Jill Smith

As a child, JILL SMITH developed a love of nature while camping with her family in Michigan. Her curiosity about the natural world led her to earn a B.S. in Environmental Biology from Taylor University and an M.S. in Natural Resources from Ball State University. Jill, and her husband Gary, moved to Nashville, Tennessee to become a forester for one of the largest city parks in the United States. At Warner Parks, she managed fields and forests, wrote articles for Wildland Weeds and the Tennessee Conservationist, and developed educational programs for children and adults.

In 2003, Jill left her forestry position to become a full-time mother to two sons. Her career shifted but her passion to learn and share did not. Jill began journaling about the beautiful connections between scripture and creation on adventures in the woods and time spent alone with God. She returned to forestry as the executive director of the Tennessee Urban Forestry Council and helped spread tree education throughout Tennessee by developing community arboreta. Today, Jill owns a Norwex business, works for Timberline Tree and Lawn Care, speaks and writes to encourage the church, and has two teenage sons that will soon fledge her nest.