Howdy y’all, I'm Patrick, AKA ‘Blue Bear’.

I grew up in the suburbs of Southern NJ (Lənape Haki-nk/Lenni-Lenape territory) with ample woods to run and play, catch toads, and climb trees.  Some of my earliest memories were riding in the front seat of my dad's Potato Chip delivery truck while he pointed out hawks perched on the power lines.  This set the foundation for a lifelong love of the outdoors! 

I'm always ready to share this passion for nature with others.  In fact, I'm often "that weirdo" who points out hawks to strangers, whether they care or not.

Some years and another lifetime ago, I left my computer job, moved to Cascadia, and dedicated my life to connecting people with nature alongside my partner (and wife), Melissa. 

I received extensive training in nature awareness and mentoring at the Wilderness Awareness School's Anake Outdoor School program, now called “The Immersion”.  Aptly named, this nine-month immersion was life altering and helped me gain a deeper awareness and connection to nature, community, and myself.   During my second year at WAS at the Anake Leadership Program, I was immersed in the skills of nature mentoring, working as an apprentice for two separate weekly homeschool nature programs for children: Roots and Wings (4-6yrs) and Foxes (7-9yrs). 

Since then, I've instructed in numerous programs with WAS, taught at a farm preschool, and was a lead mentor at the Fire Tenders program at Vashon Wilderness Program and at Feet on the Earth (Boulder, CO) before running programs with Melissa as Feather & Frond.