Meet the Team
We are photographers, educators, naturalists, and volunteers passionate about nurturing the next generation of nature lovers. We believe in accessibility, inclusivity, and the power of experiential learning to spark change.
Executive Team
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Sarah was brought up on a country hobby farm surrounded by animals and nature. In the summertime, she would go camping and exploring with her family taking day trips out to the beautiful waterfronts in Ontario. When she was 16 she was given her first digital camera and sent to Australia on a youth exchange program for a month where she spent her time hiking and exploring the wilderness of New South Wales Australia. This experience awoke a new passion for photography and nature. Sarah continued to expand and explore taking her camera across multiple countries and capturing the beauty of different landscapes and nature through camping and photography.
To help her fund these explorations Sarah started working in Management at the age of 21 and proceeded to manage a variety of businesses over the course of her professional career. Through her experiences as a manager, she found herself excelling in a leadership role by encouraging self-growth and mentoring individuals to inspire a positive work-life balance.
Sarah's belief in a child's curiosity for the world makes them ideal to become excellent photographers. Now working with Focus on Nature, she works to nurture this curiosity and through it, children can grow as artists and be inspired to create wondrous and impressionable art.
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Abby connected with nature at a very young age as she has always enjoyed walking through forests, swimming in lakes and could be found chasing after butterflies. Abby’s favourite nature scene to photograph is the beautiful and colourful summer sunsets and sunrises. Her favourite sunset colours are pink and orange!
Abby has various experiences in the restaurant and customer service industry and excelled in the positions she took on. Abby is now a student at Wilfrid Laurier University and is enjoying her studies in the Social Work program. In both her work and education, Abby enjoys interacting and collaborating with others and enjoys bringing her creativity into her projects.
Abby believes that children are the true change-makers of the world and their sense of wonder and eagerness to interact and photograph nature is inspiring. Through her work with Focus on Nature, Abby works towards representing the goals, work and contributions of Focus on Nature to a variety of audiences through social media platforms.
Workshop Leaders
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Hi, Elliot here! I am a passionate creative who loves building deep human-nature connections through photography. I hope to inspire the next generation to love and appreciate the little pieces of beauty in the world!
With my background in film and television, I love planting creative seeds and helping to sew them into reality. In my free time, you would likely find me deep in the woods, hiking, camping, or with some binoculars trying to spot a cool bird. Overall, I believe that it is extremely enriching and important to be able to spend time connecting with nature.
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Laura has been surrounded by nature her entire life—whether it was swimming in the ocean as a child, hiking on family trips, or traveling to new places and discovering the beauty of nature around the world. In 2024, she earned an Honours Bachelor of Arts with a focus in Drawing and English, combining her love of the natural world with her passion for art to create paintings and illustrations that serve as love letters to Mother Nature. After spending several years working in marketing and graphic design, Laura decided to shift paths and discovered a new passion: teaching. She fell in love with working with children and sharing her appreciation for the environment with others. Laura is currently applying to teacher’s college and hopes to continue her journey toward a fulfilling career in education.
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Hi! My name's Taryn and I am very passionate about having a close relationship with nature. I believe it is important for everyone to be immersed in nature and outdoor activities. I love capturing beautiful moments in nature on my own camera, and look forward to fostering this love of nature photography in kids as well. I enjoy paddle boarding, hikes, swimming, canoeing and anything outside! It's even better that I get to do all these activities with my two dogs! I believe nature has the power to transform lives, create valuable experiences and lasting memories.
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Melosa's earliest memories of family outings are all of wilderness trails, beach barbecues along the Great Lakes, and visiting national parks. Although she grew up in a suburban area, she had many opportunities to connect with the great outdoors. She always preferred being the photographer rather than the photographed, and when gifted a small digital camera, she began exploring nature photography on local trails near her home.
Melosa believes that photography is equally enriching for individuals, or as a collaborative activity. Having previously led Focus on Nature summer camps, she encourages children to be independent artists, but still uplift and support their peers. She believes in the importance of self-expression through art. Melosa is continuing as a member of the Focus on Nature team to give children meaningful opportunities, and inspire them to care for the world around them.
Join Our Team
At Focus on Nature, we strive to connect children to nature through photography! We believe everyone should have an equal opportunity to participate in our workshops. As a growing charity, we are always looking for passionate, creative individuals who have a love for the arts, nature, and children.
