Who am I?

  There are those that prefer communicating beside a campfire, are comforted by the sounds of wildlife outside their tent as they fall asleep, find purpose and meaning in hiking until their feet or knees get weak. They prefer natured over cultured and hold that the most beautiful things are wild. Many of those people will do anything to spend their days outside. 

These are my people. This krewe consists of artists and observers, scientists and explorers, activists and athletes, park rangers and educators, elders, and babies. 

My community recognizes the irony in systems that promise a rich future while mindlessly consuming in the present. This community is called on to support others in celebrating their own power to protect the natural world.

  I have had the honor of becoming a civil servant, entrusted by the public to care for communal lands that contain large, intact and complex ecosystems. My community extends far beyond the uniform or any title and many other park rangers would not feel comfortable in my clan of radical, earth worshippers. My community is more than one job or even one purpose. I feel connected to those who attempt to live with intention, to tread as lightly as possible while learning from the earth. Each separate identity and calling benefits this community.

  For me this passion and wonder began on camping trips with family, summers at summer camp, working as an outdoor educator: time spent outdoors. I began to form a relationship with the earth, finding a wealth of knowledge and wisdom in simply observing and participating in the natural world. As an adult, I moved outside of my native Louisiana and found that there were others who felt these connections with her too. I found a community that was working to preserve land, but which transformed me.