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Meet our Winter Intern: Hazel Windstorm!


Author: Lilly Schneider | 01/23/25
       

Young woman sitting on the edge of a boat on the water

Hazel Windstorm

The Land Trust is very pleased to introduce our winter intern: Hazel Windstorm! Hazel has lived in Port Townsend all her life and is currently between semesters of her freshman year at Bennington College in Vermont. Her six-week internship with the Land Trust began in early January and will continue into February 2025.

“I’ve taken part in Jefferson Land Trust field trips through school for as long as I can remember, so it’s always been a part of my education,” Hazel says. “I absolutely love Port Townsend, and I want to work to keep all of the things that make it so special.”

Hazel’s been a great asset to our preserve field team, helping us improve habitat conditions on the lands in our care. She’s been learning about the strategies and actions we use to take care of these natural places, and connecting with the many people — volunteers, neighbors, staff members, and partners — who take on this work. This aligns with her growing interest in environmental conservation and restoration — an interest that Jefferson Land Trust’s youth education programs helped to cultivate.

“My favorite [Land Trust] field trip was last year, when I got to work on the [Land Trust’s] Snow Creek Uncas Preserve with my PTHS environmental science class,” Hazel recalls. “We counted the plant diversity in the riparian areas right by the stream, and then compared it to data from more upland forests. It felt like we were really involved in the behind-the-scenes process of restoring the area, and I learned a lot about the mechanics of it all.”

Headshot of man with bookcover

Richard Louv

The Land Trust has worked hard over the past 13 years to build and develop our youth education programs, and we’re proud to bring hands-on learning on local lands to hundreds of public school students in East Jefferson County each year. Recently we increased our commitment to our education programs by adding our first ever full-time education staff member, Education Coordinator Devon Buckham, in August 2024. We’re also focusing on the importance of youth environmental engagement at our 2025 Virtual Conservation Breakfast on March 6, which will feature Richard Louv, author of the landmark bestseller Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder.

It’s always immensely gratifying to see and hear about the many positive impacts our youth education programs bring to local students, teachers, and families. When Hazel contacted the Land Trust asking about an internship, we jumped at the opportunity to help her continue her education on the lands that mean so much to her, and to bring these lands the benefits of Hazel’s time, interest, and care.

Being in college, she says, has made her realize just how unique and special Port Townsend is, and how much this place means to her. Many of her classmates have never had the constant access to the outdoors we enjoy here in Jefferson County.

“Those things have made me realize that I’d like to do environmental/conservation work in some capacity, though I’m not completely sure what that will look like,” she says. “Interning here is the perfect way to learn more about the different ways I could do that in the future.”

In her free time, Hazel likes to get outside, whether she’s hiking, biking, backpacking, or sailing.

Thanks for all your hard work so far, Hazel!