The Co-Founders
“What should I do when I retire?”
was a question Cindy would ask her daughter Tara. As an elementary school teacher, Cindy loved educating students and had made a legacy for herself as an exceptional teacher in the Limestone District School Board. Cindy had never viewed retirement as a time to stop, but instead as a time for change, and both Cindy and Tara enjoyed regular conversations to brainstorm Cindy’s next chapter in life. From chemical engineer to teacher to what? There were so many options. One of the recurring ideas throughout the years was to start a ‘children’s museum’.
Tara had completed her undergraduate and graduate degrees in environmental science, and as she established herself as a specialist in hydrogeology in the consulting and conservation fields, she realized she really missed educating others. In University Tara had tutored high school and University students, was passionate about teaching geology laboratories, and thrived as a coordinator for the STEM education organization Let’s Talk Science. The yearning to get back into environmental education brought the Mother-Daughter team to a realization
“Let’s Start a Business!”
blue marble learning scene is the product of our dreams and passions. We have big goals for our organization which will be ever evolving and changing, like nature. But, in a nutshell, we want to take you into nature, to encourage you to reconnect and to be in awe of the amazing beauty that is our natural world!
Cindy Dunning
Cindy Dunning grew up running and exploring in the fields behind her house. This is where she felt most at peace, just sitting in the middle of a field watching the owls and animals be in nature. If she wasn’t in the back field, Cindy would be taking something apart, with or without permission from her parents. In University, Cindy studied Chemical Engineering at Queen’s, helping to further her passion for chemistry and building by allowing her to study how things worked together. After several years working as a Chemical Engineer, Cindy switched to teaching to share her passion of learning and how things work, especially through math and sciences. Cindy quickly discovered her gift of allowing learners to see their potential and thrive while also being challenged. After 29 years in the teaching profession, she is ready to take her teaching passion beyond the classroom to inspire learners of all ages to ignite their curiosity about nature.
Tara Bauer
Tara Bauer is one of those people you find sharing knowledge of the natural world at unsuspecting times and who has a natural curiosity about the Earth. It was a childhood in the beauty of the 1000 Islands and Frontenac Provincial Park that sparked Tara's love for rocks and water and which flamed her desire for environmental knowledge to answer why things are the way they are. This desire led her to a career as a hydrogeologist, working with groundwater and geology in research, consulting, and conservation within Ontario. Tara spent 13 years learning about and working in environmental sciences, and is now ready to take what she has absorbed to inspire others within Ontario to reconnect with nature and develop their own undying curiosity for everything environmental.