About Erik Mollenhauer

Erik Mollenhauer’s early career began as a science teacher in public schools. During that time he received a number of teaching awards including one from the White House. He spent a year teaching in England, and a year teaching/studying geology at a Minnesota college.

In 1990, Erik became a teacher trainer and program developer. He developed and led a program that sent groups of American teachers to the Soviet Union and eight other countries. In 2001, he developed a project (Monarch Teacher Network) which brought the monarch butterfly story to schools across the U.S. and Canada. Inspired by that experience, he developed the “Voices from the Land” project.

Now retired, Erik and his wife, Kris, volunteer for environmental causes. They organize an annual festival that celebrates the life of trees and another that celebrates fireflies. During the recent pandemic, they helped develop “The Big Year Eco-Challenge”, an iNaturalist project that uses volunteers to conduct environmental inventories of public lands.

Erik has presented lectures on various topics including: “Through the Dragon’s Mouth – Secrets of the Night Sky”, “Rafting and Backpacking a Desert River”, “Sacred Landscapes”, “The Hidden Life of Streams”, “Fossil Legends of Indigenous America”, “The Natural and Unnatural History of Dragons” and more. His latest book… “The Death of Koschei the Deathless”… is a timeless tale that cuts to the heart of human experience and our rightful place in the natural world. A long-time backpacker, river runner and naturalist, Erik is always surprised at the wonders he finds when he takes time to stop, look, listen and linger.