Carl Keller, Executive Director

A native Arkansan, Carl has actively pursued and enjoyed the wonders of the natural state nearly all of his life.  After becoming involved in Search and Rescue in 1993, he was introduced to man tracking, which drew him into an involved study of wilderness survival and nature observation skills that occupies him to this day. Currently he is pursuing a MA in Cultural Anthropology and seeks to further explore the relationship between the human experience and the mystery that is the natural world.

Sarah Hammond, Program Director

Sarah has been enthralled with the natural world since she was a young child. Her current passion is to help children and adults reconnect with nature. She believes that earth-based mentoring is the keystone to fulfilling that goal and has mentored in schools, camps, and educator workshops across the country. Sarah received her PhD in Biology Education focusing on ecoliteracy. She is a graduate of Wilderness Awareness Residential Program and the Kamana Naturalist Training Program. Sarah and her husband Shea live in Colcord, OK.

Johnny and Karen White, Facilitators, Kitchen Staff

Johnny and Karen run Barefoot Farm near Rose, OK and bring produce from their farm to the workshops. They both are knowledgeable naturalists in this area, and especially with local ethnobotany. Karen provides delicious, healthy and local meals for workshops.

John Arnold, Facilitator

John Arnold’s love of the land goes back to childhood days of wandering on his grandparent’s farm in southern Missouri.  His wilderness teaching experience has encompassed a wide spectrum ranging from nature observation and tracking skills at church camps to a bird language course for senior citizens.  John is an ordained pastor of a church in Hot Springs, Arkansas, where he lives with his family.  He especially enjoys exploring the spiritual growth people experience as they learn about the wilderness.