While I’ve lived in Alberta less than a decade, the wildness and beauty of this province have shaped my life from before I was born—when my dad first backpacked in Banff and Jasper NPs in the 1970s and committed to regularly bringing his future family to the parks to recreate together. My partner, Jake, has his own long history with the wild places he grew up near, as well as Alberta’s Rockies with multiple trips up from the US with me. We joined AWA in our first months here, and I’ve been involved as a volunteer in the A4W work for years.

We now have our own little adventurer and are committed to two things: getting her out in wild spaces often and protecting these wild spaces so they continue to live into the future. We both grew up in nature, shaped by the woods, waters, and winters of the US Midwest. Mountain-lovers at heart, we feel lucky to live in the presence of such beautiful and ancient landscapes as the Alberta Rockies. Time in the wild restores our mental, emotional, and spiritual selves, as well as providing the space for the conversations and decisions that have most shaped our relationship together. We believe there is a reciprocal nature between the ecosystems around us and our own health as people and as a society.

Our 60 goal is to foster an awareness and appreciation of nature in our daughter, while keeping our own sense of wonder fed, by committing to 60 trips to our neighbourhood park throughout this year. Already, our daughter has craned her head to better view poplar catkins, called out a flicker as it flew overhead, and learned with a face full of snow feels like after a toboggan run crash. We will also have adventures further outside of our neighbourhood, but wish to challenge ourselves to build a regular, simple practice of reconnecting with nature where we live. -Kate