Our team at Elderberry Wisdom Farm was excited to greet eight talented young Indigenous interns earlier this summer. They completed their training and prepared their final presentations on August 28. Our Summer 2025 TEK Workforce Development Internship provided opportunities to help develop our Native American Plant Nursery, tend our Three Sisters Garden, and maintain a dozen organic raised vegetable beds for gifting produce to Native elders in the Salem area.
You can watch some of our interns’ final presentations below.
A highlight was habitat restoration training provided through experiential service-learning at partners’ worksites. We thank the North Santiam Watershed Council, Elanor at Persephone Farm, Polk Soil and Water Conservation District, Institute for Applied Ecology and their Willamette Valley Native Plant Partnership, and Scholls Valley Native Plant Nursery for their hands-on training support.
This experience strengthened conservation career pathways while reconnecting interns with nature. Recent NIH research confirms that time spent in nature improves mental, physical, and cognitive health — reducing stress, improving mood, enhancing cognitive function, and lowering disease risk. The article “What is the impact of nature on human health? A scoping review of the literature,” J Glob Health, is worth revisiting.
Our staff is also expanding into urban forestry, preparing lesson and work plans as we collaborate with local schools and plan activities in Salem’s urban forests. We look forward to involving students and families in November tree plantings to strengthen tree canopies in low-tree-canopy schoolyards and neighborhoods. Research continues to show mental health benefits including stress reduction, improved mood, reduced anxiety and depression, and enhanced creativity and mindfulness.
