In our Staff Spotlight, We Introduce Cottonwood Staff Members who Help Run our Outdoor Programs. Get to know Hannah Posedel (she/her), our CAP Instructor at AXL Academy!
With outdoor experiences in the Great Lakes, Appalachia, and the High Sierra Mountains in addition to Colorado, Hannah brings a wide variety of skills and experiences to her role with Cottonwood. Learn more about Hannah below and read our other staff and board profiles here! Find other staff members highlighted through our Staff Spotlight here.
What led you to become an environmental educator?
Ever since working as an intern at a summer camp in rural Appalachia called Rising Appalachia while in college, I knew plants, nature, and teaching outdoors was something I felt passionate about, and it motivated me to keep learning more ever since.
What is your favorite environmental topic to teach?
My favorite environmental topic to teach is the edible and medicinal and practical values of regional plants. I moved to Colorado only 3 years ago, so I still have a lot of learning to do, but can’t wait to bring that into my classroom!
Do you have a formative memory of when you learned to love the outdoors?
I grew up sailing on the Great Lakes, which established my love for being outside and practicing outdoor recreation, but the final click was when I did my first Outward Bound Trip when I was 18 -backpacking, camping, and rock climbing for 10 days in the High Sierra Mountains in California. I knew then I never wanted to leave the outdoors and wanted to continue my skill-learning to do those things on my own in the future! My personal favorites include navigation with elevation maps and compasses, hiking 15+ miles a day, climbing strategies, and shelter building.
How do you connect to nature?
I connect with nature by taking hikes almost every weekend, 14ers when I can, going on camping and climbing trips, and in the winter skiing twice a week, or snowboarding when there isn’t much snow! I try to make it out every opportunity I have. It’s actually the reason I moved to Colorado, to make outdoor recreation and nature a lifestyle.
What are your favorite memories so far of leading Cottonwood trips?
My favorite memory on a Cottonwood trip so far is my first time learning and playing the game Camouflage while camping at Serenity Camp with my first group ever, among the trees and woods. It was an epic game with so much challenge and possibilities for camouflaging yourself, with space in the wilderness, I felt like a kid again.
What is your favorite snack to eat in the outdoors?
My favorite snack to eat outdoors is sub sandwiches. Anytime I have a long day trip or a long, hard hike, I make or buy a large Italian Sub, and at the peak it is my favorite reward!
What’s an unusual skill people might not know you have?
My unusual skill might be sailing: rigging a boat, navigating and racing, and reading the wind. There aren’t many opportunities to sail in Colorado, so no one knows that it was a sport I participated in for over 10 years and taught for 4 years!
We’re so grateful to have Hannah on our team! Read other Staff Spotlights here, and follow us to keep up with other Cottonwood news this fall:
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