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The Nature Bus for Girl Scouts!
Suzanne Moss believes she has one of the best jobs in the world, because she gets to share her love for nature every day through a program she built from the ground up: The Nature Bus! Her love for the outdoors and our natural world started when she was a Girl Guide in Canada. Her sash is full of badges, showing the many skills she learned such as knot tying and outdoor cooking.
Her mom and dad, too, were outdoor enthusiasts, and Suzanne would go on camping trips with her family as well as her Girl Guide unit. “I recall our family always went camping on family vacations,” she said. “To this day, when I think of those days, I can smell the musty, green tent our family used over and over. My grandparents would also come along. Those are wonderful memories.”
She took that love for the outdoors into her adult life, making sure she introduced her own children to the outdoors in different ways. From family hikes to visits to environmental learning centers, family travel usually ended up with an outdoor adventure. Suzanne also has an advanced degree in education and taught a gifted program where she was able to include studies on the environment and lessons to connect students to nature, including holding lessons outdoors!
Today, you’ll find her behind the wheel of The Nature Bus, a sixteen seater bus that is an outdoor classroom on wheels. The Nature Bus offers nature experiences for all ages. Everything you can do outdoors, Suzanne can make it happen through a dedicated program. From camping, hiking, kayaking, birding, and painting in nature, to behind-the-scenes at farms such as llama trekking and more.
“I design programs to meet the interests of a group,” she said. “Each group is unique and may have different needs, so we meet in advance and plan it out to cover every detail. I also reach out and get specialists or guides to help. For example, if they want a paint session outdoors, I will have an artist to lead the group. I’m there to make sure the itinerary is followed, everyone is comfortable and fed, and all the other add-ons that make the experience special.”
This summer, Suzanne collaborated with another woman-owned business to create a special paddle-boarding adventure for Girl Scouts. “We were able to give them a 50% discount!” While she can’t promise 50% discounts all the time, she does promise discounts to Girl Scouts who book The Nature Bus and does her best to keep the cost to $35 per Girl Scout.
“I loved my experience as a girl in the program — selling cookies, earning badges, making friends, going on adventures. I want to give back and, perhaps, recapture some of that magic I had in my life as a child!”
Suzanne is also a certified yoga instructor, nature photographer, and hobbyist astronomer (her dad was a professional astronomer). She is proud to say that The Nature Bus has earned several recognitions that include the 2021 Virginia Green All-Star Award and the 2023 Virginia Green Travel Star Award as the Green Eco Tour of the Year.
You can find information on The Nature Bus and its programs and how to reach Suzanne at thenaturebus.com.
