Meet Lia Clark, a 4th term Wild Keeper based in Denver, CO. Lia was introduced to the outdoors through a sleep away camp when she was 11. During her stay at camp she went on her first backpacking trip which she says, "was grueling and took me up a 14er and I never looked back. Nature is where I feel the most free." She shared that her most memorable adventure in the outdoors has been road tripping from Colorado to California and hiking North Dome in Yosemite.   When discussing representation, Lia shared, "As a member of the AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander)...

Summer is coming and with that comes the impending threat of wildfire season in many states. As temperatures continue to rise and rain and snow aren't as prevalent, the threat of wildfires in much drier conditions are more and more present. What exactly is wildfire season and what do you need to know to avoid potentially starting a fire? We've got some tips for you!  Wildfire season, and the areas effected, are continuing to expand with the states seeing the most fires being California, Georgia, Texas, North Carolina, Florida, Arizona and Oklahoma. Nearly 85 percent* of wildland fires in the...

Meet first term Wild Keeper Bernadette 'Berney' Arrogancia! Berney is currently based in Sacramento, CA but striving towards getting a van to travel and life a more nomadic lifestyle.  When we asked Berney how she got into the outdoors she shared, "Since I can remember the outdoors has always brought me unfiltered joy. I really don't know how I got into it, but I remember I was always the kid who got their hands dirty from playing outside, always climbing trees, scoping them out whenever I saw them and analyzing in my head if they were climbable. I'd roll down grass hills as...

Nature gives us so much: a place to adventure, a place to unplug, a place to exercise and a place to find solace. In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, we also want to talk about another benefit nature brings us: healing.  Many of us may have loved nature from an early age, but some have come to the outdoors through the pandemic. The pandemic forced so many of us to stay indoors for most of our days, avoiding connection and solely finding it through online communities and sources. This time of scrolling heavily, utilizing technology and staying inside frequently led...

Meet Wild Keeper, Brent Kuschewski! This is Brett's first term as a Wild Keeper with Keep Nature Wild, but he has loved the outdoors his whole life. Brent shared, "I was lucky enough to have many opportunities to visit National Parks, see various oceans/beaches, and take two road trips across the country as a child. This sparked a love for nature and the outdoors that has been there since I can remember. I really started to get "into" the outdoors once I was old enough to go out and explore on my own. I used to spend hours in the...

Meet Abbey! Abbey is a 3rd year Wild Keeper based in Tennessee, who has also been a Wild Keeper Mentor for the past year and a half! We wanted to get to know Abbey better not only through her experience as a Wild Keeper but also through her experiences in the outdoors.  Abbey was introduced to the outdoors from a young age, instilling her love of nature from the very beginning thanks to her parents. She reminisced that, "I grew up with a big backyard and a sense of adventure! Every summer, my parents would pack me and my siblings up in...

Parker McMullen Bushman, aka KWEEN WERK is a vibrant, joyful Black hiker and environmental educator who is setting out to discuss representation and education in conservation and outdoor recreation. Her spirit and love for the outdoors backs her message that outdoor recreation is for everyone and looks many different ways. We'll let Parker share about her finding her career path, finding her love for nature and more!  KWEEN is actually an acronym that stands for Keep Widening Environmental Engagement Narratives. I started KWEEN WERK because of my own experiences facing the drastic lack of representation in the Environmental Education and Outdoors Recreation...