Our team consists of experienced wilderness instructors with expertise in a variety of fields. We are passionate about the skills we teach, and equally passionate about passing on our knowledge to others. Our teaching styles are very hands-on. Classes are spent in the field where students can develop first-hand experience. We limit our class size to a 13:1 student-to-teacher ratio in order to create an effective learning environment. See you in class!
Gabe Garms, Instructor and Co-Founder
Gabe is a core instructor for the Ethnobotany and Fermentation Immersion courses as well as a co-instructor for the Wilderness Survival, Natural Medicine Making, Permaculture and Bird Language/Behavior short courses. His greatest loves in the natural world are plants and birds and he believes permaculture is one of the only ways that we can heal the damage that we've done to this planet. He's originally from the Midwest and honed his nature skills in northern Michigan, the Northwoods of Wisconsin and along the Mississippi River in northeastern Iowa. He has certifications in permaculture design, wildlife tracking and wilderness ecology and has co-taught 4 permaculture design courses. As a core instructor at a wilderness ecology and survival school in Monroe, he taught short term survival skills, ethnobotany and bird language in addition to permaculture. He is passionate about fermented foods, natural medicine and teaching people how to grow their own medicinals/food within a permaculture system. He regularly goes on short term survival trips with peers to hone in on his skills for the short courses and in his spare time, he is an avid fermenter and frequently birds, goes on plant walks, gardens and plays guitar/sings.
Reisha Beck, Instructor
Reisha is a core instructor of the Ethnobotany and Growing Herbalist Immersion courses and the lead herbalist instructor at Ravens Roots. In addition to the immersion course, she also teaches short courses on medicinal mushrooms, mushroom cultivation, herbal medicine making, permaculture gardening and more. She is also the owner and operator of Wayside Botanicals, a permaculture based medicinal herb farm and wildcrafting business in Whatcom County. She supplies fresh and dried medicinal herbs to tincture making companies and apothecaries across the USA. She has a background in organic farming, permaculture design, Pacific Northwest ethnobotany, and bioregional herbalism. Born in the mountains of Colorado and raised in Western Washington, she spent most of her childhood outside and unsupervised in the forest. Her love of nature and plants has taken her down a path of healing by connecting with the natural world and cultivating deep relationships with the plants she harvests and grows. She loves to open the door to the plant world to others, as her mentors have done for her. She is deeply committed to creating positive change through permaculture and connection with the Earth. You can find her in the herb garden or wild harvesting in the Cascades with her family. Check out her herbal offerings at www.waysidebotanicals.com
Fil Tkaczyk, Instructor
Fil is the core instructor for the Tracking Immersion Course. He also leads the naturalist walks and teaches many of our short courses including Bird Language/Behavior and Mushroom identification and foraging. He is an experienced naturalist who has extensively studied the ecosystems of Washington state for a decade. He is certified as a Track & Sign Specialist, holds a Permaculture Design Certificate, and earned a B.S. in Wildlife Science from the University of Washington. Included in his experiences as a naturalist, he has led bird walks with Seattle Audubon and taught tracking/outdoors skills to adults and youth for various organizations such as the Wildlife Society. Filip has also worked with the Olympic National Park conducting bat research, and for the University of Washington, leading an in-depth study on nutria in the Seattle area. He is also a professional nature photographer who has captured wildlife images around the world. He is also the author of "Tracks and Sign of Reptiles and Amphibians" through Stackpole Books.
