Biographical Info

Sam Nelson is a teacher, writer, and tree geek. He has his MA through the University of Utah’s Environmental Humanities graduate program, where he studies how to interpret and communicate plant ecology to children through literature and creative education. He has taught in schools for over ten years. He’s currently writing curriculum as well as a novel about trees for kids.

Sam led a plant-centered storytelling workshop as a component of a Conservation and Ecological Restoration Project. Sam first had students imagine what it would be like to be a plant – or a butterfly – and then brainstorm conflicts that would arise in the lives of plants or butterflies. Students then wrote stories and/or created comic book strips from the perspective of a plant or a butterfly. He did this workshop again with STEMCAP in the Fall of 2021, focusing instead on the agency of trees.