Wild Keeper Spotlight: Kristen Matteo

Meet third term Wild Keeper, Kristen! Kristen is based in Charleston, South Carolina and grew up going camping with her family. She shares that she grew up spending almost every weekend at their 1 room cabin, exploring the outdoors with her siblings. "We had woods behind our house and spent all day, everyday playing back there with the neighborhood kids. I now do as much as I can to get my own children outside such as the 1000 hours outside challenge."

Kristen says her preferred way to get outside is through hiking or kayaking and her most memorable outdoor experience has been hiking a “high peak” in the Adirondack Mountains with her brother & now husband. She reflects, "we got a late start and underestimated the incline and time. We were unprepared and ended up hiking down in the dark with only the light from one dying cell phone. A very scary experience but also a great learning experience. Now, we know to ALWAYS be prepared even if we don’t intend on it being long or dark. It taught us to all respect the outdoors for what it is."

                      Learn more about Kristen and Wild Keeping below! 

Keep Nature Wild: Between mountains, forests or desert, which would you choose?

Kristen: Forests!

KNW: What is your favorite adventure snack?

K: Peanut butter M & M’s!

KNW: What is one thing you'd love to bring more awareness to in the outdoor space?

K: This, 100%. Seeing the trash is so disheartening. We need more people to really care & inspire others to make a difference.

KNW: What is your favorite thing about being a Wild Keeper?

K: Getting others to do it with me, or encouraging others to get out and do clean ups on their own. Also the community, everyone is so supportive, nice & helpful!

KNW: What has picking up trash outdoors done for you?

K: Totally opened my eyes to how severe this problem is. Whether is’s a trail in a forest of the side of a highway, trash does not belong there. It has made me want to host large cleanups & get more community members involved.

KNW: Roughly how many pounds do you think you've picked up since you became a Wild Keeper?

K:  I'm Guessing 100-150 pounds.