We’re passionate about creating space for children to grow, explore, and belong.
About Mesquite Bosque Academy
Mesquite Bosque Academy grew from a shared belief between two mothers that children thrive when learning is rooted in community, curiosity, and connection to the natural world.
In response to evolving educational needs in Tubac, Arizona, and the shift to a four-day school week, we created a small, community-centered program where children can spend one day a week exploring, creating, and growing together. Inspired by Montessori principles and the rhythms of the Sonoran Desert, our program blends gardening, art, practical life skills, and social connection in a supportive environment.
Like the trees in a bosque, we believe children grow strongest when rooted in their individuality while supported by the community around them.
A bosque (/ˈboʊskeɪ/ BOH-skay) is a gallery forest or wooded habitat located along the riparian flood plains of rivers, streams, or lakes, particularly common in the arid Southwestern United States. Derived from Spanish for "forest," it functions as a crucial oasis providing, habitat, food, and water for diverse species.
OUR FOUNDERS
Meet Marla
I am a mother and a passionate advocate for education that honors the unique spirit of every child. I believe learning should unfold organically, creating fertile ground where curiosity, confidence, and independence can take root and grow strong.
I grew up in Ensenada, a coastal town in Mexico near San Diego, and was raised between Mexico and the United States before moving permanently to the U.S. at sixteen. My paternal grandparents were French, and my upbringing was a blend of cultures that valued curiosity, travel, and openness to the world. Growing up in a home facing the open ocean, I learned early to find inspiration in nature. The rhythm of the waves taught me about the natural ups and downs of life, while the horizon invited me to imagine what lies beyond and to look toward possibility. Surrounded by the outdoors, I developed a deep appreciation for beauty in everyday life. I later lived in Europe as a student, spending a year in Italy and another in France—experiences that further expanded my creativity and broadened my perspective on the world.
I am naturally persistent and deeply passionate about the things I believe in. When something matters to me—especially children, community, and education—I stand for it wholeheartedly.
Today I am an Organic Intelligence coach, a somatic approach that recognizes the body’s innate capacity for healing and resilience. This work follows our natural impulses toward connection, simple human pleasure, and meaningful living. It reflects what I know to be true about children: when supported with care and respect, they naturally move toward growth, confidence, and wholeness.
At the core of my values is authentic self-esteem. True confidence is built through lived experience, through moments when a child can say, “I can,” and truly feel it. I believe kindness is part of our nature and that we thrive in community—like trees in a bosque, each rooted in our individuality while strengthening the whole.
Creating spaces where curiosity, capability, and compassion flourish is both my purpose and my promise at Mesquite Bosque Academy.
Meet Viviana
I was born in Arizona and raised along the U.S. Mexico border, a place that shaped me long before I understood how powerful it was. Growing up between cultures taught me that identity is not singular, it is layered, fluid, and deeply personal. That upbringing gave me my why: a belief that diversity, curiosity, and expression are not luxuries, but necessities.
By title, I am a Mechanical and Aerospace engineer. At my core, I am an artist, an inquirer, and a seeker of freedom in how we think, move, and create. Music and dance have always been my refuge, my way of processing the world and staying connected to myself. No matter where life has taken me, those forms of expression have remained constant.
I have lived in five different countries and traveled extensively, yet none offered the depth of multicultural richness I experienced growing up on the border. My upbringing taught me how to listen, how to adapt, and how to honor multiple perspectives at once. That early education continues to inform how I live, work, and raise my family.
Life eventually brought me to Tubac, where art lives at the center of the community and creativity is part of everyday life. Santa Cruz County is my home, not just for its beauty, but for its deep roots and resilience.
Today, my greatest inspiration is my daughters. They are the reason I think more intentionally about the spaces we create and the values we pass on. I want them to grow up rooted in culture, confident in their voice, and unafraid to move between worlds with curiosity and strength. Surrounded by strong women and guided by community, my purpose is to help cultivate environments where they and others feel a deep sense of belonging, resilience, and freedom, close to the U.S.-Mexico border that first taught me who I am.
OUR TEACHER
Meet Mary Freeman Gilbert
On rainy afternoons when I was a child in North Carolina, the place to wait for the bus home was on the steps of Sunshine Montessori, the preschool at Our Lady of Mercy. Inside, Sister Regina carefully sharpened pencils in every color and arranged the contents of tiny trays. I didn’t know it then, but those quiet moments outside a Montessori classroom were the beginning of a lifelong journey.
Ten years later, during my final semester of college, I walked into a Montessori preschool to interview for a part-time after-school art teacher position. That small step turned into a 42-year career in education.
Over the years, I have taught students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade and served in many roles, including Montessori teacher trainer, school director, curriculum coordinator, and community college instructor in early childhood education. Each role deepened my commitment to child-centered learning and to supporting teachers and families.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, I co-founded an outdoor micro-school funded through the state’s ESA program, creating a safe and engaging learning environment when families needed it most. I have also worked as a successful grant writer, helping secure funding for free summer programs that expand opportunities for children in the community.
Beyond education and creating art, my interests include sustainable living, homesteading, upcycling, theater, cooking, and travel—passions that often find their way into my teaching and projects.
I’m also the proud parent of four children and grandparent of six grandchildren—all Montessori kids—who continue to remind me why this work matters. I am honored to be a part of Mesquite Bosque Academy, and the opportunity to nurture our students’ personal growth and happiness.