Wild Keeper Spotlight: Tamara Neidich

Meet second term Wild Keeper: Tamara! Tamara is based in Helena, Montana and strives to keep the planet a little cleaner along with her 3 year old son, Maverick. She was born and raised as an outdoor lover and enjoys any mode of exploring, especially if it includes her kids! Tamara recalls that growing up, her most memorable outdoor experience was roaming around in the woods behind her childhood house. "There was a creek there," she said, "filled with discarded items like refrigerators, carpet, etc. My brother, friends, and I pulled what we could out of the creek and making 'clubhouses' in clearings and would play in them for hours."

We then asked her what her most memorable experiences outdoors with her children have been so far, to which she said, "every experience with my 2 boys in the outdoors is exciting for me because their amazement and joy about the smallest things gives me a whole different view on our activities. My favorite adventure with them so far has been visiting and hiking in Olympic National Park."

Tamara is also a healthcare worker and nature has been a source of comfort and peace to her throughout the pandemic. She shared, "as a nurse, being active outside, in any way, is my therapy more than ever before. The sounds, smells, and peacefulness calms my soul and relaxes my mind. I do my very best to get out every day, even between my night shifts, for at least a short time."

Learn more about Tamara and her Wild Keeping experiences below:

Keep Nature Wild: If you had to choose between mountains, forests or desert, which would you choose? 
Tamara: Mountains! 

KNW: What is your favorite thing about being a Wild Keeper?
T: Teaching the next generation to respect the place they live and places they visit. And hopefully inspiring others!

KNW: What has picking up trash outdoors done for you? 
T: Picking up trash outdoors has really made me realize just how much people litter, and how much of an impact micro trash makes.

KNW: Roughly how many pounds do you think you've picked up since you became a Wild Keeper?
T: 100ish?! 

KNW: What goals do you have for this year? (or beyond?)
T: To keep inspiring my 3 year old and my friends to do and be better! And to reach a goal of being outside for 1000 hours!