered learning.

Her background includes roles as a nature program director at summer camps and a wilderness therapy guide, and she has spent years mentoring children in outdoor environments. A strong believer in learning by doing, Larissa even built her own straw bale home from the ground up, an experience that reflects her commitment to sustainable living and experiential education.

Larissa enjoys teaching both young minds and more seasoned ones, sharing her skills and passion across generations. In addition to leading a dynamic summertime farm school program and serving as a beloved mentor at Forest of Light Nature Academy, she is also an instructor for natural building classes, where she helps others learn to create with intention, sustainability, and care.

Ondrej is a seasoned builder, researcher, inventor, educator, and father who brings a deeply creative and grounded approach to everything he builds. His work ranges from shaping straw bales and sculpting wood to designing off-grid systems, all done in harmony with the land.

He takes a permaculture approach to his projects, viewing all systems and food production through a holistic lens. His designs are as functional as they are beautiful, integrating natural materials with thoughtful systems thinking.

As an instructor for our natural building courses, Ondrej shares both practical techniques and the deeper principles behind sustainable construction. He is an active Building Research Engineer at Western Michigan University, where he focuses on advancing construction methods and codes to promote highly energy-efficient, sustainable housing.

Ondrej’s inventive spirit, wealth of experience, and commitment to ecological balance make his courses both inspiring and deeply informative for anyone looking to build in connection with the earth.