Maura Collins '26

Permaculture Intern

Seasons spent outside with her mom and sisters instilled the intrinsic value of nature and life for Maura. Her life is richest and fullest when admiring the little things and mulling over questions with curious people.

Playing in the woods and creek behind her house was a formative experience for Maura, weaving young branches into shelters and poking at water striders. She also spent many days in the backyard garden with her mom learning about different plants and little insects. Outside of her home she and her mom loved taking trips to the Missouri Botanical Garden and county parks together; something they still enjoy doing!

Throughout her years in K-12, Maura created a pollinator garden in a local park and became very interested in native bee populations. She also found an interest in learning about science communication and loves to teach inquiring minds about ecology and the Missouri landscape where she grew up! In high school, she co-founded her school's environmental club, and through it started a compost initiative and school garden. Within all her activities she found that people did not feel connected to their environment, and they did not want to be connected. Looking to bring more “granola” and “earthiness” into her communities’ lives, Maura is excited to join the Office of Sustainability as a Permaculture Intern and seeks to learn all about her new community. Hoping to be able to reconnect people with the natural world around and within them, she is fascinated to see how she will grow by working to help community-nature connections grow.