About Us

Meet EarthMind

Learn how our nature-based coaching, classes, and gardens grew from deep roots in community care.

Backyard Abundance (soon to be EarthMind) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Johnson County, Iowa.

Since 2006, we have offered hundreds of classes, coaching sessions, tours, and designs that help people create landscapes which grow nourishing food, welcome wildlife, and support mental and physical well-being at home, at work, and in community spaces.

Mission

Offering nature-based experiences to cultivate well-being and connection.

Vision

Everyday connections with nature that renew how we care for ourselves, communities, and Earth.

Personal

Many people want to feel more connected, to their neighbors, to land, and to something steady in a fast-changing world. Yet the scale of environmental and social challenges can make even small steps feel confusing or overwhelming.

We also hear a common longing: to feel at ease in nature again, the way many of us did as children—curious, safe, and delighted by every bird, bug, and branch.

EarthMind was created to reconnect those threads. We help people align their interests, abilities, and needs with the rhythms of nature so personal well-being and ecological health grow side by side.

Unique

Our work is grounded in a simple idea: big change can start with small, kind actions in the places we already live and work.

EarthMind is one of the few Iowa organizations that combines nature-based coaching, ecological design, and hands-on classes to help people take realistic steps toward low-maintenance, life-giving outdoor spaces.

Our Staff

Mandy Dickerson

Nature Educator

Mandy Dickerson is a trained herbalist and certified yoga and meditation teacher. She guides regenerative practices which build outer and inner resilience.

Her company, Plantchanters Garden, nurtures and circulates plants and herbal knowledge, and crafts home remedies and tasty herbal foods. Her work aims to inspire deeper connection with the plant world and closer listening to the land.

Jen Kardos

Wellness Director

Jen Kardos is a licensed mental health therapist (tLMHC) and certified functional medicine health and wellness coach (NBC-HWC, FMCHC) in private practice in Iowa City, Iowa. She is a lifelong gardener and holds a professional certificate in Horticultural Therapy.

Over the past decade, through her work in therapy, health coaching, and as the Wellness Director at EarthMind, she has taught classes and worked one-on-one with people suffering from physical and mental health concerns who are seeking new solutions. Her favorite approach is to connect them more deeply with nature, and nurture other lifestyle factors that can reconnect them with their aliveness and innate ability to heal. She asserts that nature reflects the wisdom and soothing of our nervous systems that we are all seeking during these stressful times.

Emmie Klever

Nature Eductor

Emmie Klever holds a Wild-harvested Mushrooms Certification from Iowa State University and currently studies Anthropology and Sustainability at the University of Iowa.

She discovered a love of foraging in her hometown of Iowa City three years ago. Immersing herself in the abundance of the land ignited a passion for environmental stewardship, community resilience, and food sovereignty. By sharing her ever-expanding knowledge of gardening and local ecology, Emmie hopes to empower her Iowa City neighbors to forge deeper connections with the land, their food, and each other.

Fred Meyer

Program Director

Fred Meyer is the Program Director and founder of EarthMind. He knows that creating a thriving garden isn’t about perfection—it’s about discovering simple, joyful ways to connect with nature, no matter your space, budget, or experience level. As a certified health and wellness coach (NBC-HWC), master gardener, permaculture designer, and seasoned wilderness guide, Fred has spent years helping everyday people—from busy parents to retirees—transform small yards, balconies, and community spaces into beautiful, low-maintenance sanctuaries that nourish both body and soul.

Blending his love for wild landscapes with practical design, Fred teaches as adjunct faculty at the University of Iowa and leads hands-on classes through EarthMind. His work spans urban residences, farmsteads, school gardens, mental health centers, spiritual retreats, and businesses, always with the goal of making eco-friendly gardening approachable, affordable, and deeply rewarding.

Emelia Sautter

Nature Eductor

Emelia is owner and foundress of Good Medicine, a forest therapy practice located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She is a certified nature and forest therapy guide.

Her heart’s work is a juicy mash-up of spending time with the land and providing opportunities for humans to connect with self and with our nature relatives. She believes that Forest Therapy helps us fall more wholly in love with ourselves and with the world around us.

Annie Ventullo

Nature Eductor

Annie is a clinical psychotherapist and death doula who applies a social justice and holistic lens to her work. Her practices borrow from a variety of resources including ecopsychology, nature wellness, resilience theory, and empowerment perspectives to help communities and individuals create lifestyles that are ecologically sustainable and psychologically healthy.

Mandy Webber

Executive Director

Mandy Webber is a leader in innovation, facilitation, and marketing with over a decade of experience designing impactful programs for Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits, and mission-driven entrepreneurs. As Executive Director of EarthMind, she now brings that same strategic clarity and creative spark to a new kind of mission: helping people reconnect with nature as a path to personal well-being and collective healing.Mandy is also an author, educator, and host of the Wildly Intentional podcast, where she explores how we can live, learn, and lead with more purpose and presence. She creates seasonal tools, journals, and learning experiences that invite people and families to slow down, tune in, and grow on purpose.When she’s not guiding EarthMind’s next chapter, Mandy is homeschooling and homesteading at Eureka Moon Farm in Iowa with her husband, three children, and a barnyard full of animals. Whether she’s designing a program, planting a garden, or recording an episode, Mandy’s work reflects a belief that small, intentional actions can transform the way we live and that real change begins right where we are.

