Our Teachers

Nikki Belmonte

Nikki

Nikki Belmonte is the Education Coordinator for Atlanta Audubon Society. She has been a Teacher-Naturalist for over 10 years, inside and (mostly) outside of the classroom. Nikki holds a master’s degree in environmental education from Antioch University New England and a bachelor’s degree in wildlife conservation from University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is an avid birder and is currently working to further develop Atlanta Audubon's Learning About Birds curriculum.

Nikki and her husband live in Roswell with their son, Ellery, beloved tarantula, Bella, and a couple thousand composting worms.

Diane Evans

Diane

Diane Evans, the daughter of an Air Force Colonel who has lived all over the world, collects and always had an interest in “things”. She attended school in Omaha NE, Ft. Worth TX and Dayton OH. After which, she worked in the visual merchandising department at Neiman Marcus in Atlanta, GA. Prior to NM, she held the same position at Maas Brothers in Tampa, FL.

Recently, she retired after teaching art for 29 years at a private day school. For the past ten years Diane has studied painting and collage with Chery Baird and clay with Carol Brull at the Spruill Center. Along with her painting and clay, she has worked with beads, fibers, and textiles, which have led to various creations.

Diane belongs to an artist group called the Perspective Seven. Their mission is to critique, encourage and support each other in their common interest of creating art.

Nancy Jones

Nancy

"I love the earth. The beauty of the natural world resonates with my soul and the myriad of creatures who inhabit our world are a source of constant inspiration."

Nancy Jones is the Executive Director and Founder of the Blue Heron Nature Preserve and a veteran art teacher of 33 years. She was named Teacher of the Year during her tenure at Sarah Smith, an honor voted on by the faculty. She has received several awards for her work at Blue Heron, including the Outstanding Citizen Award from Common Cause of Georgia. Most recently she retired from part time teaching at St. Anne's Day school where she spent intensive time studying the Reggio method of early childhood education. This experience opened her eyes to the possibilities of working with very young children.

She is a graduate of Sewanne, the University of the South, and has been a working and teaching artist ever since her graduation.

Nancy has one grown son, Nash, who lives in Atlanta. She resides in an historical building on Peachtree with her rabbit, Raymond.

Joel Conison

Joel

Joel Conison was a commercial photographer for over twenty years before returning to Pratt Institute in order to earn a MFA. After teaching for five years at the college level he has continued to work on his own photography as well as teach at Spruill Center of the Arts and give private instruction in Photoshop. His work has been exhibited at the local and regional and national level.

Kevin McCauley

Kevin

Kevin McCauley is the President of the Blue Heron Nature Preserve and has been an activist in the North Buckhead neighborhood ever since returning to Atlanta with his family 15 years ago. He established the first organic, community garden in North Atlanta at Blue Heron in 2006 and is a firm believer in the principles of locally grown, organic produce. He also is an avid beekeeper who along with others established the bee apiary at Blue Heron 3 years ago.

To supplement his gardening enthusiasm with hands on knowledge Kevin will be conducting the class along with Community Garden members who are Master Gardeners and professionals in the growing trade.

Charlie Baube

Charlie

Dr. Charlie Baube is a Professor of Biology at nearby Oglethorpe University and a long-time volunteer at BHNP. His expertise includes animal behavior and Atlanta water quality. He is a resident of Suwanee, where he lives with his wife Erika and two boys.

Mary Woehrel

Mary

Mary Woehrel is the founder and former president of the Mushroom Club of Georgia and is a popular speaker at local garden clubs, nature centers and Master Gardener meetings. She has a Bachelor of Science degree from Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh where she studied technical writing with an emphasis in biology. She has been studying wild mushrooms for over twenty-five years and has recently co-authored an article on Sparassis mushrooms for the magazine Fungi. She is a member of NAMA, the North American Mycological Association, and a volunteer docent with the National Park Service in Atlanta .

Mary has two sons and resides in Sandy Springs.

Catherine Brockman Kuchar

Catherine

Ms. Kuchar is a nature lover and bird lover. She has worked in the non-profit field for over 18 years and was the former Executive Director of Atlanta Audubon Society. She has taught crafting classes, including card making and was the designer and creator of the “Sharing my Love for the Planet” nature journaling curriculum for TogetherGreen, a partnership of National Audubon Society and Toyota.

She is currently the Grants Officer of the Juvenile Justice Fund and enjoys volunteering at the Whole Foods cooking school, bird watching, and playing with her Westies, Lucy and Pepe.

Rena Sartain

Rena

Rena Sartain is a UGA Master Gardener and Georgia Plant Professional as well as a professional artist. Her love of painting has extended to the garden as she helps clients work with color, function and design to enhance the beauty of their individual lifestyles. She is committed to using the proper plants and usage that will result in less water, low maintenance and sustainability.

Dr. Andy Rogers

Andy	Dr. Andy Rogers is an Assistant professor of English at Georgia Perimeter College where he serves as the Fiction Editor of The Chattahoochee Review. He has also worked as the story consultant for the independent feature film Tony Tango.