Kat Coriell

I think I grew up spending more time outdoors than in, and I’ve always had a love of nature, animals and plants. My family did a lot of gardening, hiking and camping, and I spent even more time in the woods during many years in the Girl Scouts.  I decided to make the outdoors my career, so I went to college in Michigan and studied environmental education, horticulture, and then veterinary medicine.  After moving to Maine, I did volunteer nature guiding for kids at Thorncrag Nature Sanctuary in Lewiston, and created a school garden for my son’s second grade class. Years later, when I saw a presentation about the successful Troy Howard Middle School garden program, I got inspired to do something to spread the benefits of school gardens to kids around the state. So in 2008 I helped Jessica Bean re-start the Maine School Garden Network, which had been active in the early 2000’s, but had lost its leadership.  Since then MSGN has continued to grow, and we work hard to enlighten schools around Maine about the wonderful learning and fun a school garden program can offer their students. I believe its one of the most rewarding ways that a school can enrich their curriculum!