Many thanks to all of our amazing workshop instructors!!

Madeline Adams

Madeline grew up in Appalachia, and has been looking for ways to create an intentional, anti-capitalist community for the past few years. When they’re not brainstorming about mutual aid collectives, they’re walking their dog, sewing tents and dresses, or goofing around with kids. Madeline has spent the last three years teaching in and out of the public school system, and wondering what alternatives to state education we could create together.​

Julie Aubrey

Julie Aubrey is a literature and language arts teacher who partners with students to equip them to read deeply, think critically, and write effectively. After graduating summa cum laude from University of Cincinnati with a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education, Ms. Aubrey spent a decade in the classroom developing curriculum that was engaging, comprehensive, and impactful. In addition to her teaching career, Ms. Aubrey enjoys writing poetry and fiction, but on a beautiful day, Ms. Aubrey tosses the book and pen aside, pulls on hiking boots, and explores the nature preserve adjacent to her Northside, OH dwelling. If it’s a good day, she’ll spot a bug or two.

Xyara Asplen

Xyara is a homesteader, artisan, and creature of the woods. Since she was a young’un herself, she’s been fascinated with the complexity of our Appalachian ecology and loves to share stories of place and connection that help bring humans back into good health with the rest of the wild world. She's the coordinator of the Rise & Root Rewilding Project, a nature connection mentoring program developed in association with Kentucky Heartwood to help foster competence, confidence, and a sense of interconnectedness in these kids who are the future elders of our world. Please visit http://www.kyheartwood.org/rise-and-root-rewilding.html to learn more.  Also connect with Xyara on facebook @riseandrootrewilding; on instagram @riseandroot_rewilding 

Sarah Belzile

Sarah Belzile is a yoga instructor, ashram founder, sex educator, cuddlist, rock climber, entrepreneur and skilled facilitator. She is on staff at the Body Electric School, one of the most trusted sacred sexuality organizations in the world. She is passionate about the natural healing power of pleasure, and enjoys creating safe spaces for exploration and learning.  Checkout www.sarahbelzile.com

Melissa Benson

 Melissa Benson is a doctoral student at the University of Kentucky in the department of Curriculum and Instruction. She is a member of the red tent sisterhood in Frankfort and enjoys finding new ways to connect with the earth. Beginning with her studies in art history at Berea College, Melissa has experimented with many forms of art and personal expression. Connect with Melissa on facebook @myrunciblespoon​

Andrew Bentley

Andrew Bentley is a clinical herbalist with a private practice in Lexington, Kentucky. He provides primary healthcare using remedies made from plants.​ Connect with Andrew on kentuckyherbalist.com or on instagram @kentuckyherbalist

Terry Black

Terry Black is a forest farmer with 10 years experience with Ginseng and other native medicinal plants. Connect with Terry at ​www.ShawBlackFarm.org

Sage, The Tea Lady 

Sage, The Tea Lady ​, follows a nature-based path where her knowledge of plants and herbs and how to use them stems from her family and natural inheritance. The way she practices herbalism is sometimes a bit different as she was taught to acknowledge plants and nature as part of us. She is guided to listen and receive their wisdom. It is because of this and an open mind she has received a great deal of knowledge from the plants themselves, as well as from her many mentors. She was also gifted with what some call healing hands, which is a type of energy work and was passed down too. She has been helping friends, family, and clients by using her gifts and knowledge for well over 23years. She has been teaching and sharing this knowledge now for over 13years. This will be her 4th year teaching at the Whippoorwill Festival.  Connect with Sage @naturesforgottenwhispers

Eric Blevins

Eric Blevins has been practicing Thai massage for 11 years and knots for 13. He is a DJ from Tennessee and also loves yoga and acro-yoga.​

Miranda Brown

Miranda Brown works with Kentucky Equal Justice Center to educate Kentuckians about their rights and help them access health coverage. She has been an application assister ("kynector") for over 5 years. On the side, she coordinates Lexington Community Sing, an open, informal, participatory singing circle, and teaches workshops on spiritual Shaker singing and history. Checkout  www.kyequaljustice.org

Christopher Bueker

Christopher Bueker serves as a chemical dependency counselor and mindfulness and Yoga coach. Christopher has practiced Yoga for 7 years and has many years of experience teaching, coaching, and counseling. ChristopherBueker.com

