Native Landscape Management Apprenticeship Manager Ailani Ramirez-Pineda gives a Spring 2026 update. Check out our pre-apprentices adventures this past semester!

The Native Landscape Management Pre-apprentices continue to make meaningful contributions to Reflection Riding through their work at events, projects around campus, and support within our programs. Throughout the school year, the pre-apprentices have a weekend-only work schedule while remaining actively involved across campus.

The pre-apprentices played an important role at our member celebration event, Follow the Fire, on February 21. Maria and Yoni managed the hot drink stations, providing guests with hot chocolate, hot apple cider, and welcoming customer service throughout the evening. Blandy, who enjoys artistic and creative projects, assisted one of our naturalists, Kel, with the Red Wolf “Howl at the Moon” program. Together, they guided children and adults in coloring and decorating paper wolf masks while sharing fun facts about red wolves and the Red Wolf SAFE program. Jahore and Janett managed the s’mores stations, offering guests both sweet treats and a friendly welcome.

On March 14, the pre-apprentices assisted with an EPB tree giveaway event. Jahore and Yoni led tree-planting demonstrations for guests, while the girls helped load trees into vehicles and assisted customers at the Native Plant Nursery checkout area. Reflection Riding distributed nearly 900 trees in just three hours, and the apprentices and volunteers played a major role in helping the event run smoothly. By the end of the day, everyone was feeling sore from loading trees, so Hannah, one of our Native Plant Horticulturists, led the group in a relaxing stretch session to end the day on a positive note. The following Saturday, the apprentices continued supporting the community through a similar Tennessee Tree Giveaway event at our Native Plant Nursery.

On March 28, the pre-apprentices helped their former environmental science teacher, Amy Johnson, restore the native pollinator garden at The Howard School. Amy reached out for assistance with weeding and resetting the garden that a previous senior class had designed and installed. The apprentices were excited to reconnect with their former teacher while helping revitalize a meaningful project.

During non-event Saturdays, the apprentices regularly participate in Reflection Riding’s Project ReWild program, led by Naturalist Paul Earle. This program teaches volunteers and guests about the importance of native plant species and the effective removal of invasive plants while restoring different areas across campus.

The pre-apprentices have also spent significant time assisting in the Native Plant Nursery alongside Hannah and Lauren, our Native Plant Horticulturists. Their work has included repotting woodland phlox, tall garden phlox, and pink muhly grass; weeding and reorganizing plants; and moving plants from the greenhouse to the back beds and sales floor as they become ready for purchase. They have also helped install a new irrigation system in the sales floor beds and assisted guests during checkout.

Lauren shared the following reflection about the group’s growth: “The biggest change I’ve noticed from the crew since early spring is the level of confidence and initiative they bring to the space. When they finish one task, they are good about identifying needs in the space, taking initiative to get started, or asking for next steps. I also really appreciate how they support one another. When we were working on irrigation this past Saturday, Yoni was working through a tricky irrigation connection. Jahore had a great idea for approaching the task differently and jumped in to help. They were able to work through the challenge together and accomplish the task. It’s nice to see they can work both independently and as a team.”

The pre-apprentices also continue maintaining the playscape pods by resetting the area and replacing natural materials as needed every few weeks. They add bamboo, reset building materials used by school groups and guests, spread mulch, and maintain the trails between the playscape areas.

Additionally, through our partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters, we have introduced a new one-on-one mentorship component to the apprenticeship program. So far, three of the five students have been successfully matched with mentors. We are currently seeking one additional male mentor and one additional female mentor for the remaining pre-apprentices. Please reach out to Ailani at ailani@reflectionriding.org if you are interested!

As we prepare for the summer season and camp, we are also hopeful about hiring one additional pre-apprentice to join the program.