Our Guides

Melanie Kidd is a Waldorf Certified Early Childhood teacher with 8 years of experience. She also is a passionate backpacker, hiker, and runner, spending most of her free time in the mountains and forests. Melanie led 7 years of outdoor education at two California based Waldorf schools before moving to Corvallis, Oregon and then Costa Rica. She brings a deep knowledge of stories, music, imagination to her outdoor programs, and helps bring out each Child’s confidence within themselves. Melanie is Wilderness First Aid and CPR Certified and a professional Waldorf early childhood teacher.

Melanie is joined by her Australian Shepard “Django” in her outdoor adventure programs.

Jenna Frank (she/her) Jenna is a permaculturist and outdoor educator. She received her B.A. from Skidmore College in Environmental Studies and International Affairs. For the past six years she has been teaching urban agriculture and co-stewarding the Golden Bridges School Farm. Jenna has had the honor of spending extensive time working on female farming initiatives in Latin America. Whether backpacking, gardening, or farm fresh cooking, she is passionate about bringing children outdoors. When she's not connecting children with nature, Jenna enjoys spending her time hiking, landscaping and making a mess in the kitchen with her partner Dimitri Barton and dog in Half Moon Bay, CA. She is Wilderness First Aid Certified.

Django is our trusted adventure buddy. He is a 3 year old Australian Shepard. Having joined Melanie’s Golden Bridge’s Kindergarten class since being a puppy, he is well suited to being a backpacking companion for kids of all ages. Django regularly joins Melanie (and Jenna) on backpack trips around Norther California and Oregon. He often has an orange backpack on for easy snack transport.