Adam Burke

Adam has been immersed for a decade in work and learning related to food systems and ecological farming. He has a deep rooted desire to learn the most ecologically beneficial ways to grow and prepare food in place and use that knowledge to improve the physical and mental health of everyone (human and non-human) in his community.​

Aaron Burns

Aaron is the primary beekeeper for The Burns and The Bees. This is his 12 year beekeeping and he focuses on honey bee health, organic treatments and quality honey. Aaron speaks at local and regional beekeeping conferences and offers state certificated colony inspections. Along with his wife, Kellie they offer educational programs, wax products, honey soda, propolis tincture, locally raised bees and raw, honestly labeled honey. Find The Burns and The Bees on Facebook @theburnsandthebees

Joseph Butterbaugh

Joe started his journey into the world of historic buildings nearly a decade ago,carefully deconstructing structures and salvaging any usable materials.As reclaimation gained popularity he changed his ways ,choosing to instead fix the buildings that hold so much life and beauty ..rather then tear them down.He Lives in the hill country of northern Appalachia in an off grid shack and enjoys traveling and teaching workshops in his free time.  Follow him and feel free to reach out on instagram @BarnHog

Joan Candalino

Joan Candalino teaches tipi living skills, skills for sustainable living, and a range of earthskills crafts. She made her first tipis under the tutelage of Darry Wood in the 1990's. She and her husband, Tom Strode, are building homestead and community in Hardyville, KY. Checkout http://www.sweetwatertipi.com/

Issac Coblentz

Isaac grew up around crafting and art and was raised by artists. Some of his earliest crafting memories are carding wool for his mom, while she demonstrated spinning wool into yarn. Around age ten he was mentored by two basket weavers and learned and practiced several basket weaving techniques. He first exploring natural, wild crafted materials, and later delving deep into recycled and reclaimed materials, primarily scavenged from dumpsters. He studied all kinds of art media in collage receiving a BFA in sculpture from Ohio University in 2004. Over the years he has explored many weaving media from copper electrical wire, honeysuckle vines, to animal and synthetic fibers.​

Courtney Codina

Courtney is a licensed acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist practicing in northern Kentucky. She has taught classes on 5 Element theory, Chinese medicine, and specific internal disorders. She is passionate about helping people heal through natural methods and empowering them through connecting with their innate bodily and spiritual wisdom. Checkout her website at  www.tierralunaacu.com

Darrell (DJ) Coker

Darrell Coker (DJ) He lives in Duff, Tennessee and currently works as a coordinator for the Clearfork Citizen's Water Monitoring and Enforcement Project in Claiborne and Campbell counties in Tennessee and Bell and Whitley counties in Kentucky. He is a certified benthic macro-invertebrate data collector through VA SOS (Virginia Save Our Streams). He is also completing a BS Biology/Chemistry degree from Alice Lloyd College.

Doug Crouch

Trained as both a Permaculture Designer and Fish and Wildlife Manager, Doug has extensive knowledge surrounding landscape planning and food production systems. This regenerative design and implementation work spans the globe and also very centered around his families land called Treasure lake in a rural area of Northern Kentucky. He has taught over 40 PDC's and a diverse range of short courses and is an avid tour guide teacher as well. He is a permaculture small business operator and has directed Treeyo Permaculture for over 10 years. Checkout Doug at www.treeyopermacultureedu.com or www.treeyopermaculture.com

Matt Ellison

Matt is a NABCEP-certified solar PV installer and lives off the grid in a strawbale house in east TN. He has been working in the solar industry for 5 years and is now self-employed doing solar design, consulting, maintenance and all things off grid.​

Bill Gordon

"Wild Bill" has over 40 years of experience teaching as an environmental educator and "nature detective." He is the founder/director of High Adventure Wilderness School. He has cruised and raced sailboats over 40,000 miles of ocean in the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Pacific, been featured on Kentucky Educational Television and in the Kentucky Everyday Heroes books, and has received numerous awards for his teaching, works, and volunteerism. He has a passion for teaching outdoors, canoeing, sailing, birdwatching, writing, and wilderness adventures. He lives off-grid in the eastern Kentucky woods near Red River Gorge in a homestead he built surrounded by organic gardens and orchards, numerous ponds and streams, and thriving forestlands. He quietly tries to be a living example of what he teaches.

