INSTRUCTOR

Growing up, wherever we lived, we always had a bit of the wild just beyond our backyard. Forests and creeks and old fields were always where I found myself most drawn, searching out special places and the plants and animals that lived there. In my early 20’s, I realized I wanted to create and protect the kinds of places I sought out as a child. In that pursuit, I have worked on farms, organized community and school gardens, run farmer and gardener training workshops and conferences, worked as a wilderness therapy field guide, built traditional timber frame homes across the country, and more than anything, have sought to educate and prepare myself for creating a magical farm through mentorships, membership organizations, farm visits, work trades, and research. I have a keen ear and appreciation for music (and some rudimentary drum skills), and look forward to weaving together my knowledge of the forest and construction experience with Erin’s musical muse.

INSTRUCTOR

Born and raised in the elderly Appalachians of northeastern Tennessee, Erin Dalton has always felt at home in the outdoors. From primitive camping during childhood vacations to rescuing baby skunks on a lunch break, any day in the outdoors is an opportunity for adventure and learning. Erin has worked on flower farms both in Blountville (Aunt Willies Wildflowers) and in Nashville, TN (Green Door Gourmet), where her love and knowledge of the botanical world were honed, and is currently studying herbal medicine-making with the Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine. Erin is a well-seasoned musical educator, vocalist, songwriter, pianist, composer, and arranger. For the past decade, Erin has been traveling and teaching everything from elementary school music to songwriter and performance courses for nonprofits and organizations, from North Carolina to Pennsylvania to northern India. She was the director of music camps for five years at The Birthplace of Country Music, and is currently the frontwoman of the band Charlie Maples. Immersed in a wide range of music (her father is an Appalachian story-songwriter and her mother, a classically-trained pianist/organist), she began honing her musical skills by ear and in formal training at a very early age.