Keeping It Wild Gala!

Dianne Glave, Atlanta-based environmental author and Outdoor Afro friend, attended the annual Keeping it Wild Gala last night, a fundraiser for the organization that was created in 2005 by several Atlanta citizen-advocates who perceived the need to bring together members of diverse conservation communities to promote stewardship for the natural lands in the area. Following are Dianne’s reflections on the event, originally posted on her fantastic site:

Sometimes  better, sometimes easier, to start with endings than beginnings . . .
I sat in the amphitheater at Zoo Atlanta listening to Shelton Johnson. He was the keynote speaker for the 6th Annual Keeping it Wild (KIW) Gala, and is a national park ranger and author of Gloryland. As I listened to Shelton, one row back from me I heard the rhythmic breathing of a six year old girl. Shelton’s passionate story-telling and cadence of that small child’s breathing mentally and spiritually took me outdoors.
I imagined being at Yosemite National Park, the source of many of Shelton’s stories.
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