Guy Mott - Founder, Director and Lead Instructor

Deanna English - Educational Consultant and Program Manager


About Adventure Tree

The idea for Adventure Tree goes back many years leading up to 2006 when Guy Mott, Founder and Director, was tossing around ideas for how to give back to the world; wanting to work at a career that is worthwhile and rewarding by helping improve the lives of others. Being a lifelong adventurer and a natural educator, Guy decided to pursue experiential education - teaching by doing, immersing students in discovery, learning valuable life lessons and real world skills.

Actually, you might say that Adventure Tree started when Guy was a kid. He and his brothers climbed all over a white oak tree in the back yard (named the "Tarzan Tree") and they built forts and put up swings in trees all through the woods. His father is a career forester. Trees have always been a big part of Guy's life so it was natural that, at a conference for the Association for Experiential Education, Guy's imagination was captured by the many possibilities for fun, education and personal growth when he attended a workshop on recreational tree climbing.

All along, the flagship program for Adventure Tree has been technical tree climbing combined with adventure learning. Our core mission is education and personal growth, and trees have proven to be phenomenal places for helping participants connect with the natural world, challenge themselves, and gain an understanding and appreciation for living systems and scientific inquiry.

But the "Tree" in Adventure Tree is more than just climbing - it's a metaphor for learning and the branching pathways of knowledge, for finding your roots and standing tall & strong and reaching high for your dreams, for growing and developing and making the best of one's life. At its foundation, Adventure Tree is about experiential learning and growth - and trees are one of the best ways we know to help further that mission.



Guy Mott
Founder, Director and Lead Instructor
guy@adventuretree.org
508-243-5957

Tree Guy
On the Long Trail in Vermont
Guy is a native of New England, where he grew up ranging the woodlands and farmlands of the Northeast, immersing himself in the natural world. In his teen years and early adulthood he grabbed any opportunity to hike and backpack the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

When it was time to move on to college, Guy attended the University of Colorado where he used his passion for math and science to earn a degree in engineering. After a decades long career working as a Software Engineer, the pull of the natural world and the wish to help others acquire meaningful life skills was too much. He quit corporate America and enrolled in a graduate program at Plymouth State University in Plymouth, NH and earned his Masters of Education in Adventure Learning.

Guy has been adventuring all his life (long distance hiking such as the 500 mile Colorado Trail, many years and 1300 jumps as a sky-diving instructor, earned an advanced belt in the study of martial arts, etc.) so he felt called to a career in adventure education.

Guy's technical aptitude and natural teaching ability combined with his love of the outdoors led him to adopt recreational tree climbing as a core learning modality. Today he is well recognized as a tree climbing facilitator and trainer for school groups and camps around the country. He's a co-founder of the Experiential Education Exchange of St Louis, which brings together local formal and informal educators who support experiential education across the St. Louis region. Guy also co-founded Science In A Tree, which works to integrate science lessons with tree climbing. When he's not busy supporting experiential education in St. Louis, he is on the road helping to expand tree-climbing opportunities by training staff at camps, schools, youth groups and other organizations to start their own tree climbing programs.

Helping Smokey Bear go for a climb
Guy's certifications include:
  • Masters of Education in Adventure Learning
  • Tree Climbing Instructor
  • Certified Arborist
  • Level 2 Challenge Course Facilitator
  • Level 1 Rope Rescue Technician
  • Wilderness First Responder

What's in a name?

Tree Guy's name is pronounced differently than you might think. The name "Guy" actually rhymes with "Tree". His family is from Canada where they pronounce his name in the French way. So, just remember that he's the tree guy (as in tree man) whose name is Tree Guy (rhymes).



Deanna English
Educational Consultant and Program Manager
deanna.l.english@gmail.com

Deanna
Deanna grew up in the St Louis area, but spent much of her summers on the family farms in eastern North Carolina where she first made a real connection to the natural world. She now loves growing her own food, hiking, camping and canoeing the Ozark streams of Missouri.

She has a B.A. in Middle School Education from Maryville University in St. Louis and a MS in Environmental Studies from Antioch University New England. Deanna's careers have taken her in many directions and led to opportunities to work with students, both young and old, and to work outside in various capacities. She is happiest outside and helping to create opportunities for other people to connect to the natural world. Working to help support and promote Adventure Tree is a great pleasure.

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