Ryley Rasmussen
This is my 4th summer working for primitive pursuits. I grew up participating in similar nature-based experiential learning programs when I was growing up as a homeschooler.
Francesca Viscuso
My name is Francesca, I love being outside and being active. I play soccer, basketball, run track and power lift at Candor High School. I’m going into my senior year in the fall and plan to attend college the following year. I love working with kids in nature, I’ve volunteered at outdoor programs since I was 11. I love art, photography, sports, and anything outdoors.
Grey Davis
Grey has been with Primitive Pursuits since they were 12 years old and has come back every year since then. The mentors and programs kept them connected to nature as they grew, and has inspired Grey to nurture their own sense of curiosity and love for the forest as they continue to learn what the woods have to teach.
Heidi Nydam
Heidi has been in love with the ecology in and around Ithaca since she started as a camper at Primitive Pursuits more than 10 years ago. The connection she developed with the woods, all its creatures, and the other kiddos at camp inspired her to help foster more of those connections and she is excited to be a counselor again.
Lyla White
Ithaca Forest Preschool Coordinator | Lead Instructor
Barefoot explorer, silliness seeker, and master multitasker. Lyla run Ithaca Forest Preschool during the school year and Growing Wild during the summer.
Simon Conrad-Reingold
Assistant Camp Director
Simon began his love of nature as a young child playing and getting dirty every season of the year, and he hasn’t stopped yet!