There is no single path into conservation. Some people may discover it in college. Others inherit a love of the land from their families. For many, it begins much more simply: by showing up.
For Leah St.Clair, it started with a workday at Wild Oaks Preserve in Belleville, WI. A few years ago, Leah and her mom attended a volunteer day together. At the time, she wasn’t searching for a career or an internship. She wanted to spend time outdoors and help care for a place that mattered. After this experience, she continued coming back.
With every volunteer day came another opportunity to learn. Removing invasive plant species led to conversations about native ecosystems. Brush clearing became a lesson in habitat restoration. Familiar faces became mentors. Before long, Leah was beginning to see conservation through a different lens.
Now an incoming senior from Verona, Leah has spent the past several years learning alongside Driftless Area Land Conservancy staff, volunteers, and partners at Wild Oaks. This summer, she is continuing that journey through an internship she helped create herself, building on the relationships and experiences that began with simply asking, “How can I help?”
After spending time chatting with Leah, there is one major thing that becomes clear: she loves to learn.
Leah is the kind of person who wants to know why a particular plant matters, what birds are returning to restored habitat, or how years of stewardship slowly transform a landscape. She jokes that she’s become a “garlic mustard expert,”. One of her favorite moments during her internship was monitoring bluebird boxes. She gets excited about meeting people who are passionate about their own corners of conservation.
One of her favorite experiences this summer wasn’t even in the field. Leah attended a DALC Board of Directors meeting to understand better the work that happens beyond the field. “It was fascinating to see how different minds come together for a common goal,” she reflected.
The experience helped her realize that conservation is much bigger than she once imagined. It includes habitat restoration, but also private land conservation, agriculture, recreation, partnerships, fundraising, and thoughtful planning. Each piece supports the other.
That growing understanding has shaped how she sees her own future. Leah hopes to study ecology in college because she loves understanding the relationships between people, wildlife, and the natural world. Yet she remains open to wherever her curiosity leads next.
Perhaps the most meaningful lesson she’s learned, though, has nothing to do with career plans. “It is amazing what a small team can do in six hours,” she said. After volunteering at Wild Oaks and actively working in an internship, she’s watched restored areas change season after season. Places that once needed intensive care are beginning to thrive. Those changes didn’t happen overnight. They happened because people kept showing up.
In many ways, Leah’s story reflects something true about conservation itself. Very few people begin as experts. They begin by asking questions. They begin by volunteering for a workday, attending a community event, or striking up a conversation with someone who knows a little more than they do. Curiosity grows into knowledge. Knowledge grows into confidence. And before long, they find themselves becoming part of something larger than they ever expected.
Leah reminds us that conservation is not reserved for just scientists, land managers, or people who have spent their whole lives outdoors. It belongs to anyone willing to learn, lend a hand, and care for the places that sustain us.
A huge THANK YOU to Leah for her ongoing restoration work. We greatly appreciate you!