About Us
Tara's Meadow is a 30-acre retreat and educational center on Beaver Island, Michigan. For over twenty years, we have hosted educational workshops, classes, and events that foster a healthy sense of self, community, and place, and that further environmental and cultural awareness, wisdom and eco-literacy.
OUR MISSION: to educate, uplift, and interconnect our students and guests for their greater self-growth and empowerment. We aim to encourage creativity and ecological awareness in the service of all life.
OUR VISION: individuals and communities living to their full potential in Earth Peace - the harmony of our species with all others on this planet.
At Tara's Meadow, we provide individuals, couples, and small groups a chance to reconnect with themselves and the world.
WE SEEK TO EDUCATE - "to draw out" the natural gifts and talents of our students and guests by uplifting them: inspiring, affirming and encouraging them to step forward into the fruition of their lives.
WE SEEK TO INTERCONNECT - by convening groups within the natural settings of Beaver Island, students and guests network through the sharing and teaching of environmental studies, the arts, and native cultural wisdom traditions.
WE SEEK TO EMPOWER - to support our students and guests in their discoveries of how best to serve the wider community of life.
Tara's education efforts enhance our students and guests sense of place, awareness of "land as community," and understanding of the native concept "all my relations." Our retreats offer a place of respite, good counsel, and rejuvenation of the spirit. They also provide opportunities for field studies and immersive educational experiences for school groups, teachers, and college students, as well as other organizations aligned with our mission. This serves our larger vision of "Earth Peace" - bringing more harmony to our human interface with the planet.
OUR GOALS
Provide teachings in environmental studies, nature awareness, history, culture, and the arts
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Engage our students and visitors with other organizations or individuals compatible with their needs and our collective work
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Develop experiential education opportunities in both natural and "developed" human environments
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Expose our students and guests to multicultural ways of life and native wisdom traditions
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Offer activities and experiences that foster a healthy sense of self and place
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Be a place of respite, good counsel, and rejuvenation of the spirit
OUR TEAM
These are the passionate visionaries and volunteers behind Tara's Meadow.
Seamus Norgaard
Director & Board President
With a MS in Environmental Studies, Seamus is a college professor and environmental advocate, writer, life coach and spiritual guide. He is the founder and current director of Tara’s Meadow Education and Retreat Center, and co-designed a two-year associate’s degree program in “Environmental & Sustainability Studies” for North Central Michigan College. Seamus is a strong carrier of the Celtic Spirit who has lived and studied with the native peoples of Ireland and the American West, and draws from a deep well of wisdom and kindness in his calling to uplift people, community and life.
Sally Wagoner
Administrative Assistant & Board Secretary
​Sally Wagoner, RN, BSN is nurse by profession, spending much of her career in home health, community education and tobacco/nicotine addiction treatment. In and outside of the workplace she promotes health through prevention, holistic self-care and spiritual responsibility. She worked for twelve years with the Chicago Native American community as Community Nurse, Wellness Director and Development Director. Involved in local and regional environmental issues, Ms. Wagoner also supports Native American and global Indigenous communities through advocacy and volunteer grant writing.
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Amie Elton Crawford
Board Treasurer
Amie Elton Crawford is an artist and interior designer. While living in Chicago during the “Great Recession” she helped to organize fast food and retail workers, becoming a founding member of the Workers Organizing Committee of Chicago and the Fight for Fifteen - now an internationally recognized movement to raise the minimum wage. Currently living in Petoskey and Beaver Island, she works for the Women’s Resource Center of Northern Michigan as an associate in their resale stores. Amie has been instrumental in developing Tara’s Meadow outreach and marketing, and lent her talents of logo development and graphic design for Tara’s Meadow.
Hal Willens
Board Vice President
Hal Willens is a cardiologist now retired from his 27 year practice in Petoskey, Michigan holding the title of President for part of that time. He is committed to giving back to his community through his environmental and cultural interests. He has been on the Board of Directors of Crooked Tree Art Center, Grain Train Natural Foods Co-op, and Pickerel-Crooked Lakes Association. He has worked with the Local Food Alliance of Northern Michigan and Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities' Northern Farms Foodshed to help foster the local food movement. He has also served on the board of the philanthropic Sinai Medical Staff Foundation and as a president of Temple Bnai Israel. Hal explores his creative side by photographing the beauty found in the natural world.
Lori A. Lemon, MA, LLP
Board Member
Lori Lemon has been a licensed psychotherapist in Michigan (MA, LLP) since 1996, with experience serving multiple populations to include: chronic mental illness, addictions, traumatic brain injury, survivors of domestic and sexual assault, depression & anxiety. She is experienced in conducting individual, family and group psychotherapy as well as teaching. Lori maintained dual careers throughout most of her life. She is a military veteran, retiring in 2010 from the U.S. Army Reserve as a Lieutenant Colonel with over 27 years of service. She also recently retired from Federal Civil service, where she served as a supervisor for the Department of Defense. Being a therapist at her core and a staunch advocate of diversity, equity and inclusion, she has upheld her commitment to bring compassion and empathy to all her leadership roles, serving as a mentor and teacher throughout her government service, as a therapist and as an adjunct professor of psychology. Lori has been actively involved with Tara’s Meadow since 2023, serving as a key facilitator for multiple retreats/events. In May 2025 she became a board member and is now also managing the Tara’s Meadow website. Lori has three adult children and three grandchildren and is a lover of art, music and nature. In her free time, she is a drummer for a rock-n-roll cover band that plays throughout the Detroit Metro area and can also be found creating art, hunting or gardening.
Rebecca Campbell-Osborne
Editor/Peer Mentor
Rebecca Campbell-Osborne holds an Associates Degree in Environmental Science from North Central Michigan College. She has been involved with Tara's Meadow since 2025. She is an artist and writer with a deep appreciation and curiosity for the natural world. She is passionate about developing meaningful connections with nature and community, seeking to marry the passions for psychology and fine arts with environmental science and education. She contributes her leadership and educator skills to our organization, serving as a peer mentor in our YMES Program. Additionally, she provides administrative support as an editor to our newsletter and is collaborating in program development for retreats.
