News from the EarthWays Center

The Spring 2025 Outdoor Leadership cohort is blooming with excitement as the new season begins! Restorations Assistants (RA’s) of the Outdoor Leadership Corps (OLC) are a team of four RA’s and one Assistant Crew Lead. The team is co-captained by the Sustainability Divison’s Community Programs Supervisor, Fletcher, and the Conservation Education Instructor, Olivia Dove. As a unit the team works to complete restoration projects through the greater St. Louis region directed by our program partner, Great Rivers Greenway (GRG)! 

 By collaborating, the two organizations strive towards building healthier habitats and increasing biodiversity across the 130 + greenways in greater St. Louis region! 

Before we all get too busy with this spring’s restorations projects, we wanted to take the time to introduce to you the RA’s and Assistant Crew Lead of the Spring 2025 OLC Cohort! 

Grace Martinez: Assistant Crew Leader

1. Share a little bit about your past experiences in OLC and why you decided to come back as the Assistant Crew Leader? I participated in OLC as a Restoration Assistant in the fall of 2024 and appreciated the opportunities I was getting to connect with other interesting people in the field, along with growing as a leader and learning more about communicating as a team from Olivia and Fletcher. I decided to come back to continue learning and practicing these skills. 

2. What are you most excited about being the Assistant Crew Leader? It is fun to see how the crew develops as the season goes on, using any skills I have to uplift others in their professional exploration, and receiving support from others to do the same in my own professional exploration. 

3. What are you most looking forward to this season? Connecting with the crew members and having a little more experience that allows me to get more involved with GRG's projects. 

4. What have been some of your biggest takeaways about the career field of conservation/restoration?  There are so many different sectors of conservation that you can choose to get involved with- in the field (trees, water, air, prairies, etc), in the office (education, outreach, research), both (volunteer events), as well as both urban and rural environments, and general and specific topics. If you're interested in getting into the conservation field, try one thing out and if you realize it's not for you, there is always something else you can try out. 

5. What do you enjoy doing outside of OLC? I enjoy creating things, working out, being outside, spending time with my sister & my friends, traveling/exploring new places, and solving puzzles. 

Amber Taylor: Restoration Assistant 

1. Why did you choose to be a part of the Outdoor Leadership Corps? It seemed like an amazing opportunity to do what I love for a job. I was looking for an entrance to the conservation field and this position was filled with a list of activities that I love and do on my own time already. I'm really glad that I can make a difference through nature in the community around me. 
2. What are you most looking forward to during this season? I'm really looking forward to getting more experience with tree pruning as I wish to pursue this in my personal time and I'm really excited to see what I can learn during my time here that I can apply both inside and outside of work. 
3. What inspired you to pursue a career in conservation/restoration? Was there a specific moment that solidified your passion for this field? Last summer I worked at a summer camp that involved teaching nature and ecology to kids K-5. I realized it was a topic that I really enjoyed researching outside of work and I was already passionate about gardening and plants. I didn't realize what a passion I had for conservation specifically until I found myself looking for any excuse to talk about it. I was already doing conservation projects in my personal time with family and friends, but I hadn't considered pursuing it as a career before. 
4. What do you enjoy doing outside of OLC? I enjoy taking care of my personal garden, playing Dungeons & Dragon with friends, arts & crafts, martial arts, and I'm very involved with Boy Scouts of America. 

Sam Bowers: Restoration Assistant 

1.  What seasons have you participated in? What did you most enjoy about Outdoor Leadership Corps that inspired you to return for another season? I participated in the previous Fall 2024 season. Some big things that brought me back for another were the welcoming and dynamic environment that Fletcher and Olivia make, as well as my returning coworkers. I also appreciate that the crew moves around the STL area in different work sites to keep things fresh. 

2.   What are you most looking forward to during this season? Spring means plants grow! I think this is the most exciting season to return to because we are able to come back to some of the parks that we already cleared of amur (bush) honeysuckle and watch new young growth come back to the woods! (Although most of it is more honeysuckle... We'll take care of that). 

3.   What have been some of your biggest takeaways about the career field of conservation/restoration? My biggest takeaway and the one I've struggled with the most: you have to work on nature's timetable, season by season. I'm the kind of person that wants to see immediate change in his work. Unfortunately, growing native plants takes forever. That said, I am grateful to work as a team so that I can see how many invasive plants we are clearing out in the meantime. 

4. What do you enjoy doing outside of OLC? As a person in the green industry, I desperately want to have a great garden, but my need for immediate results makes me lose interest quickly... I'm more interested by woodworking in my garage and doing projects with my brother: writing a show, making a video game, playing music, building a Dungeons & Dragons campaign... I'm probably missing a few. 

Kinsey Bakameyer: Restoration Assistant 

1. What seasons have you participated in? What did you most enjoy about Outdoor Leadership Corps that inspired you to return for another season? I participated in the fall 2024 season before coming back for this season. What I enjoyed the most about Outdoor Leadership Corps that made me return was sense of purpose, visible change-making, and my team. I believe that even though we’re a small group, we’re doing important work and making a real difference.  

2. What are you most looking forward to during this season? I’m looking forward to revisiting some sites that we’ve worked on before, as well as starting work at sites that I haven’t been to yet. It’s always exciting to see our progress and accomplishments at sites throughout the season. I’m always looking forward to even more bonding and time spent together with this crew. The team is one of my favorite parts of the job. 

3. What have been some of your biggest takeaways about the career field of conservation/restoration? The work being done in the field of conservation and restoration is never-ending as well as extremely rewarding. There are always flora, fauna, and habitats that need our help, and it’s important that we’re willing to help them. Nature as a whole is extremely important and it’s our duty to respect and protect it.  

4. What do you enjoy doing outside of OLC? I enjoy art of all sorts. I love to paint, sketch, sculpt, read, listen to music, and play piano. I’m also often enjoying the outdoors, even outside of work, with a hike or just a scenic walk. I have a variety of pets that I spend plenty of time with, and cows that keep me busy in the best way. 

Judas Raniero: Restoration Assistant 

1. Why did you choose to be a part of the Outdoor Leadership Corps? I joined Outdoor Leadership Corp this spring to further my experience in the field of horticulture. I have a strong interest in restoration work and community outreach, therefore OLC seemed like a perfect fit for me. 

2. What are you most looking forward to during this season? This season, I am looking forward to making more professional connections throughout St. Louis and the greater region.  

3. What inspired you to pursue a career in conservation/restoration? Was there a specific moment that solidified your passion for this field? In 2023, I joined OLC's sister program, the Outdoor Youth Corps (OYC). At the time, I was going to school for criminal justice, though I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted to do. Throughout my first fall season with OYC, I fell in love with horticulture and the community within it. A passion for helping the environment and using that to improve my city was sparked. With this newfound interest peaked, I changed my major to horticulture and never looked back. As of January 2025, I completed four seasons with OYC, became a Restoration Assistant for OLC, and made countless bounds with likeminded people all over the St. Louis region. 

4. What do you enjoy doing outside of OLC? Outside of OLC, I enjoy hiking, camping, photography, and weekly karaoke with friends. My go to karaoke song is Debra by Beck. 

Learn more about the Outdoor Leadership Corps here!