Shaun Mellor, Instructor
Shaun Mellor has been practicing primitive skills since 2011. He graduated from both the Alderleaf Wilderness Certification Program and the Alderleaf Apprenticeship studying traditional survival skills, permaculture, ethnobotany, animal track and sign identification, and experiential outdoor education. Following Alderleaf, Shaun's hunger for knowledge lead him to complete many courses revolving around permaculture, survival skills, and adventure. This journey eventually lead him to study under Lynx Vilden for five months completing her spring / summer immersions and participating in the Stone Age Project, a three week backpacking trip with all hand made, Stone Age gear and wild food. It was during this time Shaun found his love for tanning and primitive packing. He’s continued to tan and create natural backpacking gear over the years doing trips through Colorado and Utah. Shaun also spent four summers teaching at Trackers Earth in Portland. He continues to pursue expanding his tanning and packing knowledge every year. Matter of fact, I bet he’s working on a bison hide or sewing up a coyote blanket right now.
Chelsea Ernst, Instructor
Chelsea is a co-instructor for the Family Naturalist Immersion, Wilderness Survival Course, Summer Kids Camps, and kids survival classes. She grew up in the southeastern US where she cultivated a love for wild places. There, her studies in zoology, ecology, and herpetology led her to an excitement for educating others about the natural world. Her top passions in nature are birds, plants, herpetology, and wildlife tracking. She is certified in Northwest Natural History, has a Master of Education, and has been teaching kids of all ages, as well as adults, bushcraft, natural history, farmcraft, ecology, tracking, wildlife monitoring, backpacking, climbing, and mountaineering at various wilderness organizations and schools in the Northwest since 2014. She is a strong believer in group learning experiences outdoors that are fun and sometimes challenging, and their ability to impact people positively. In her free time, she loves to climb mountains, practice printmaking, ski, work outside in the garden, and go on nature wanders to look for plants, birds, amphibians, and wildlife track and sign.
Jamie Weaver, Instructor and Co-Founder
Jamie is the core instructor for the Hunter-Gatherer Immersion Course as well as many of our short courses such as survival, bow making, and wild-foraging. She has a passion for subsistence and self-reliance, which has led her into the studies of wilderness survival, wild-foraging, primitive skills, and permaculture. She has a degree in Integrated Ecological Design through Fairhaven College, as well as a certification in Permaculture Design and a Level III Track & Sign Certification through CyberTracker Conservation International. Prior to teaching primitive skills and wilderness survival, Jamie spent ten years as a raft guide by summer and snowboard instructor by winter. She has a deep love for nature and the recreation it provides.
Kiana Hao, Instructor
Kiana grew up in Western Washington and spent most of her childhood outdoors and this sparked her need to understand and care for the land that provides for her. This connection lead to her getting a B.S. in Environmental Science with an emphasis in Terrestrial Ecology from Huxley College and she has worked in the environmental restoration field for a couple years in Bellingham. Her passions are food security, fermenting and cooking, wild food harvesting and plant ID. She hopes to one day have her own permaculture farm and looks forward to sharing her knowledge with anyone who will listen. She is also a graduate from the Ethnobotany Immersion Program.
Elisha Klco, Apprentice Instructor
Elisha grew up around the Puget Sound region and has spent much of her life in Western Washington which gives her a deep connection to the seasonal rhythms of this place. Elisha has been teaching at Quiet Heart since the fall of 2015 and is passionate about passing on a love and understanding of nature to future generations. She practices a variety of bushcraft techniques, including but not limited to native plant identification and medicinal uses, fire starting, carving and shelter building. Her passion is learning more about plants, and their edible, medicinal and utilitarian properties. She has been making natural medicine for herself and her family for years, and has learned by experimenting and studying. She has studied under Reisha Beck and Gabe Garms at Raven’s Roots Naturalist school. She attended Western Washington University where she received a Bachelor’s in science in Neuroscience with a minor in chemistry. Elisha has also taught environmental science at Mount Rainier Institute and The North Cascades Institute to school groups. Her favorite Quiet Heart activities are medicinal plant preparation, tree climbing, natural camouflage and concealment. In her free time she may be found hiking, running, biking, cooking, and spending time with friends and family. She has a contagious love for the outdoors and strives to provide a safe and welcoming environment for people of all backgrounds to join in the learning. If you find Elisha out in the field, ask her about plants, she loves to talk about them!