They Make It Possible For Us To Do More
Hello All,
There are certain signs that summer is winding down. The mornings get cooler. School supplies are on every store end cap. And, around KLT, our summer interns start leaving us.
This week, one headed back to The Ohio State University for her final year of college. Another is currently hiking around Mont Blanc before beginning a semester abroad in Salzburg, Austria. Thankfully, our third is on the quarter system, so we're hanging onto her into September.
And as they begin scattering off toward their next adventures, I've been thinking about just how much they packed into one summer with us.
Our internship program is a little hard to describe because there really isn't a "typical" day. This summer, Hanna, Rowan, and Addie maintained trails, dug thistles, spread seeds at the Sled Hill, worked on a boardwalk, installed trail signs, helped care for Aster, prepared for Pairings in the Pines and Feast in the Forest, supported Aster After Hours, stuffed our Annual Report Card mailing, went on property monitoring visits and tackled plenty of jobs involving weed whackers, mulch, cardboard, pallets, drills, shovels, and good old-fashioned elbow grease.
And that's only part of the story.
They also helped lead Trails & Tales alongside our friends at the East Bonner County Library District, connecting some of our youngest community members with stories and the outdoors. And because one of our interns is pursuing outdoor education, she spent all six weeks of Camp Kaniksu working alongside our education team and gaining firsthand experience in the field she hopes to enter.
That's what I love about this program.
Our interns aren't standing on the sidelines watching conservation happen. We hand them work that matters. Sometimes that means spending a morning with kids in the woods. Sometimes it means learning from one of our longtime trail volunteers. And sometimes it means discovering that caring for a community forest involves digging out thistles before they go to seed or figuring out how high a wood duck box actually needs to be.
In return, they bring an incredible amount to KLT. They bring energy, curiosity, new ideas, strong backs, laughter, and three extra sets of hands during one of our busiest seasons. They make it possible for us to do more.
But I hope we're giving them something equally valuable.
I hope they leave understanding that a career caring for land and community can take a hundred different forms. That conservation isn't only science or protecting acres. It's education, relationships, nonprofit work, public access, events, gardens, fundraising, communication, and yes, occasionally moving a wine fridge.
Mostly, I hope they leave knowing there is a place for them in this work.
Soon enough, all three will be off on their next adventures. We'll miss them. But there's something pretty wonderful about watching young people head back into the world with another summer of experience behind them and seeing where they take it next.
And if the future of conservation includes people willing to teach a toddler on a trail in the morning and wield a weed whacker in the afternoon, I think we're in pretty good hands.
Happy Trails, you Fabulous Three!
Katie
