Nathan Winters – A 29 year old modern day Henry David Thoreau is committed to making a difference on an adventurous, interactive and journalistic 3,500 mile bike ride across America dedicated to raising awareness for land and nature conservation and to support the Nature Conservancy.
Follow Nathan (http://www.follownathan.org) is an adventure that is more than a bike ride across America for a great cause. This journey is an educational experience for us all and a long time goal and dream of Nathan’s. With the help of innovative and rich social media platforms He will be able to interact with his followers in real time making this a truly fun and meaningful experience for everybody. Not only is it essential to him to get to know America, but for America to get to know him.
We encourage you to follow, interact and support Nathan on his ride across America. Check out his web site for more information including his route and information about the ride.
Earth Promise: What changes, or Earth Promises as we call them, have you made in your lifestyle to be more green? Changes in home, travel, work, with your kids and community?
Nathan Winters: For me personally there is not one particular promise or form of living a greener lifestyle. It’s about the overall promise to me that I will be conscious and pro active in as many ways as possible. Conserving energy, eating organic foods, using public transportation and recycling as often as possible are all acts of small steps of a larger goal.
EP: Were you “green” as a child?
NW: I wouldn’t say I was green as a child. It was my love for the outdoors that came in my late teens and early twenties that instilled a passion for the protection and preservation of our environment. As you could imagine I do plan to bring a “greener” mentality to my family and household in the future.
EP: What was your first, ah ha! Green moment?
NW: If I had to recall a specific moment in which I “got it” I would say it was when I was 21 and my parents took me to Williamsport, PA for a week. I spent most of my time alone in the wilderness. And I felt a true connection with nature and our environment. And I knew very quickly how very beautiful and important our planet was.
EP: Tell me about the ride you are doing and what is it for?
NW: Follow Nathan is an interactive and adventurous bike ride across America dedicated to preserving land and nature. I will be living a very “transparent” and candid journey through social media on the web. With the help of Youtube, twitter and facebook visitors will have the ability to follow and interact with me throughout the entire journey. I will also be keeping and posting a blog / online journal to share my experiences on a personal level. All of the details about my ride can be found at http://www.follownathan.org
Essentially I am doing this for two reasons. 1. My love for exploration and travel and 2. My love for nature and wildlife. I am taking this opportunity to use my passion for travel to raise awareness and support for the preservation of land and nature.
EP: Who have you gotten to be involved with it, whether sponsors, partners, other riders?
NW: I am currently working diligently to gain sponsorships and build solid partnerships in the “eco-friendly” and interactive landscapes. At the moment there are no concrete exclusive sponsors however I do have a few possible partnerships to be announced shortly. Information regarding sponsorship or partnership can be found on my website at http://www.follownathan.org/SponsorDetails.php
EP: How long have you been preparing for it?
NW: I have been dreaming abut this journey for about 4 years. I have recently begun my preparation via long rides and conditioning my body. I am confident I will be exactly where I need to be physically at the start of my journey. If not… I will adapt quickly.
EP: What is your inspiration for this ride?
NW: This would in fact be my “Earth Promise” Taking this journey and giving back to my planet have both been of a top priority of mine. Fortunately for myself I am going to have the luxury of accomplishing both goals at the same time. If I had to look to any particular point of inspiration I would look to Peter Jenkins and Jack Kerouac. They both had tremendous passion for adventure and that is what I truly long for.
EP: What messages are you hoping to bring to all of the places you stop and/or ride through?
NW: I am simply hoping to “get to know my neighbor” and I want to hear their perspective and let them hear mine. I want small town Americans to know that there are people out there who see, understand and care about the fact that we lose forests, farms and wildlife to the hands of un natural circumstances and a difference can be made. Beyond that… I want them to know that organizations such as the Nature Conservancy can use their resources to sustain and protect what is left of our natural environment.
EP: Will you be visiting schools along the way? Use the ride as a way of teaching kids the importance of taking care of our environment.
NW: I had not ha the intention of doing so. I am not an environmentalist. I am just a passionate guy on a bike looking to make a point. I would however welcome the idea of visiting schools to share my experiences and explain my cause.
EP: Is there a political message in the ride? Is there a message you want to convey to representatives of governments around the world?
NW: I have no intention on making this a political issue. I trust and hope that our elected officials will take action in the way of preserving land and nature. I know and understand that it can be a difficult task for politicians to please the majority Americans. I would prefer to separate politics and my journey.
EP: While all of us can’t ride across the country, what other steps would you ask the readers of this interview to do to help the environment?
NW: Respect and acknowledge local farmers, wildlife and nature. People love to pile into their SUV’s and head to the state or national park for the weekend but it’s the lifestyles we live at home day to day and the organizations that help protect and preserve these environments that allow us to enjoy our beautiful planet. All I am asking really is for the average person to listen and make an effort.
EP: What is the one Earth Promise you are going to make in the future that you have not done yet?
NW: to apply my talent and ambition to protecting our planet.
EP: What happens after the ride? How will you continue the message?
NW: After the ride I hope to share my experiences and educate people on what I found or did not find on my journey. I also hope to utilize multimedia to enhance these efforts. I can only imagine that the photos, videos and experiences are going to be priceless and I plan to materialize them into something tangible. Perhaps a documentary or a book? Again… allowing me to raise awareness.
EP: How do you plan on getting home?
NW: I am not quite sure. I might just ride.
EP: Thank you very much and good luck on your ride.
What do you do with your yard waste (i.e. grass, weeds, small branches, leaves and plant clippings)? Do you compost? Do you bag it for curbside pickup? Rentech, a Realto, California company will take your organic waste and put it to good use—productive renewable energy use. Rentech plans to work with green waste hauling contractors to collect this woody green organic waste and manufacture it into a new fuel “which burns cleanly in engines that use diesel fuel.”
Nathan is on the road. On May 10, 2009, Lancaster, Pennsylvania native, Nathan Winters hopped on his bike to unite his love of nature with his love of exploration hoping to draw attention to support the conservation of land and nature. Belfast, Maine was his launching point and he’ll finish across the continent in Seattle.
