Elise Watt is currently making their dream of becoming a shepherd a reality. At TMS in fall 2018, they first learned about rotational grazing, the practice of moving livestock from pasture to pasture in order to restore the land into a healthier state, and the horrors of factory farming. Inspired, they decided that one day, they’d manage livestock themself. Elise took their passion for sustainability to Carleton College, where they pursued climate justice through their work in the sustainability office; they co-planned Climate Action Week, hosted environmental justice lectures with activists from the East Phillips Neighborhood, expanded plant-based options into the school’s dining hall, and received $8,000 to pilot a hygiene equity program distributing free, zero-waste laundry detergent to Carleton’s student body. Yet, Elise’s passion has always resided in sustainable clothing and managing livestock.

Elise’s TMS roommate, Cella, taught them so much about sustainable fashion. Through her, Elise gained knowledge of the exploitation and pollution within the fast-fashion industry, and the virtues of buying second-hand clothing, which they passed onto their friends in college.

Wanting to combine their passion for sustainable fashion with their interest in shepherding, Elise attended sheep- shearing school at the University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources Hopland Research Extension Center, where they currently apprentice. Sheep shearing, they quickly learned, is much harder than it appears. At school, they spent all day catching sheep, and then attempting to balance the heavy animals during shearing. “All I wanted to do at the end of the day,” they said, “was lay on the floor and drink water.” In their exhaustion, they found a sense of fulfillment.

Elise plans on utilizing the regenerative farming practices they learned as a student and farm crew member at the Mountain School with a flock of their own. They hope to raise dairy and fiber sheep, making their living as a shepherd while promoting wool as a sustainable textile option, and fighting climate change in whatever way they can. They also desire to one day live in a community as closely knit as TMS’s, and are excited to learn what the unplanned parts of life will bring!