Volunteer Spotlight

Mary Kay, Margy Verba, Jose Perez, John Dittli, Bill Bailey, Carol Wiley, Dave Willis, Louie Lujan, Todd Vogel, Matt Nelson

Matt Nelson

Matt Nelson has only been volunteering with the California Wild Heritage Campaign for a month and a half. Yet in that time, he ran three wilderness outings, provided a meeting space, and helped develop new outing programs.

Matt is the Education Director of the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Clarita. He grew up around the Santa Clarita Valley and has developed a great passion for the land. As a boy, he would visit the local canyons, lakes, and rivers of the Santa Clarita Valley. In fact, Matt once had a birthday party in Placerita Canyon, one of the federal lands we are currently working to protect. As Matt grew up, he saw how rapidly the population Santa Clarita began to grow. Many of the places that Matt remembers enjoying as a child are no longer here. He still remembers roaming the hills of Santa Clarita, watching the coyotes and owls, and catching toads in nearby streams that have now become housing tracks.

This is why, when Matt Nelson learned about our campaign’s efforts to protect some of the last wild places in Santa Clarita Valley, he immediately got involved. He was amazed to find that there were so many other people already hard at work with his same concerns.

As the Education Director of the Santa Clarita Boys and Girls Club, Matt has developed a successful hiking program to get kids out of their homes and into the wild outdoors. As well, he is currently working with our campaign to development a city-wide program to get more youth involved and to build greater community support for our special places. According to Matt, "Many of us move out to Santa Clarita to raise our family, and it makes the value of wilderness and its longevity that much more important to the community." In the fall, Matt will be working with the Santa Clarita youth to develop after school awareness programs. These programs won't just be for the kids. Matt’s programs will include giving presentations to community groups and airing segments on local television. Matt’s goal is to engage the entire Santa Clarita community in the effort to protect our public lands.

While many people in the community value their quality of life and scenic vistas, Matt believes, they may not recognize the need to protect these places. He wants to use his education programs as a way to inspire the community to take action. "I feel this campaign is extremely vital to the valley because, like so many of us, I want my children to enjoy the wonders and beauty of this surrounding valley that I treasured as a child.”

The California Wild Heritage Campaign would like to thank Matt for all of his hard work and continued support. Matt, along with all of our volunteers around the state, is making a difference.