Hello, I'm The Ohmapi Nature Project.

Growing up​,​ Dawn spent endless hours playing and exploring the untamed natural areas of Wisconsin. As a young adult​,​ Dawn pursued a career in architecture and interior design. She graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a bachelor of Architecture in 1993​,​ where the school’s philosophy of Learning By Doing resonated with her. After establishing a design firm and retail store with her husband​,​ she returned to her studies at the University of Washington in 2005 to pursue a teaching career. While at the University of Washington​,​ Dawn’s master’s thesis was based on design-build and she spent 9 months​,​ as a teacher’s assistant​,​ working on a design-build project in which her class built a multigenerational home for the indigenous community of Yakima​,​ WA. Dawn also taught young adults at Virginia Commonwealth University and the Art Institute of Orange County. When Dawn became a mother​,​ she returned to her roots of romping about and playing in the outdoors. She saw​,​ through the eyes of an adult​,​ the value of nature in childhood and the impact it had on her own daughter. After enrolling her child in a nature kindergarten program​,​ a seed was planted and Dawn began her own nature school combining her passions for learning by doing and the outdoors. Since those early days the school has grown and Dawn has spent many a day learning more about nature​,​ primitive skills and how best to share that with children in inspiring and meaningful ways. Other than spending time frolicking about in nature with children​,​ she enjoys running barefoot daily as the sun rises.