Willow Green

Willow Green is a 16 year old artist who works with children on a regular basis due to her 3 younger siblings and job at a salon for children. She taught doll making at the previous whippoorwill festival and enjoys playing music.

Tatum Green

Tatum Green is a birth doula, lover of plants, and forever student of nature. She has taught several workshops at past Whip Fests and can't wait to be back this year. She enjoys gardening, time with her family, and live music.

Karena Harmon

Karena Harmon has worked in the Holistic Health field for well over a dozen years and is a Certified Herbalist, Holistic Nutritional Consultant, Medicine Maker, Wildcrafter, Yogi and Reiki practitioner.​

Tim Hensley

Tim Hensley is a professional mushroom farmer and wildcrafter from Berea, and happens to be the Lexington, Kentucky restaurant scene's primary provider of gourmet wild mushrooms. He and his wife Jane Post offer hands-on educational workshops on their farm outside Berea. For more info: www.ForestRetreats.net

Austin Hollis

A ‘lifestyle forager’ and craftsman, Austin combines his many talents and interests to demonstrate traditional lifeways and ‘survival’ skills at schools, gatherings, and events in Kentucky and surrounding areas. He is the editor of the online periodical, Edge of the Wild (newsfromthefront.wordpress.com) and teaches science/social studies for Jefferson County Public Schools. Austin has taught at the Whippoorwill Festival since 2016. You can connect with Austin on facebook @AHollisTeachingAndGoods or instagram @a._hollis, and read his musings on sustainable survivalism at newsfromthefront.wordpress.com

Olivia Immitt

Olivia has learned the art of using sound at the Globe Sound Institute of San Francisco. She has been using this knowledge to help heal and balance her own body and nervous system for the past three years. She is amazed and inspired by simplicity of sound and truly believes that it is a tool that everyone can benefit from. Her inspiration comes from a five year quest of wellness in her own self and was pleasantly surprised to find a very unexpected answer. She now desires to share these powerful yet approachable techniques with others. ​

Cali Janae

As a child Cali Janae, "Cal" was led on plant walks by their father before they could walk. Later, they formalized their passion for the natural world and living sustainably in it with a degree in Ethnobotany from Drake University and 3 years of study including apprenticeship to 7Song at the Northeast School of Botanical Medicine where they are currently employed. Cal practices as a botanist, herbalist and farmer in Ithaca, New York and volunteers as a clinical herbalist at the Ithaca Free Clinic. They teach classes on botany and herbal medicine at several events and locations throughout the year. Connect with Cal on facebook Cali Janae

Rachel Kaufmann

Rachel is a 200-hour certified yoga instructor and has studied the Iyengar method, Ashtanga, Tai Chi, and other alignment-based practices. While she now spends her days working with students who have special needs, she has taught three seasons of outdoor education and loves bringing folks closer to the natural world. Her favorite form of meditation is walking barefoot across river stones. ​

Tod Kershaw

​Tod is a an engineer turned dumpster-diving fringe dweller. He left the mainstream, but kept his cleverness. Tod lives in a bark hut, carries water and cooks on fire at Wildroots in Madison County, NC.

Sean Kershaw

Sean Kershaw has been performing as a guitarist and vocalist since the late '80s all over the US and beyond. Now based in Brooklyn, NY he has distilled his self-taught guitar skills into a simple and effective teaching method for beginners and intermediates. He has been getting kids from 6-60 up and running with a visual-based, clutter-free way of approaching music since 2010. For beginners, he can introduce you to music with a minimum of technobabble. For the intermediate level musician he may be able to simplify some concepts and help with performance issues, smoothing your way to the next level. Connect with Sean on facebook @seankershawmusic or  www.seankershaw.com

Zack Kouns

 Zack Kouns is a lecturer, fermentation missionary, ecumenical journalist, performer, researcher, prankster, author and composer.  ​He has been transfixed by fermented foods ever since he had his first bubbly, drink of Smreka in a tiny Bosnian village many years ago and began his experiments with the microbial and bacterial world soon after. This journey of food preservation has led him to incorporate foraging, another passion of his, into the ferments that he works with to create truly wild medicinal fermented foods and he has taught hundreds of classes on both subjects up and down the East coast for nearly 10 years. Checkout Zack's youtube channel,  Wild Vittles

