Community-Wide Campaign Announcement

We have broken ground on the first phase of the Cultivating Wonder Campaign, the Farmhouse. 

Junior High students currently on Farm Stay 4 were there to see the groundbreaking, alongside Land School Staff and Head of School, Ben Moudry.

Andy began working at Lake Country School in the fall of 2000 and shared the Land School Farm Manager position with Jen Bush. Once the Lodge was built and student residencies began, Andy was one of a full-time staff of three, plus various part-time staff, at the Land School. His role has been Garden Manager and teacher, with the exception of 2014-2017 when he was Farm Manager for Marin Montessori in California.

Andy has a degree in biology, as well as AMI Certification at the Adolescent level. Prior to working for LCS, Jen and Andy ran a Community Supported Agriculture farm in Stillwater, MN, and Andy was a Peace Corps Volunteer for three years in Honduras, working with a National Park. Outside of teaching at LCS, Andy has a love of writing, reading, genealogy, puns, and Morris dancing, and he is still connected to people in Honduras and visits every year.

“The Land School is an important place for me because teaching here is a chance for me to make a difference in the world. I think that when children connect to a place and the work of caring for that place, they are set up to continue to connect to places and work throughout their lives. I believe that LCS has a responsibility to this place as stewards of the land, and I am fulfilled daily as I play a role in that stewardship.”

Jen came to Lake Country School in 2000,  when she and Andy Gaertner shared the  responsibility of being Land School Farm  Managers. Jen is the Animal Care and Environments Coordinator at the Land School, and she serves as Level Coordinator for the Land School. She’s also a guide for all levels, connecting them to the farm and natural environments.

Jen has a diploma in Primary Montessori  education from the Montessori Center of Minnesota and a Certification in Adolescent Montessori Education through the International Montessori Training Institute (IMTI). Her professional development coursework includes outdoor education, hands-on food grower training, and a variety of crafts that support student experiential learning. Jen is learning Finnish to enrich her connection to her great grandparents’ heritage, and she is a member of the Cloud Appreciation Society.

“I love the Land School deeply - the land, the waters, the animals, and the plants - and my work is to facilitate the people around me to also love this place deeply. Deep love of a place helps us love this planet and fosters a sense of belonging and stewardship.”

Katie has been a member of the Land  School faculty since 2012, serving as a guide for all levels, a naturalist, and the Residential Life Coordinator. She also helps Jen care for the farm animals.

Katie completed NAMTA Montessori Adolescent Orientation and received a Certificate of Environmental Education from University of Minnesota – Duluth and an undergraduate degree in Geology from Carleton College. Prior to joining LCS, she worked at two environmental education centers - Wolf Ridge in Minnesota and Olympic Park Institute in Washington.

During the 2018-19 school year, Katie was fortunate to take a sabbat- ical, traveling and visiting schools around the world from Mozam- bique to Latvia to Sweden.

Katie is very involved with the Menomonie community theater, Mor- ris dancing, and plays violin with a mixed-age, mostly strings, group ensemble. She also enjoys making things and learning new hand- crafts, many of which she shares with Lake Country students.

“I love watching the sunset at the Lodge, surrounded by a chorus of bird song, swooping dragonflies, and extraordinary colors. I continue to learn from and with this land through each season.”

Trained as a naturalist, Doug graduated  from Miami University of Ohio and did graduate work in Environmental Education at Antioch College. Prior to joining the LCS faculty in 1983, Doug worked as a naturalist at a number of outdoor schools and led summer bicycle trips for NYC American Youth Hostels. During the summer of 1979, Doug co-led seven high school students on a coast-to-coast bicycle trip from New York City to San Francisco.

In addition to teaching Junior High math and science at Lake Country School, Doug was instrumental in starting the Junior High’s trips programs. He helped lead 40 Odyssey trips and Junior High Bike Trips before retiring from this role in 2024.

Doug worked closely with Larry Schaefer and others to propose, locate, and establish the Land School in the mid-1990s. Doug retired from classroom teaching in 2013 and has worked to support outdoor learning at LCS ever since. Currently, Doug supports the Land School by doing beekeeping, citizen science, and other naturalist and project work with students, parents, and staff.

“The Land School provides students and the whole Lake Country family with a sacred place to experience the natural world, both domestic and wild, and to practice being in community and living well together.”

Abby is a Naturalist and Seed Librarian at Lake Country School and has worked in the field of outdoor education for over 20 years. Previously, Abby worked as Interim Program Director and Wilderness Instructor for the Voyageur Outward Bound School, Youth Programs Director for Climate Generation (formerly the Will Steger Foundation), and Assistant Camp Director and Outdoor Education Coordinator for the Farm and Wilderness Foundation. She is a volunteer with the Hosmer Community Seed Library through Hennepin County, co-manages the Story Garden and Seed Library at Shir Tikvah Synagogue in Minneapolis, and she is a founding Board Member of the MN Seed Project. Abby plays the mandolin and guitar and keeps chickens and bees with her family in St. Paul.

“When I first visited the Land School, I was immediately struck by a feeling of peace and belonging. My senses opened up to the sound of the wind in the trees and the bird song in the prairie. I have watched the same magic move through our students as they arrive from the busy urban environment to this calm and vibrant natural space. They become explorers, naturalists, farmers, and stewards and are organically drawn into community with one another.”

Callie began working as the Kitchen Coordinator and a Land School Guide in 2017 and was thrilled to become a part of this magical place and the LCS community. Callie lived on a nearby farm where she grew apples, strawberries, and garlic with her family. In 2023, her family moved back to Minneapolis, and she now splits her time between the Urban Campus, where she supports the Junior High program, and the Land School, helping to bridge the gap between the two campuses.

Previously, Callie worked with UMN Extension and the MN Department of Agriculture on food policy, farm to school, and community food education and access. She has also worked in youth development related to gardening and cooking through Youth Farm, Minneapolis Parks and Recreation, and Minneapolis Public Schools Nutrition Services. She has a Certification in Adolescent Montessori Education through the International Montessori Training Institute (IMTI), Food Protection Manager Certification through ServSafe, and a B.A. in Anthropology from Macalester College.

“The Land School is the kind of place I wish I had when I was growing up. It’s a place to connect with the land and animals, and with the whole process of growing food from seed to harvest. I watch children grow from Children’s House to Junior High, and each year their sense of ownership and collective responsibility for this place grows with all of the wonders that it contains.”