Claudia Valentim: Storyteller, Steiner Educator, Manager, Outdoor Educator
Claudia studied hotel management at Thames Valley University in London. She then travelled extensively and worked as a freelance journalist. After returning to Portugal, she was trained at Angel Holistic School in Lisbon and has since then been working as a freelance therapist. Studied child care education at Waldorf school in Lisbon and worked as a Steiner teacher in Portugal and Brazil. Created the association “People & Paths“ which offered outdoor pedagogical activities under the topics of ecology, adventure, mystery and art. At that time, she was also working as an art teacher. She is a pioneer of a fairy tale house museum “Casa das Fadas“ which offered puppet theatre and courses about the importance of fairy tales in education. Attended the course “Call of the Wild”(Outdoor education Leadership Foundation Course) at Schumacher College in Devon, England. Today she organizes and promotes walking tours in National Parks in Portugal and continues to work as a forest school teacher.
Chris Salisbury: Director and Senior Instructor of Wildwise
Chris founded WildWise in 1999 after many years working as an education officer for Devon Wildlife Trust. With a background in the theatre, a training in therapy and a career in environmental education he uses every creative means at his disposal to encourage people to enjoy and value the natural world. He has worked with Ray Mears and John Rhyder, Joseph Cornell and Steve van Metre, amongst many others. He is a course facilitator at Schumacher College, where he also directs the Call of the Wild Foundation programme. He is also a professional storyteller aka 'Spindle Wayfarer', and is the founder and Artistic Director for the Westcountry Storytelling Festival. Chris is also trained as a Be the Change facilitator and offers symposiums for interested groups.
Tom Kaltenbach: H
erbalist and Forest Engineer
Tom's passion for nature and survival started already in his childhood days, exploring his natural surroundings in every growing circles. Adventures with the boy scouts and evenings around the campfire further fuelled his enthusiasm for outdoor activities. Tom studied herbalist and forest engineering. When his travels took him to Portugal, he fell in love with the country and stayed, providing for his family as a landscape gardener/ and tree surgeon for several years. Then, he came across the teachings of stalking wolf, Tom Brown. He took several classes on the Tracker School to deepen his bushcraft skills and the ancient wisdom of nature passed on through the generations and was so inspired that he started to run survival camps for his sons and their friends and later also for adults.
James Elphick: Outdoor Educator
James helps bring a true and unfolding immersion into nature, relaxing the nervous system and encouraging healing and rejuvenation. He has been meditating in nature since he was a small boy and has a qualification in teaching mindfulness for health. He has worked extensively for charities providing nature therapy for those with additional needs and received awards and recognition in this field. James leads sessions not from a need to teach or impart knowledge but to help hold meditative and healing space and to help others find that intrinsic link between humans and nature.
Mirka Hlavacova: Into The Wild Instructor
While getting her BA in Biology and Education from Bates College (US), Mirka became intrigued with transformative learning experiences in nature. She went on to study wilderness survival, naturalist knowledge, indigenous culture, and wilderness education at the Wilderness Awareness School, completing the 2-year intensive Anake Outdoor School and Leadership Programs. Following her studies, Mirka travelled and deepened her personal nature connection practice. During a solo survival trip in Northwest Spain, she felt called to return to Portugal, where she lived as a child, to share her knowledge and inspire people to live more nature-connected lifestyles. For the past 5 years, Mirka has been using her skills to offer educational programs and nature-connection experiences for ecoresort guests, school groups, and volunteers at the Quinta do Vale da Lama project, in addition to being a dedicated mom and gardener. She is excited to join the team of facilitators and co-create delicious nature-connection experiences as part of Into The Wild Portugal.
Jaya Julie:
Certified Rainbow Kids Yoga
Jaya is a nature lover, earth warrior, world nomad, yogini, wild dancer, herbal alchemist, well-being advocate and mother. Travelling and living among different cultures and communities most of her life, filled by a natural lifestyle and soulful experiences, she has now found home in south Portugal with her 4 yr old daughter. Certified Rainbow Kids Yoga and Founder of MamaSeed Naturals (an organic body care essentials & handcrafted herbal remedies) Jaya is currently being certified as an Into the Wild educator. Her love for kids brings her to envision a playful opportunity to grow with them, offering foundations for living as resilient happy beings who know how to heal themselves. Jaya offers herbal medicine making workshops for kids & playful yoga sessions!
Nuno Barros: Marine Biologist and Ornithologist
Nuno has been a bird watcher from a very young age and is today a marine biologist and ornithologist specialized in seabirds. He worked as as an observer of marine fauna on board ships in the North Atlantic as a specialist in avifauna for environmental impact studies, and for several years he was part of conservation and monitoring projects for birds and the marine environment in Portugal and West Africa. During his conservation career, Nuno has specialized in the study of the impacts of human activity on the sea, monitoring and conservation of seabirds, protected area management and environmental policies. More recently, embracing his roots from Aljezur (Algarve) he created Birdland, a local nature tourism company that interprets the fauna and flora of the Costa Vicentina.