Dorothy Varner
Outdoor Education Teacher | Science Teacher
After graduating Clark University with an undergraduate degree in Environmental Geography, I worked to pair my love of travel, nature and adventure with employment opportunities with myriad exciting experiential education organizations. I spent time teaching about the endangered Orca pods off the coast of the San Juan Islands, led sustainability-focused trips to Costa Rica, and organized and led science/culture-based trips to the tundra in the Canadian arctic. Drawn to deepening my relationships with students and communities, I spent a few years at Sarah Lawrence College organizing service learning opportunities, and alternative spring break trips for students in Yonkers, NY. I completed a masters degree in humanistic and multicultural education from SUNY New Paltz in 2014. This program helped solidify my commitment to environmental education as an act of social justice. In addition to facilitating the MWS Outdoor Education program, I am currently the environmental educator for the Esopus Creek Conservancy, and facilitates afterschool and summer programming for both the Saugerties and Kingston Boys and Girls Club.
I am wildly grateful for the opportunity of continued adventures outdoors with the extraordinary children of the Middle Way School! We’ve created an outdoor classroom in the woods, shaded and protected by the hemlocks, pines and maples together.