The Keep Nature Wild program was started in 2017 by two nature enthusiasts named Cameron Jarman and Sean Huntington. They wanted to build a community of people that would help the environment and keep it clean.

“Keep Nature Wild is actually an outdoor clothing/gear store. They created a community called Wild Keepers, or Wild Keeper Ambassadors, to promote picking up trash and encouraging others in our communities to do the same. It started in Arizona, the home of the company, but now expands with Wildkeepers all over,” said librarian Jessie Kirkbride, who is a Wild Keeper Ambassador.

Since then, the Keep Nature Wild community has flourished and grown significantly, and there are many ambassadors and volunteers who give their time to help the environment. The Keep Nature Wild Ambassadors host specific events, called “Impact Days” where all of them gather together for a hike and pick up trash along the way.

“They host Impact Days, once a month I believe, where the Wildkeepers organize hikes or walks and pick up trash,” said Kirkbride.

After going on their hikes on Impact Days, the Ambassadors gather together and weigh their trash, and share the impact on social media. Being able to share their service for the environment on the internet has helped the Keep Nature Wild community grow.

“They [the Keep Nature Wild community] flood social media outlets with posts about picking up trash, leaving no trace, etc. On Impact Days, we weigh the trash that we pick up and submit our numbers,” explained Kirkbride.

The community also makes sure to be environmentally sustainable when picking up trash, the community even supplies the Ambassadors with biodegradable bags to pick the trash up in.

“Keep Nature Wild provides us with biodegradable trash bags to use on our Impact Days,” explained Kirkbride.

Kirkbride joined the Keep Nature Wild community recently, and is now enjoying spending her time hiking but also helping the environment along the way. One of her favorite parts of being an Ambassador is encouraging others to help nature and our environment.

“This is actually my first time becoming an Ambassador for Wild Keepers and my first time participating in an Impact Day,” stated Kirkbride. “I enjoy my time outdoors and pick up trash anyway, so I might as well extend my influence to encourage others to do the same. It is great being a part of the Wild Keeper Community. They are so encouraging and supportive!”

The Keep Nature Wild project has been making a large impact on the environment and in the communities by helping clean trash and waste materials.\

“The Keep Nature Wild mission statement is: ‘Wild Keepers are on a mission to pick up trash outside, make a positive impact on the outdoor spaces that we enjoy, have fun doing it as a part of a larger community of Wild Keepers, and inspire others to do the same,’” stated Kirkbride.

If you are interested in learning more about the Keep Nature Wild project please visit https://keepnaturewild.com/pages/wild-keepers-21.