Trail Steward Spotlight: Glen Alpert
Glen Alpert is a trail steward at Jenner Headlands Preserve and joined The Wildlands Conservancy’s Sonoma Coast team in 2021. A California native from urban Los Angeles, Glen attended college in Santa Barbara and lived in San Francisco before putting down roots in Sonoma County where he raised his family in Santa Rosa.
Glen spent over 30 years in psychiatric nursing, taking a brief hiatus midway through his career to become a school teacher. Glen also spent 40 years as a public radio disc jockey specializing in jazz with a strong dose of American roots and global music as a side avocation. Intellectually curious and passionate, Glen’s dynamic interests led him to volunteering for an environmental organization once he retired, helping to operate a coastal visitor center in the redwoods for nearly a decade before joining Wildlands.
“Through somewhat random and definitely fortuitous circumstances, I found a place to live in Jenner about five years ago. I am high on a hill overlooking the Russian River and its mouth and estuary and the infinite sea. I am uplifted by the physical beauty everyday…and it’s just 6 minutes to the entrance of the Jenner Headlands Preserve,” says Glen.
Glen's love of nature and Sonoma Coast knowledge is something he gets to share with our visitors as a trail steward for The Wildlands Conservancy. Glen says that working at Jenner Headlands Preserve these past few years has been a life-affirming experience. The beauty of the land has had a profound effect on his life, as well as the joyful exchanges with visitors on the trails, and the deep connections made with people he works with.
“My dear friend, Ranger Jill, even with her phenomenal depth of knowledge and wide ranging skill set, everytime she leads a hike or just walks around, she sees the beauty and biodiversity as if it were the first time and shares it with wonder and joy. It inspires our visitors...and me,” Glen shares.
Spending ample time on the 5,630-acre Preserve, Glen has been fortunate to experience countless wildlife sightings, which never cease to be special.
“I love watching the bobcats for a long time, just far away enough not to bother them but close enough to see them in detail. The abundant resident raptor population is supplemented in great numbers in early fall by the birds heading south on the Pacific Flyway. And it is most thrilling to see Ferruginous Hawks, the largest buteo in North America, flying overhead.”
In speaking about wildlife sightings, Glen shares about a time where a number of humpback whales put on a show for viewers corresponding to the 5th anniversary celebration of Jenner Headlands Preserve, and it was nothing short of spectacular.
“I like to joke about how the whales came along to return the favor to Ryan, my friend and the best boss ever, for his work leading whale disentanglement efforts,” Glen says.
Glen is passionate about the mission of The Wildlands Conservancy — which is to protect Earth’s beauty and biodiversity and provide free programs so that children may know the wonder and joy of nature — and loves to share his enthusiasm for the natural world with our visitors.
“I enjoy the views at Jenner Headlands Preserve every part of the day, but maybe the most special for me are those times when the sun sets and the moon rises at the same time. And what a time in the spring when the Douglas irises are a purple explosion of color!” - Glen Alpert, Trail Steward