It’s a new semester for our Land Conservation Apprenticeship program! Originally piloted in the Summer of 2021 with the support of the Benwood Foundation, Reflection Riding’s goal has been to create a green jobs pipeline by instructing young adults in hands-on land conservation work. Since that summer, our apprenticeship program has expanded as we’ve continued to recruit apprentices to work on invasive plant removal and restoration projects using native plants on our campus. Several of our apprentices have gone on to work for us in part-time and full-time positions, or have gone on to other amazing outdoor and conservation jobs. You can read about some of our apprentice’s experiences, like Mayson, Madison or Brianna, and find out more about what they learned and enjoyed doing as an apprentice.

Read more below to get to know our Spring 2023 Apprentices:

This semester, our apprentices are focusing on how we run our Native Plant Nursery: they are learning the ins and outs of our day-to-day operations like potting, sowing seeds, keeping up with inventory, and preparing for opening. They’ve been working since January and will be with us until April 29th, so make sure to say hello if you see them on campus!