I’m proud to be a professional who wears many hats — writer, educator, naturalist, and certified arborist. I’m passionate about helping children pay attention to the wonders of the natural world around them through creative science education, literature, humor, and stewardship. As many Indigenous writers like Robin Wall Kimmerer (Potawatomi nation) continue to emphasize, this type of attention is critical to building healthier, mature relationships with Earth. For the last three years I led the planting of 1,000+ trees with 3,000+ students in the D.C. region with the non-profit Casey Trees. I like to think that every tree we planted was a story we were writing together. Now, I’m writing a new story to interweave my love of writing, plants, and education. I’m doing this through writing and my new independent business, Tree Stories LLC.

In writing, I’m focusing on children’s literature after years of writing for adults. I continue to develop several picture book and middle-grade manuscripts that blend humor, fiction, and science, mostly about plants and trees. These picture books are meant to educate, entertain, and inspire children to engage their environments but are also written with teacher use in mind to compliment NGSS and common core standards. I’ve taught creative writing to children, college students, and adults, and offer creative plant writing at botanical gardens and other sites. I proudly earned a master’s degree focusing on creative science education and literature from the University of Utah. To inquire about manuscripts or creative plant writing, please reach out.

Learn more about Sam’s work in children’s literature and view select published works. To learn more about educational services, such as tree walks, school visitis, or educational consulting (especially about green schoolyards), please visit Tree Stories LLC