Michael Kline

Michael and Carrie Kline met through a love of singing, old-time music and the oral tradition. They've made a life together performing music, gathering stories, and documenting the experiences of new immigrants and long-established residents of Appalachia and beyond, aiming to sustain families and communities through folklife documentation, listening projects and music. As the name of their business states, they build cross-cultural understanding through “Talking Across the Lines.” ​ Connect with the Klines on their website at folktalk.org or follow on facebook @klinesacrossthelines

Cecilia Li

Cecilia Li is an artist, cuddle professional and consent warrior. Her life mission is to foster a positive sense of community (sometimes through platonic cuddles). She is currently illustrating The Book of Cuddles, which will be available in late September. www.cuddlewithc.com

Leann Leiter

Leann, a native of rural Pennsylvania, is delighted to collaborate with fracking-impacted residents in the Appalachian region as an Earthworks' Field Advocate. This role allows her to bring industry-standard optical gas imaging cameras to shale gas communities, document and report air pollution, and push for accountability from regulators and gas companies.   She joined Earthworks in November 2017 after completing a research fellowship with FracTracker Alliance and the Environmental Health Project. She has a passion for achieving environmental and social justice through participatory, community-based research methods. Her extraction-related research and teaching has centered on topics including disaster preparedness, petrochemical development, and fracking’s household impacts.  Prior to completing an MA in Sustainable Communities at Northern Arizona University in 2016, Leann worked for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a grant and contract supervisor and as a Spanish-English translator.  Leann loves any excuse to be outside, and nurtures a major fascination with fly fishing, backpacking, foraging and gardening, and painting pictures of abandoned houses.

Cheng Liu

Cheng is an acupuncture intern based in Florida and Berea KY. She loves to integrate healing art with science, and share knowledge from her clinical experience, from thousands of hours studying Functional medicine and biochemistry, and most importantly, from healing herself out of 4 years digestive and autoimmune illness. Cheng holds three degrees in science and engineering, but she's a happy forager, basket weaver, and a healer equipped with knowledge and love.  Follow Cheng on  instagram @logicalGirls

Cynthia Main

Cynthia Main is a traditional woodworker and crafter, and the human behind the business sunhouse craft. A tool maker, plant lover, collaborator and crafter, she loves skill trading, especially in formats for inclusive learning. Connect with Cynthia at www.sunhousecraft.com

Austin Maxwell

Austin is an artist and homesteader, residing in McCreary county, Kentucky.​

Amanda McCardle

The Whippoorwill festival and community was love at first sight in 2017 for Amanda McCardle. She quickly joined the Organizing team for 2018 realizing she wanted to ensure the growth of WF and to widen her circle of like-minded friendships. Amanda traded 75 bags she sewed out of recycled sheets and fabrics (which are filled and used as gift bags for our Instructors) for her ticket that first year and has continued to do so each year. This year she’s upped her involvement by teaching, being on the Outreach and Organizer teams and Cat Herding Apprentice! “These people have become dear friends! It brings me joy and happy, summer memories when we have our conference calls throughout the year! This community is just awesome!” AM is a Reiki Master, sewer extraordinaire, retired massage therapist, crochetter, mom, hugger and Earth-Lover. ​

Alice Melendez

Alice is the co-owner/operator of Plowshares Home Improvements with her Partner In Everything, David.  She's mothering Ana and Severo, age 8 and 9, who are counting down to Whippoorwill with their neighbor-friends. She works with people in recovery in all aspects of her life and organizes with Extinction Rebellion to help us set our sights on what is necessary: to protect a livable planet for the next seven generations and to nurture collective power to protect each other. Before this round, she worked on her mother's farm, and before that for a refugee resettlement agency and an apartment developer in Houston, where she also tried to keep up with the women running the Norteño Mexican multigenerational family home where the kids started their trip on this Earth. She loves plants and animals, having almost convinced the yard police in Paris to stop issuing violations for her tall productive polyculture and her roaming dogs. She is excited to be a part of Whippoorwill 2019, a great year.

