Join Laurel for a walk to see and enjoy the spring ephemeral wildflowers at Yankauer Nature Preserve!

PVAS Host: Laurel Schwartz

Free and open to the public. This program is designed for families with kids; youth must be accompanied by an adult. Registration is required and limited to 10 participants.

Join us for a special spring ephemeral wildflower walk at Yankauer Nature Preserve, located on the Potomac River between Shepherdstown and Martinsburg. We will have coloring sheets and other kid-friendly activities available!

This walk is scheduled to coincide with the peak of the spring wildflower season. A wide variety of wildflowers will be on display including Twinleaf, Yellow Corydalis, Rue Anemone, Bloodroot, Spring Beauties, Dutchman’s Breeches, Cut-leaf Toothwort, and Giant Chickweed.

The trail route includes hills and rocks, so wear sturdy shoes. They can also be slippery when wet. An entire walk may take up to two hours, but participants may leave the group and turn back at any time. We recommend bringing a hiking stick/trekking pole.

Thank you for leaving the wildflowers for all to enjoy!

Participants will meet at the pavilion at Yankauer Nature Preserve. Directions and more information about Yankauer Nature Preserve can be found here: https://www.potomacaudubon.org/preserves/yankauer/. 

Note: every participant must register for this event, including all adults and all children that are planning to attend. Once you go through the registration for one person and press submit, go back to the beginning of the registration process and register the next person in your family.

Register Here!

About our Host:

Laurel Schwartz is our Watershed Program Coordinator and has been working in this role with PVAS since September 2021.

Laurel is a lifelong Jefferson County resident and Shepherd University graduate. She graduated from Shepherd University with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies and a concentration in Sustainable Resource Management. During the summers between the school year, she worked as a seasonal Park Ranger for both the National Park Service, at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, and the Army Corps of Engineers, at Loyalhanna Lake Recreation Area. After graduation, Laurel served an AmeriCorps year (2019-2020) with us as an Environmental Educator. Through this role, she fell in love with youth education and nature interpretation. After her AmeriCorps year, Laurel worked for Virginia Tech as a Soil Science Research Associate and a Jefferson County Substitute Teacher. She also was excited to be asked to serve as Site Director for Yankauer Summer Camps for the 2021 camp season. She will also serve in this position for the 2024 camp season as well.

In her free time, Laurel can be found hiking, spending time with her dogs, relaxing in a hammock, or in the kitchen trying out new recipes.