Land trust welcomes 'homegrown interns'

Kaniksu Land Trust has a pair of new faces this summer.

Emerson Kanning and Niah Brass, both Sandpoint High School graduates, joined KLT on June 1 for a summer internship during which they will spearhead a new children’s program and weekly walking series, assist with existing educational initiatives, support outreach and fundraising events, and get their hands dirty with all manner of land stewardship tasks.

“We made the decision to host interns this summer as another means of connecting our youth with the land they love — plus we needed help,” Katie Cox, KLT executive director, said.

Emerson Kanning was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and then spent time in Portland, Oregon, before moving to Idaho when she was about 8 years old. 

“I consider myself a local; this is where I call home,” she said. 

She graduated from Sandpoint High School in 2018 where she was a member of the Fly Fishing Club and National Honor Society and competed in Nordic ski racing with Sandpoint Nordic Club. She is now a rising senior at the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University in St. Joseph, Minnesota, where she enjoys Nordic skiing alongside her newest interest: backcountry canoeing. 

“I wanted a place where I could go and have that outlet in the winter (skiing). I also wanted to explore somewhere new for my college experience.” 

Her major, environmental studies, focuses on understanding the nuances of conservation work and how it intersects with community and other aspects of environmentalism. With that in mind, she returned to Sandpoint to fulfill her internship requirement. Some of her peers opted to intern in exotic locations, but Kanning wished to intern in a place to which she was already connected. Giving back to her community was a large factor in her decision to intern at KLT. 

“I grew up here and I love this community. I live near Pine Street Woods and it’s like my backyard. I’m super attached to that property,” she said.  

There is another reason she approached KLT about the internship. Having been a family friend of KLT’s executive director, for many years, she had witnessed Cox's enthusiasm for KLT’s conservation work and was influenced by her passion and commitment to natural spaces. 

Kanning leads the peer resource group on her college campus in which trips to outdoor spaces are planned for fellow students. Her involvement in that organization as well as volunteer work with other groups has given her valuable experience that lends itself to the work she is doing for KLT. During her internship, she looks forward to spending as much time at Pine Street Woods as possible, working with her hands on conservation projects, and learning about how nonprofit organizations operate. 

Brass Brass is a Sandpoint native, born and raised. Graduating from Sandpoint High School in 2019, she was involved in track and cross country. She recently completed her second year at Montana State University and is majoring in environmental sciences. At MSU, she assisted with ecological research at the Yellowstone Ecological Research Center, a nonprofit organization. Specifically, she did data entry and worked in the field setting up data collecting sensors on the headwaters of the Yellowstone. She is currently involved with volunteer water quality testing support for Lake Pend Oreille Waterkeeper, and will continue that work over the summer, simultaneously during her KLT internship. 

“Environmental sciences is kind of a general degree. I have several interests and I’m not sure if I want to specialize in a certain area or what that will be,” she shared. 

She hopes that her time at KLT will help her to narrow her focus after she receives her degree. 

“I think it’s a really great stepping stone: kind of getting my feet wet to help me get more experience and help me learn more in general about which direction to take.”

More importantly, Brass looks forward to giving back to her community and wanted to do so with an environmental organization. KLT was top of mind for her because she has always had respect for the organization because of its work to inspire people to spend time outdoors. She also grew up running the Syringa Trails and was attracted to being involved with Pine Street Woods.

She has enjoyed participating in the hands-on aspects of conservation work, such as pruning white pine trees to mitigate blister rust. 

“That was hands-on and fun,” she said.

She has also enjoyed the educational support work and becoming more familiar with trails at Pine Street Woods. Brass looks forward to trail work in various parts of the Kaniksu Land Trust service area and gaining experience in working in a nonprofit setting. 

“I have so much love and respect for this area. I want to help keep these special places protected for future generations,” she said.

Brass and Kanning have already begun to assist with educational programs like StoryWalk™, Camp Kaniksu and Kaniksu Folk School. Their work will include a mix of tasks to support the education and conservation staff, as well as spearheading at least one new initiative. They are currently laying the groundwork for a partnership with the library to offer a summer children’s story time and nature walk program at Pine Street Woods. They may also organize a summer trail walking program for seniors in partnership with local elder care facilities.

For KLT, this first season of interns has already proven to be invaluable in terms of the volume of work being accomplished. Yet KLT envisions an even greater impact to the community it serves. 

“By creating opportunities for area youth to return home and support their communities, we hope to contribute to the retention of youth in rural areas,” Cox explained. 

“This program allows interns a first hand glimpse of the community benefits gained from place-based outdoor and nature-connection programming while also exposing them to possible career paths in conservation, community engagement, and non-profit.”

During the summer, Kanning and Brass will have the opportunity to work directly with KLT’s conservation and education staff as well with Executive Director Katie Cox, who will guide them in developing programs that serve their community while also supporting the organization.

“I like working with my hands. There’s something really satisfying about hammering and sawing,” Kanning said.

Kaniksu Land Trust is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization entrusted by the communities it serves to care for the lands and people of the Kaniksu Region, today, tomorrow, and forever. KLT works within the traditional territories of Schitsu’umsh (Coeur d’Alene), Ktunaxa Nation (Yaqan nu?kiy [Lower Kootenay Band]) and Q’lispe (Kalispel) tribes, encompassing parts of present day Bonner and Boundary counties in Idaho, and Sanders County in Montana. For more information, visit www.kaniksu.org.