There is no better way to get to know a place than to get its dirt under your fingernails. Our intention is to do just that. America is still a place where many people feel a deep connection to the landscape. And that landscape, like it’s people, is diverse. It is also still full of wide open spaces and pockets of wild nature, from the preserves of Alaska to the spacious deserts of the southwest to the weed filled lots in the forgotten corners of our cities. However, whether it’s a relatively unmolested stretch of wilderness or a blighted chunk of urban open space, most of our landscapes could use a bit of help. Development pressures, poor land use decisions, invasive species and many more factors mean that all of nature needs advocates and many specific places can use active hands-on help.

They say that the best place to start is close to home. For many years that home was San Francisco and the Bay Area, a place we love dearly. We put in years learning first hand the creatures, flora and history of that home. We also put in some time pulling invasive weeds and planting natives in a few hidden gems along the industrial bayshore of the city. In the process we were inspired not just by the ability for neglected habitat to recover and thrive when given an opportunity but also by the neighborhood people putting back a little love into their home and the shared positivity this creates.

It is time to leave that home though. Time to reset our lives and come to know other places. We’ve decided we need space, mental and physical space. Our hope is to find intimacy in the vastness of our continent. To find the wild places that the local people love and to find out why and chip in where we can. In the process we hope to come to know these places in the way you only can by putting in a little sweat and tears and by opening our eyes, ears and minds.