In 2007, Roma was a student at Carleton College who enjoyed martial arts and the outdoors. When she heard about Round River’s Namibia program, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to visit a place she may never have an opportunity to explore. One of the many highlights of Round River programs is that students do meaningful and impactful work. In the Namibia program, we tracked endangered rhinos and connected with community members in remote areas to find out where they grazed cattle in the wet/dry season and where their water sources were. Students camped and lived in areas that are sometimes only accessible by a research permit.  Rather than sitting in safe, confined classrooms we truly lived our education by starting the day with game drives every morning. 

One of the most memorable events for our 2007 group was when a fire burned down our base camp in Wereldsend. The nearest water source was hours away, so we students covered our noses and mouths with bandanas and went to work shoveling sand on the flames. Roma ran into a burning building to pull out some research documents and then helped battle the flames for hours with her classmates. We all learned to be competent, resilient, and capable.  After three months in Namibia Roma finished the program inspired and confident, wishing that more of her education could be structured this way.

Those adventures in the African sun never left Roma’s memory. She moved to Costa Rica then Montana where she competed professionally in MMA and met her now husband. Together they settled in rural Oregon where they co-own a small jiu jitsu gym. She has three young sons, and her goal is that they live adventure-filled lives outside the confines of a traditional education system. Roma founded a local forest school for home-educating families called Wild and Barefoot Nature Group. She teaches about science, nature and the outdoors then takes the families to new and exciting places around Oregon. Just like Round River, she shares the philosophy that the world is your classroom.

Wild and Barefoot Nature Group received a micro grant to expand its program from an alternative education fund called VELA. After expanding and improving the program as promised, Roma applied for a Next Step grant to take the Wild and Barefoot business online.  VELA awarded the grant to Wild and Barefoot, but the organization needed a nonprofit to accept the funds as a fiscal sponsor. After asking many nonprofits, Round River was the only one to immediately step up and help us accept these funds! In many ways, our missions are similar. The adventure website (Wild and Barefoot Adventures) will feature family friendly outdoor Oregon adventures and curriculum created to match topics children might encounter (such as old growth forests, tidepools, waterfalls, wildflowers, and more). The website also has a “Wild Workouts” section because fitness is freedom- fitness allows us to explore more and get the most out of life. Like education, fitness does not need to be confined within four walls. 

Thanks to Round River, Roma was inspired to create a business that helps children and their families connect to their environment in an outdoor classroom. She will never forget the lasting impression left by her time in Namibia and wants to encourage all prospective students to broaden their horizons and travel abroad with Round River Conservation Studies.