About

Hi, my name is Heidi McKay. I’m the founder and director of Down to Earth Forest School, a preschool through 5th grade forest school in West Linn, Oregon.

While I've been on this journey for the last eight years I've collected a few things, and during the lockdown of 2020 I decided to take a pause and write it all down. What emerged was a field guide of sorts specifically for children. Meet Doug is a sweet little introduction for small children into the natural world of plants.

I decided to self-publish as this book and use a local, sustainable and ethical printer. Nearly one hundred percent of the gardening, agriculture, mycology, permaculture and field guides written about the PNW are printed with harsh chemicals in China—check the back of any books about Oregon on your shelf. Furthermore, there are books sitting on the shelves of countless local bookstores written not by humans but by AI, for the profit of big publishing companies—this whole process has been disheartening. 

I found a local printer in Centralia, Washington who met my moral standards. Without a publisher to support the sales and marketing of my book I found myself an independent local writer without the normal team of support once the hard part of writing the book was over.

That’s where you come in! 

Unlike other books and products you may purchase, when you buy this book every single dollar stays right here in our PNW community.