Tara Modjeski

Tara Modjeski, of Lexington KY, is creator and artisan of Treehouse Goods. She is a Reiki Practitioner at Source on High. Treehouse Goods offers a Kentucky Proud herbal body care line and adornments infused with Reiki. Checkout Tara on facebook @Treehouse-Goods-1406162726098337; instragram @treehousegoods or www.treehousegoods.com

Bill Parravano

Bill is “The Knee Pain Guru” and has over 25 years of martial art and bodywork experience understanding movement and tensions patterns that lead to physical pain. Connect with Bill on his webstie thekneepainguru.com

Aaron Pollitt

Aaron Pollitt is an environmental activist, song writer, homesteader, and workshop leader. He has a passion for finding new and old ways of living that create harmony in the way we interact with the land and with one another. Connect with Aaron at https://www.aaroninthewind.com/

Dr. Trevor Smith

Dr. Trevor Smith, DC, FNP-C, RN, HBNBC, DAHom, FASA has teaching experience in colleges, health centers, pharmacies, health food stores/restaurants, and other settings focusing on clinical nutrition, supplements, herbal/homeopathic products. He holds a Food Science Bachelor's degree that preceded the other 3 academic degrees and holistic nursing certifications. He works with natural stones in handmade jewelry, is a musician fluent on multple instruments, and is often outside in a creek with one or both kids.  Connect with Dr. Smith online at www.trevorsmithfnp.com Follow on FB @trevorsmithFNP or Twitter @trevorsmithCTA

Snaqs

Snaqs: A friendly fruit explorer who, over the past seven years, has successfully grafted many apples, pears, paw paws, persimmons, cherries, and che fruit onto both seedlings and established trees. With many more unsuccessful grafts under his belt, he hopes you may be more fruitful by learning from his many mistakes.

Airia Sparks

Airia is a professional dancer and flow artist (Ariadne link), who also designs/maintains organic gardens of heirloom vegetables, wild edibles, and medicinal herbs. Her partner, Evan, is a wood and metal crafter who also enjoys hand drumming and teaching primitive life skills, while ever honoring the sacred simple. Together they homestead nomadically (MoonDancer Farm link), leaving behind trails of gardens, pollinator habitats, and inspired hearts. Their mission is the ‘good trade’ of wisdom, crafts, music, food, and Dance!  Connect with Airia on facebook @AriadneSacredDance and the Moondancer Farmstead

Roman Stinespring

Roman Stinespring has taught at Piedmont Wildlife Center for 3 years. He has taught a variety of skills including Flintknapping, Tracking, Flint and Steel Fire Production, Pine Needle Basketry, Wild Edible/Medicinal Plants, Hunting, and Bow and Arrow Making. Connect with Roman on facebook @DearSocietybook 

Keena Stricker

Keena found yoga 11 years ago and has been teaching for over 8. She has experience with prenatal through geriatric and everything in-between. Her passion is to meet her students where they are at that moment. Keena brings lots of experience and compassion to all her classes. Her classes are soothing and help students focus on intentions and meditations for their practice.  kinetickeena.com

Christian Torp

Bill Torp: Has been involved in real estate and housing rehabilitation since the early 1970s. Christian Torp: attorney, developer, missionary, activist, urban-farmer, master gardener, foster parent and advocate for social change.

Michelle Whitley

Michelle Whitley founded Dancing Bee Naturals to provide the community with a source of hand-crafted natural products. She is an avid lover of plants and herbs who focuses on aromatherapy-based holistic living. Michelle obtained her certificate in Natural Products Manufacturing after graduating with honors from the American College of Healthcare Sciences in Portland, OR, where she is currently pursuing her diploma as a Master Aromatherapist.

My Young

My has lived in Appalachia for most of their life, working with various social justice networks doing anti-surface mining, anti-racist, childcare work, and support for the revolution in Rojava. They live in Knoxville,TN where they’re currently looking to start an auto collective to help working class people fix their cars for no cost on labor.

Zzaaakkkkk

Zzaaakkkkk travels and farms constantly and likes to do interesting things with interesting people and likes to talk about it with people who do as well. Let's talk about it.

Zimbo

Zimbo grew up in the wilds of Africa and now lives in East TN. He is a former Eagle Scout, former Green Beret Officer, traveled the world as former Chemical Engineer, former organic farmer, and former mid-sized business owner. Retired since 2006, he busies himself with his non-profit veteran service organization, his homestead and managing his own combat injuries.
​Checkout www.poweredbynature.net
The Whippoorwill Festival - Skills for Earth Friendly Living
July 17-19, 2020
Lago Linda Hideaway, Beattyville, KY (location and weather)