Geoffrey Bishop
Nature's Classroom Montessori Executive Director
Geoffrey Bishop hails from the bush in North West NSW, Australia. After his childhood spent on the sheep station he went to an agricultural boarding school for five years then to University in both Sydney and Melbourne where he Studied Horticulture and Landscape Architecture. For the next 10 years he traveled the world, visiting over 80 countries, where he spent most of his time trekking in rural areas, learning cultures and understanding his place in the world.
In 1996 Geoffrey started Nature’s Classroom Institute Environmental Education. NCI is a residential environmental education program serving schools throughout the US. The NCI program will help students understand the natural environment, participate in ecosystem exploration and study, and work together with their peers and teachers as a community. The program serves over 4,000 students across the Midwest, Texas, California and Florida, which includes over 90 Montessori school.
After developing a strong academic and environmental outdoor based curriculum, he formed Nature’s Classroom Institute Montessori School on 140 acres in Mukwonago WI, serving students 3 years to high school. The Montessori school models the core philosophy of Montessori with a marriage to his environmental principles.
Geoffrey is a dynamic speaker and has presented all over the world. His focus over the past years has been on organics and sustainability in schools and promoting getting children back outdoors and helping adults understand the importance of instinctive play in the nature world. He is on the Board of Director’s for AMS and the Chair of the Montessori Life advisory Board.