Introducing Our 2025 Summer Interns!

We are excited to introduce our 2025 summer interns! Our summer intern program is now in its 8th year and we are delighted to welcome this year - Luke Byrne, Donovan Carlson, Taylor Luna, Sahana Srinivasan and Huck Twerdahl.

Huck, Luke & Sahana will be working on the "Sustainable Urban Landscapes" project. There is great interest in creating sustainable urban landscapes featuring native plants as such landscapes are resilient, drought-tolerant and support local wildlife, especially birds, bees and butterflies. The interns will be researching this topic, best practices, efforts in other communities, and recommending a plan of action for Los Altos and Los Altos Hills

They will be mentored by Gary Hedden (past GreenTown President & 500Trees founder), Mahduri Kotagairi (GreenTown board member) & K J Janowski (former board member and marketing director).

Donovan & Taylor be will be working on "GreenScape Changemaker: Community & Climate Action" project. They will work on developing a program to advance Los Altos' climate action goals by engaging local leaders and community groups in sustainale green practices. They will be using the Heritage Apricot Orchard as a local example of sustainable landscaping.

They will be mentored by Jane Packard (Los Altos History Museum and Orchard Committee member),  Glenda Chang (GreenTown board member)

Luke Byrne

Hi! I'm Luke Byrne, a rising senior at Los Altos High School. My Journey to environmental advocacy and stewardship began at a very young age. As a kid I always loved being outdoors and playing in my yard with my siblings all day. Much of my elementary school days were spent in cub scouts doing community service and spending lots of time outdoors. These activities taught me an appreciation for nature and the recreational value of these spaces such as our local Redwood Grove, Baylands, and Arastradero preserves. Once I got to high school I was immediately drawn to the Schools environmental club Green Team. Due to my love for preserved natural ecosystems I joined the Habitat restoration project group where we coordinated the installation of bird boxes on campus. In Sophomore year I found Right On Refillery now Ethos which aligned perfectly with my passion for low waste living and conservation. I got the job and decided that year to swivel to the Lifestyle project group as it coincided with the work I was doing and still do at the refillery. For part of Junior year I participated in the Green Team’s waste project group where we created educational videos on waste disposal, advocated for more twin bins, and more coherent bin signage. Now I am the incumbent president of the Green Team and am working hard behind the scenes to ensure that we have an extremely successful year devoted to climate and environmental advocacy and impactful campus projects. In my freetime I love to spend much time in the garden where I do my best to make a hub for biodiversity and pollinators.

Huck Twerdahl

Hello, I’m Huck, a rising senior at the Woodside Priory School. My early interest in the environment stemmed from growing up next to the Redwood Grove and volunteering there with Grassroots Ecology, and it has only continued since. Last summer, I worked at i8 labs collecting data about pedestrians and cyclists in Bay Area cities to encourage safety and accessibility in public parks. Currently, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity and the Virginia Department of Forestry, I’m designing a series of food forests – public gardens that mimic the way food grows in nature – in unused urban lots to provide communities with public green spaces. I’m passionate about promoting the health of our local environment in urban areas, and I’m super excited to work with GreenTown this summer to promote sustainability in Los Altos landscapes! In the future, I hope to combine my knowledge about the environment with my passion for architecture and landscape architecture to create sustainable spaces for people to come together.

Sahana Srinivasan

Hi! I'm a rising senior at Los Altos High School. I've always had a strong passion for sustainability and fighting climate change. I'm the vice president of LAHS' Green Team, and outside of school I am a co lead of the MVLA branch of a youth driven climate organization, SVYCA. I also love to volunteer for green causes. In school, I am also the executive producer of the TedX Club, and am involved with our USABO club. My favorite subjects in school are math and history, and I love to listen to music and go on long walks with my dog!

Donovan Carlson

Hello! I’m Donovan, a rising senior at Henry M. Gunn High School. I’m a two-year member of Palo Alto’s Youth Climate Advisory Board, working to advance the city’s climate goals by pursuing my passions in zero waste and water conservation. I’ve also worked as a Student Ambassador for Acterra and a volunteer for Grassroots Ecology. My appreciation for the intrinsic beauty of nature blossomed into a passion for environmentalism as I began to treasure the value of tangible, grassroots sustainability efforts on the local level. Outside of sustainability and environmental advocacy, I love writing, cross country, and hiking

Taylor Luna

Hello! My name is Taylor Luna, and I am an incoming freshman at UC Berkeley, majoring in Ethnic Studies with a minor in Public Policy. I aspire to become a litigation attorney and serve as a prosecutor in a District Attorney’s Office. My interest in environmental issues began when I learned that climate change disproportionately affects marginalized communities—particularly low-income communities and communities of color—through heightened exposure to air pollution, toxic water, and other consequences of urban density. I am beyond thrilled to explore my passion for the intersection of climate justice and culture through the Greenscapes Changemaker Internship under Dr. Jane Packard and Mrs. Glenda Chang. I look forward to increasing multicultural and multigenerational participation in the Los Altos Heritage Orchard Harvest, and most importantly, ensuring that these communities’ voices are heard and respected in how they engage with the space.

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