JULIA WATKINS is a mother and maker who creates and writes from her home in Chicago. A lifelong lover of the natural world, Julia has a graduate degree in conservation science and policy. She's worked in environmental and natural resource management for most of her life, including as a naturalist in New England, a Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa, an energy policy researcher on Capitol Hill, a conservation scientist in the Greater Yellowstone National Park Ecosystem, and an international development specialist in Africa and Latin America.
Along with her husband, Scott, Julia co-founded Lookfar Conservation in 2016, a nonprofit that supports foundations, other nonprofits, local communities, and social entrepreneurs with conservation and restoration projects in Africa and Latin America.
Julia also hosts the popular Instagram account @simply.living.well, where she shares about living simply and sustainably at home and with children. When she's not experimenting with new recipes and remedies, you can find her with her nose in a book-studying holistic living, health and healing-or gardening, practicing yoga, crafting with her children, or riding bikes with her family.