Sarah “Redbud”

Sarah “Redbud” Kelly (she/they) brings heart-centered leadership, deep ecological knowledge, equity & inclusion practices, and a supportive presence to Parker Learning Gardens as Programs Director and Lead Instructor. She subs for all classes and teaches Youth Discovery Project & Children’s Garden Club. Redbud facilitates inclusive land-based experiences that center participants’ needs and deepen kinship between people and the land. 

In class, Redbud infuses applied science and organic farming with silly games, free play, and creative pursuits, creating opportunities for students to follow their curiosity. Known for her attunement to group dynamics and individual needs, she offers a mix of high-energy and calming activities to support diverse learning styles and sensory needs. Students practice stillness while listening for birds one moment and belt out loud, silly songs the next.

Hands-on land exploration is entwined in each class: turning logs over to find decomposers, planting greens, harvesting herbs, and building our dream farms in the mud. Redbud emphasizes the importance of rest, encouraging each person to find what helps them feel grounded & replenished. They love incorporating movement, music, and moments of quiet immersion in nature, helping students build skills to regulate, reset, and reconnect.

Childhood, personal passions & life experiences

Redbud grew up in Houston, gardening with family and caring for the land from a young age. They tended a vegetable garden along with fruit & nut trees. She remembers making pepper jelly, sifting soil, and exploring the woods and bayou banks alive with diverse birds, wild hogs, alligators, fireflies, snapping turtles, and bobcats. These early experiences sparked a commitment to care for the earth & foster biophilia—a love of nature—in her community.

Redbud loves exploring wild & urban places and is drawn to learning and novel experiences. They love camping, hiking, rockhounding, relaxing in or near water, mushroom foraging, and adventuring with her spouse & child. Redbud enjoys eating delicious food, dancing, music, and spending time with friends & family. As someone with chronic illness & disabilities, Redbud embraces listening to her body & needs and supports others to do the same. 

Formal education & professional experience

Sarah has worked as an environmental educator and leader for 16 years, developing equitable and inclusive programs that foster care for our thriving ecological systems & plant and animal kin. Redbud is passionate about taking action in community for all beings to thrive, including advocating for Indigenous land rights & conservation, sustainable food systems, a stable climate, resilient systems for community care, and rights of humans & nature.

Redbud has a bachelor’s degree in Communications & World Cultures from the University of Houston, later working as the Sustainability Manager where she restored some campus lawns to native prairie and managed an organic community garden in a food desert. Redbud moved to Oregon to pursue a master’s degree in Environmental Arts & Humanities at Oregon State University, studying environmental justice, land-based education, and ecological ethics while leading an arts & ecology field trip experience in an old-growth forest.

She later worked at Straub Outdoors in Salem and Whole Earth Nature School in Eugene as the Outdoor School Director and Equity & Engagement Director. Sarah has extensive experience in trauma-informed care, restorative justice, intersectional justice, queer rights, Indigenous land rights, traditional ecological knowledge, equitable education, and accommodation plans.

Learn more about Redbud: https://sarahminette.com/