Our Team – Prairie's Edge Forest School

Our Instructors

Christy Penman has been a Florida resident her whole life and has lived in Gainesville for over 15 years. Her love of nature (specifically plants!) started at a young age and continued into adulthood as she completed her undergraduate degree in Horticulture and her graduate degree in Horticultural Therapy. After completing the Master Naturalist course at UF, she realized her desire to work in outdoor education with kids, especially the youngest explorers of all. Before collaborating on the creation of Prairie’s Edge Forest School, Christy created and coordinated the environmental education program at Little Orange Creek Nature Park in Hawthorne, FL. She is married to Smitty and they have two explorers of their own, Ransom and Robin. Christy is certified as a Forest School Instructor through FSTI and has completed the Lifeways Early Childhood Certificate Program.

Hannah O’Malley is a FL native and has lived in Gainesville for almost 20 years. Her love of nature (specifically wildlife) began at a very young age and developed into a passion to share that love of nature with children. She received her degree from UF in Wildlife Ecology & Conservation, with a minor in Education. She had a career working as a wildlife biologist and in the natural resource field for over 15 years. She also gained experience working with children as a summer camp counselor at an outdoor recreation camp in CO, teaching environmental education to children in grades K-12 in the Bahamas, leading kids’ classes and activities at a nature center in IL, working as a park ranger at Sweetwater Wetlands Park, and hiking over 1500 miles with her young daughter. Hannah is certified as a Forest School Instructor through the Forest School Teacher Institute (FSTI).

Carolina Horn – As a new parent, Carolina quickly realized the importance of pursuing outdoor play experiences for her son Lucas and was delighted to connect with PEFS. After volunteering in the Acorn Class a few times, she fell in love with observing the littlest learners grow their fascination with the natural world and discover its beauty just as she did as a kid. Carolina enjoys how an outdoor classroom innately connects teachers/students to the present moment and increases mindfulness and a great sense of wonder. Carolina’s passion for holistic health led her to complete a degree in nutrition from FSU and a 200 hour yoga teacher training program. Carolina enjoys cooking, baking, birdwatching with her son, and traveling with her family and two golden doodles!

Lily Sage, has been in FL since 2022 to support her grandmother (who passed in late ’24) and since arriving has constantly been in awe of the incredible diversity of the beings of the more than human world in FL!

“I love looking at scorpions on the bark of pines under a black light on night walks! I appreciate the swiftness with which my Sun tea is steeped in the morning light. The duration of the growing season and the vastness of species that can grow late into the season is astounding! I keep my windows open year round for the fresh air. I also love finding edible mushrooms all over the place and some of my favorite plant friends: like maypop, growing like a weed. I try to find dead bugs to feed to the chickens. I am privileged to see different reptiles and amphibians every day. I go to sleep listening to an adolescent screech owl calling to the night.”

Lily Sage, MA.Ed, is a doula, permaculturalist, and cetified Montessori teacher/nature connection mentor who has studied and practiced in the fields of herbalism, visual/performance art, anthropology and political theory in Germany, Mongolia, and the U.S. They’re interested in creative collaborations towards symbiosis/world healing.

Autumn LeGuerre is a central Florida native who was raised with a tribe of kids who wandered the woods and found adventure in the outdoors. They never let the elements limit their fun nor keep them inside. She moved back to Gainesville 7 years ago to reconnect with her roots, start a family, and build a house. She is a mom of 2 free-spirited girls and an auntie to 5 nieces and nephews who all love to get lost in the imaginary while roaming the FL woods and swimming in the FL waters. She is so excited to be a part of facilitating a safe space for kids to roam and play in all that our local outdoors have to offer. Having an opportunity to reconnect with her childhood adventures is an added bonus. Autumn spent many summers working at sleep-away camps and day camps within central FL and learned some priceless tools for working with children. She served an assistant instructor in our Acorn Class for our first 2 years of Forest School. She is also a licensed Massage Therapist who has worked within the realm of athletic performance and pain management since 2003.

Holli Best grew up in the Ozark forests. Much of her childhood was outdoors in the Midwest woods reading and building forts. She has lived in FL for 17 years with her husband and 3 children. Holli has a background in child development and family education from the University of Missouri. She has been teaching early childhood education for 20 years and is also a certified doula and parent educator. Her experience in teaching ranges from outdoor education at summer camps, art and music programs, Montessori and Waldorf preschool models, and developing her own art-based curriculum for the early years. Her family is also very involved with the Florida Wildlife Corridor, being a part of Florida conservation and exploring wild Florida.

Jordan Evans was born and raised in Gainesville. She is now attending UF and completing the Horticultural Therapy Program with a Major in Religion and Minor in American Indian and Indigenous Studies. Jordan is a 200 hour registered Yoga instructor in Vinyasa Yoga with additional trauma and anxiety certificates. She enjoys spending time with her daughter at local nature parks, creating art, and gardening. Her daughter’s connection to the natural environment from a young age was very important to Jordan, so she attended PEFS Prairie Babies sessions with her daughter as a way to help create that connection and is now leading Prairie Babies sessions. Jordan has a profound love for bringing people into alignment with nature – utilizing its potent healing capacity to bring positive change in people, communities, and environments.