Your teachers
Teacher Alex
(Co-Owner, Director)
photo by Kaelee Denise Photography
Teacher Rivers
(Co-Owner, Lead Teacher)
photo by Kaelee Denise Photography
↓ scroll down to learn more ↓
Alex Toenniges (they/she)
aka Teacher Alex
Picture
photo by Roam & Howl Photography
Co-Owner, Director, Teacher, Administrator
Librarian, Program Developer, Systems Designer; Culture, Equity, & Inclusion​

​Alexandra Elisabeth is a queer, Autistic-ADHD, educator of Germanic and English settler ancestry. They co-founded Ripple Forest School after teaching for several years at Firefly Forest School, Wild Nature Project, and Nature Learning Community. Alex is a Wilderness First Responder, Guild Certified Feldenkrais® Practitioner, and holds a Master of Music degree. In addition to forest school, Alex teaches Awareness Through Movement® classes and works with clients individually to help them improve their movement and live easier.

Alex loves teaching social-emotional skills, movement exploration, sensory awareness, songs, bird language, and edible & medicinal plants. Their teaching style is influenced by their understanding of neuroplasticity, learning, & development from the Feldenkrais Method.
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Both in their outdoor and somatics work, Alex's passion is helping people connect with themselves, others, and the natural world in an embodied and experiential way. Alex feels most at home barefoot in the forest, is a lifelong learner and voracious reader, and loves to sing, dance, and move.
Rivers Whitson (he/him)
​aka Teacher Rivers
Picture
photo by Roam & Howl Photography
Co-Owner, Lead Teacher, Head of Games, Bookkeeper, Cradle of Care Liaison

Rivers co-founded Ripple Forest School in 2022. Known for his enthusiasm, leadership, and never-ending patience, Rivers loves working with children outdoors and is a favorite teacher among our students. As a child, Rivers struggled with traditional education and understands first-hand the value of alternative and experiential learning. Rivers feels that every student should feel free to explore what works for them. He enjoys mechanical learning and adores the curiosity children have for how things work.

Rivers has 12 years of leadership and management accomplishments in the bike industry as a talented mountain bike racer & instructor, service technician, salesperson, store manager, and general manager. Rivers is a NOLS-certified Wilderness First Responder, a Professional Mountain Bike Instructor, and holds an Associate's Degree in Business Management. Rivers also loves backpacking and leading backpacking trips, testing his luck fly fishing, working on cars/motorcycles, and tackling house renovation projects. When he's not at Ripple Forest School, you can find Rivers riding his bike or fixing bikes with his Mobile Bike Repair Service, Ripple Bikes.

Substitute Teachers

Jamie Dysart (he/him)
​aka Teacher Jamie
Substitute Teacher

Jamie is a North Carolina native originally from Forest City. He moved to Brevard in 2015 and graduated from Brevard College with his Bachelor’s of Arts in Wilderness Leadership and Experiential Education in 2017. He enjoyed many of the outdoor recreation opportunities available in the area during his time in college including mountain biking, whitewater canoeing, and rock climbing.

Jamie loves to learn about human impact in nature. He has a passion for teaching how we can minimize harmful impacts and what we can do to improve and develop a positive relationship with the land that we call our home.

Jamie is passionate about teaching and helping children by fostering an atmosphere that allows children to get to know themselves better through child-directed learning. He believes that meaningful change in how we care for nature and our communities starts with teaching these values at a young age and will lead to a healthier and happier future for everyone. Jamie homeschools his son, who is also a Ripple Forest School student.

Jamie loves spending time outdoors, cooking for his family, and listening to live music of any kind!
We’re Not Hiring — We’re Looking for a Co-Creator

We’re not offering a job.
We’re looking for someone to build with.

Our forest school is entering its fourth year. It’s still small and growing. We don’t have steady paychecks, guaranteed enrollments, or a ready-made program. What we do have is:
  • A community of families who believe in this work
  • A strong foundation of land-based, liberatory education
  • Established rhythms, curriculum, and culture
  • A commitment to shared power, not top-down leadership

We’re looking for a teacher, guide, or facilitator who’s not just looking for a teaching job—but for a chance to co-create and co-own a program that lives and breathes through shared effort. Someone who understands that the work includes not just teaching but all the invisible labor—outreach, admin, logistics, problem-solving—that sustains a small grassroots program.

This could be a good fit if you:
  • Have experience (or curiosity) in outdoor education, child-led learning, or community-rooted programming
  • Are more interested in shared ownership than traditional employment
  • Want to help grow a program from the inside—not just teach in one
  • Have 1–3 days a week of bandwidth to offer (flexible, not full-time)

We especially welcome:
  • Neurodivergent, disabled, and chronically ill educators
  • Queer and trans folks
  • Black, Indigenous, and People of Color
  • People with a background in mutual aid, folk education, or land-based lifeways

You don’t need a teaching license or capital investment—just a willingness to commit relationally and show up with integrity.

We’re still legally structured as an LLC, and we’d need to navigate the process of transitioning to a shared model if the right person steps in. That’s something we can figure out together.

Let's find a time to talk! (Visit calendly.com/alextoenniges to schedule a phone call, or email Alex at [email protected])