Sarah Layer
Garden Educator
Sarah is very passionate about being involved in the outdoors, as well as expressing creativity. She grew up in the Bay Area learning to garden with her mother and going hiking, camping, and backpacking with her family regularly. While gardening with her mother, she grew a deep connection with the processes of ecosystems and food production, so Sarah believes it can be incredibly beneficial for kids to get hands-on experience in nature.
In her free time Sarah enjoys creating art through crocheting, drawing, watercolor, and sewing! She is also passionate about small-scale sustainable food production, and being mindful of where her food is coming from, as well as how it was produced. Sarah went on to follow her passion for the environment at UC Santa Cruz, and she recently graduated with a major in Environmental Studies, focused on plant sciences and environmental policy. Much of what Sarah studied had to do with the connection between environment, social, and economic inequities and possible solutions, while the other half of her studies focused on field work and research projects.
Previously, Sarah worked at Fort Ord Natural Reserve, a reserve owned by UCSC for the purpose of research where she assisted with ongoing research projects, learning about, and testing various ecological theories.