Wild Keeper Spotlight: Karen

Meet third term Wild Keeper, Karen! She's based in Arizona and loves exploring the state of Arizona and finding all its treasures. She shared, "we find a lot of trash along the way which is heartbreaking." Her favorite ways of experiencing nature is through camping, paddle boarding, gardening and picking up trash. She shared that the an experience that really made a difference in her connection to nature was when she "paddle boarded the Salt River and saw the horses. They are so majestic and at peace. They feed from the brush and the river, and nobody deserves to be eating garbage." Karen's favorite place to explore near home is outside of Phoenix. "Even though I live in the desert, there is so much beauty to take in," she reflects.

The issue she is most passionate about bringing awareness to is that trash damages the environment! Even items that will decompose, shouldn't be there. She also really wants to encourage people to look into adopting a street! "I've adopted my street, and the county/city provides all clean up supplies, and will haul away the bags collected," she shared. 

      Learn more about Karen and her Wild Keeping experiences below! 
              

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

Karen: I love the community and participating with like minded individuals. We arent perfect, we are just trying to be better.

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

K: It has opened my eyes! It's heartbreaking seeing all the trash, but it's made me look closer to find the beauty within nature.

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

K: About 250 pounds

KNW: What goals do you have for this year? (or beyond?)

K: Continuing on picking up trash, and hopefully influencing others to join me.