Our Board of Directors

Kaye Lindsley

Chair

Kaye Lindsley is originally from Rock Island, Illinois, and later moved to Iowa City where she received an Anthropology degree from the University of Iowa with a Human Rights certificate. Since 2015, she has been a Montessori Preschool teacher at Willowwind School. Throughout her years in early childhood education, she has been awarded grants, such as the Farm to Early Childhood grant, and is on the Advisory Council for the non-profit Engaged Early Education. Kaye believes in hands-on lessons and experimental activities like gardening, cooking, and special guest experts. One of the greatest joys in her job is watching preschoolers develop independence and critical thinking skills, such as creative problem-solving and conflict resolution. Prior to working in early childhood education, Kaye prepped, cooked, and served her way through many service industry positions and worked on various farms in the Midwest and the Pacific Northwest.

Kaye believes in slowing down and finding balance, alongside connecting with humanity, taking time to enjoy life and all the beauty nature has to offer. In her spare time, she renovates her home with her spouse, gardens, tends to her backyard chickens, keeps bees, crafts handmade soap, hikes with her dog, snuggles up in front of the wood-burning stove with her cat, eats adventurously, and travels internationally, taking every opportunity to learn about other earthlings.

Liz Maas

Board Member

Liz Maas is a biology and environmental science professor at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids. She lives in Iowa City with her husband and daughters. She enjoys cooking, gardening, beading, and reading. A founding board member and longtime supporter of Backyard Abundance, she is excited to be included in the reinvention of EarthMind.

Lexi Mendoza

Treasurer

Lexi Mendoza is a Treasury Management Relationship Manager at Hills Bank. She works with local businesses and nonprofits in the area to provide solutions to help their operations. She also is a Greater Iowa City Ambassador, chair of the Professional Women in Building and board member of Iowa Future Business Leaders of America. In her spare time, she enjoys finding balance and clarity through walks and hikes in local parks and enjoying the beauty of Earth.

Travis Nelson

Vice Chair

Travis Nelson serves as the vice chair.

Trish Welter

Board Member

Trish Welter is a public health practitioner. She is the Associate Director of Student Wellness at the University of Iowa, where she leads and supports initiatives aimed at promoting sustainable health behaviors and fostering a culture of wellness. She is also an Adjunct Instructor in the Department of Health, Sport & Human Physiology at the university. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, gardening, baking, biking and playing tennis.

Our Story

2006

Formed as a grassroots citizen group exploring permaculture as a practical path toward healthier people, yards, and neighborhoods.
Hosted 4–6 yard tours each year so the community could experience real-life examples, ask questions, and feel less alone in trying new ideas.

2009

Became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, creating a stronger home for community projects and partnerships.
Launched public permaculture-based classes, helping beginners and seasoned gardeners design more resilient, low-maintenance, edible spaces.

2010

Designed and established the Children’s Discovery Garden in downtown Iowa City, giving families a playful place to learn from plants.
Welcomed Dave Jacke, author of Edible Forest Gardens, for a university of Iowa conference that deepened local interest in edible forestry.

2011

Began designing natural playscapes in partnership with Nature Explore, blending child development and ecological design.
Launched landscape consultation services to help households and organizations apply permaculture principles in their own spaces.
Hosted our first community plant sale, sharing region-appropriate, eco-conscious plants with neighbors.
Designed and established the Wetherby Edible Forest, one of the region’s first public edible forest gardens.

2015

Co-hosted an Orchard Crops Design weekend with Red Fern Farm, supporting people interested in long-lived food trees and shrubs.
Published Edible Agroforestry Design Templates, offering practical patterns for integrating food and habitat into large, diverse landscapes.

Edible Classroom Beds and Arbors Est.JPG

2016

Designed and established the Edible Classroom in downtown Iowa City, a compact teaching garden where all food is free to harvest.
Created a healing garden at Prairiewoods in Hiawatha through a series of classes, weaving spiritual practice and ecological design.

2017

Published The Garden as Your Classroom, helping teachers use school grounds and gardens as outdoor learning spaces.
Led professional development classes so educators could confidently bring students outside for hands-on, curriculum-aligned activities.

2018

Partnered with Dr. Terry Wahls and New Pioneer Food Co-op to create the Wahls Protocol Garden and hosted a series of classes on food, healing, and everyday gardening.
Began explicitly naming "well-being with nature" as a core thread, planting the seeds of what would become the EarthMind approach.

2020

Designed and established the McPherson Edible Forest in Iowa City, featuring fruit trees, berries, herbs, and a welcoming pollinator entryway.
Designed the Healing Trail at the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm that blends recreation and healing while honoring the site’s agricultural and social history.

2022

Launched the EarthMind program to formally integrate mental and physical well-being into our mission, services, and teaching gardens.
Expanded offerings to include foraging, fire-making, and other ancestral skills, reconnecting people with slower, hands-on ways of being outside.

2025

Rebranded from Backyard Abundance to EarthMind, aligning our name and identity with our focus on well-being with nature.

2026

Staff members Fred Meyer and Jen Kardos published Low-Maintenance Eco Gardens, sharing our approach to self-care, life-giving gardens with a wider audience.