MEET OUR TEACHERS
Miss Lis
Founder & Head Teacher
Miss Lis is a nature native who grew up on the beach in Southern California and has lived along the Wasatch Front for over 20 years. She earned her BS in Psychology at BYU and after focusing on growing her own family, continued on to be trained as a Certified Nature & Forest Therapy guide.
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Inspired by her experiences with the healing power of nature, she created Wasatch Forest Therapy in 2017 and continues to guide private groups through forest bathing and spiritual nature sessions. She also offers international nature connection retreats to sacred lands and loves the wisdom, magic, and wonder that place can hold for us.
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Miss Lis is the author of An Invitation to Forest Bathing: 52 Activity Cards to Find Yourself in Nature that is set to be published in Spring 2026.
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She created Wildwood Forest School in 2019 and it is one of her greatest joys to teach children in the forest. She feels this is a sacred work and calling and is honored to offer this type of whole-child education to her community. She believes that children who grow up in love and relationship with Mother Earth are the ones who will protect and care for her into adulthood.
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Lis' daily life and other joys include being the mom of two inspiring boys, traveling the world, reading and studying the many subjects that interest her, and spending any free time outside with her friends and family!
Miss Kaylene
Lead Teacher
Miss Kaylene's fondest childhood memories include camping with her family, performing in musical theater productions, and spending countless hours in her backyard jumping off her roof onto the trampoline, bending and twisting her body, making up dance routines and engaging in all sorts of imaginary play. Her current hobbies include anything outdoors, yoga, dancing, hanging around people with vivid imaginations, and spending most of her extra cash on theater tickets.
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Kaylene currently resides in Orem with her husband, two youngest children, and dog Max. She also has 2 adult children and a daughter-in-law. She is thrilled to be welcoming her first grandchild into the family this fall!
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She has had many opportunities over the years to teach children in a variety of capacities including: dance, tumbling, karate, traditional preschool, substitute teaching and teaching child safety classes. She is very passionate about early childhood development. She constantly aspires to create encouraging and safe spaces for young children to discover and explore the world and their unique gifts.
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Kaylene is so happy to be teaching at Wildwood this year. She loves everything about this forest school and feels honored to get to know each of her students and be a part of this precious time in their lives.
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Miss Bergen
Assistant Teacher
Miss Bergen spent her childhood exploring the forests and lakes of the Midwest. She has spent her adult years falling in love with the mountains of Utah and enjoys singing, dancing, kayaking, canoeing, swimming, camping and hiking all year round!
Bergen is a co-founder of Nourishing Kin, a local nonprofit created to support folks of European descent in reconnecting with ancestral traditions and regenerative land-honoring practices. She finds great satisfaction in creating spaces for people to come back into right relationship with themselves, the community, and this beautiful planet!
Bergen has many years of experience working with children and studied Special Education at the University of Wisconsin. She is also a rights of passage mentor and offers individual coaching, workshops, and retreats.
Bergen lives in Provo, Utah with her 3 kids and their big orange tom cat Tiger.
Miss Ky
Founder & Head Teacher
Miss Ky is from Orem, Utah, and currently lives in Provo with her partner, two kids, and three cats. Provo Canyon feels like home—she’s spent much of her life hiking, rafting the Provo River, and exploring its trails since childhood.
Ky studied education and history at Snow College and BYU. She has worked in a local Waldorf kindergarten and created various programs for children that emphasize creativity, imagination, nature connection, and emotional intelligence. She has been a forest school teacher since 2014 and is deeply devoted to tending relationships—with herself, others, and the Earth we all belong to.
Since 2013, Ky has also worked as a birth and postpartum doula, though she is currently pausing that practice to focus on teaching. She is a licensed Foot Zone Therapist (since 2014) and currently offers sessions from her home. Ky is also a graduate of the Embodied Imagination program with Robert Bosnak, PhD, and the Dream Tending program with Stephen Aizenstat, PhD, where she focused on dreamwork rooted in connection with the Earth and the living world.
Ky loves gardening, making fiber art, dancing, foraging, and singing with her friends. She is committed to embodying her deep values: playful curiosity, living in awe, mutual reciprocity, community care, and deep listening—to herself, to others, and to the animate world we all participate in.
Miss Jes
Lead Teacher
Miss Jes grew up playing in the forests and on the beaches of Washington State. She graduated from BYU with a BS in Human Development. She is also a certified yoga and meditation teacher who specializes in teaching family yoga - where she watches the magic of family play and connection come alive. She currently teaches classes at The Yoga Underground in Provo - follow along with her @wildlifeyoga on Instagram or visit her website.
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Miss Jes is a certified Ecological Designer, which means she loves to design and create with Mother Nature at the center. She loves creating art and crafting with her hands by tapping into her intuition and bringing internal images to life.
She believes children are the most wise and sacred beings on our planet and loves learning and playing together. She looks forward to supporting the amazing children of Wildwood Forest School!
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Miss Christie
Assistant Teacher
Christie is an orchid on the forest floor, a river as it flows into the ocean, a jam jar, a bee sleeping in a tulip. Christie is a black hole. Christie is a seed in the soil. Christie is a brick in the southernmost wall of your house. Christie is in process.
Christie is a human born in 1994 in New Jersey. Christie grew up in motion, with home in their heart (not fixed on the map) and is practicing rooting deeply into Provo City. Christie is a poet, a student, a guide, a sister, a friend. Christie has 7 siblings, 13 years nanny experience, a deep love for social-emotional learning. Christie holds a BA in Photography from BYU.
Christie is neurodivergent and loves to nourish children in their diversity in all dimensions of life experience. Christie likes to weave together whimsy, earth tending, deep listening, play, and concentration without effort. Christie is inspired by spirals, the shapes of words, sunlight, cookies, laughter, tears, passionflowers, longing, colors, how silks feel in the wind, looking into babies' eyes, open hearts, etc, etc, etc. You can probably find Christie washing dishes at a friend's house, reading a romcom, or laying on the ground with feet in the sky.
Miss Chris
Assistant Teacher
Miss Chris spent her childhood admiring butterfly bush flowers and building sandcastles on the beaches of southern California. As a grown up, she loves sitting by rivers, swimming in lakes, and lying down amongst the trees.
Miss Chris loves making art of all kinds (mosaics! illustration! upcycling! sewing! gouache! design!), teaching yoga (at the yoga underground!), reading books, tasting pizza (mozz please!), enjoying the company of her five year old son, and belly laughing.
She graduated from UVU with a BA in graphic design, and loves illustrating things for children the very most.
Miss Chris lives in Provo with her husband, 5 year old, and golden retriever.
Miss Shayla
Assistant Teacher
Miss Shayla grew up in the heat of Arizona, and spent her winters exploring the desert, and the summers outside in northern Arizona and Utah, coming up with all sorts of magical worlds to play pretend with her siblings.
She studied marriage and family, and art at BYU-Idaho, getting her associates, before coming to Utah.
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She has worked with children her whole life, from a pediatric dental assistant to helping children with additional needs in schools, it’s been her whole world. She is very passionate about making sure every child feels seen and heard, reaching out to the ones who might feel left behind, and finding non-traditional ways of teaching, knowing every child learns differently.
When she’s not working with children you can find her hiking up the canyon, reading all sorts of books, crafting, and baking!
She is excited to get the opportunity to be outside and learn more with your children this school year!