Gaia Goodness with Meredith Wood

Q&A WITH

MEREDITH WOOD

Outdoors Enthusiast, Environmental Warrior, & Ganja Goddess

Q: What is your first fond memory of feeling connected with and caring for nature?

A: The earliest memory I have of being in nature is camping with my family when I was maybe 3 or 4. My parents started taking me camping when I was around 3 months old. We went frequently and always picked different locations in northern and northeast Arizona. I would say my mother and father were the ones who instilled the Leave No Trace concept in me.

Q: Where is your favorite camping destination of all time and why?

A: My favorite place to camp is in Northern Montana. Glacier National Park is the most beautiful mountain range I have ever seen. I love the cold weather, and being able to sit on the dock at Lake McDonald with a beer and watch the sunset was absolutely magical.

Q: How do you like to care for the earth? What is your favorite way to spread awareness about the importance of keeping our planet clean and healthy?

A: I like to care for the earth in a number of ways. A few of which include:

• Bringing extra trash bags on camping and hiking trips to pick up what others have left behind

• Drinking from a reusable water bottle. Unless there is some sort of natural disaster situation where people only have access to clean water via water bottles... they make me cringe.

• Recycling

• Composting

• Eating vegetarian and thus cutting down on my carbon footprint

• Driving a hybrid vehicle

• Minimizing plastic use; reusable straws, beeswax food wrap vs. plastic saran wrap, glass tupperware, etc.)

As far as spreading the word, Instagram has been a wonderful way to network and get the word out about outdoor advocacy. It has also been great way to discover local cleanups and meet like-minded people.

Q: What does your dream nature excursion include?

A: My dream trip would include backpacking deep into the woods to an alpine lake, setting up a cozy tent, enjoying a fire, and then snuggling up with my boyfriend Jeff while we fall asleep to Mother Nature’s music.

Check out this beautiful soul on Instagram: @meredithjw