Leyden Schelke

Leyden grew up in Georgia and has spent her entire life exploring the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. Her connection to the outdoor places that have shaped her life fuels her passion for learning, working, and playing in diverse ecosystems all over the world. She is especially fascinated by forest ecology and regenerative agriculture, as well as the role of literature and art in understanding, appreciating, and advocating for nature. Leyden is a current student at Sewanee: The University of the South, where she studies Natural Resources and Creative Writing. She is a trip leader for the Sewanee Outing Program, volunteers at her school’s university farm, and spent last summer organizing and directing her school’s outdoor orientation program. Leyden also spent a semester researching permaculture and sustainable community development in Portugal, participating in regeneration projects on local farms and forests in the aftermath of wildfire. She loves getting her hands dirty with any farming, forest, or research project, and hopes to learn as much as she can about how best to care for the soil, systems, and species of a place so as to care for the communities that are interconnected there – she is especially excited to explore the unique ecology and history of the Greater Teton area and all of the education and adventure that it offers. In her free time, she absolutely loves hiking, running, camping, cooking, writing, and just about any craft.