In 2026, Derek Sheffield was named an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow. Derek Sheffield will travel to all parts of Washington State and work with young people to help them write poems that engage with the natural world. Research and firsthand experience tell Sheffield that many of Washington’s young people are struggling with anxiety and depression which are often linked to too much screen time and too little sky time. Poetry and the natural world are both forces that can support mental wellness, and this is even truer when they are combined. Terrain.org, the oldest online journal on the planet dedicated to the art of place, will create a new series to publish the writing that comes from this work with youth. Words, Woods, and Wellness: Poetry by Washington State Youth will be like previous series at Terrain.org that have gained a wide readership, including Letters to America and A Life of Science . The final stage of this project, in cooperation with Mountaineers Books, is the publication of a book of poems that engages with the natural world in a way that sparks wonder and offers writers and readers a sense of peace and belonging.