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Young
Guns
“This work is important to me because I want
to see my community and my state be the
best version of itself, and that happens when
we are the best versions of ourselves.”
Kate Reed
When Kate Reed, the alumni coordinator
for Leadership West Virginia, was inducted
into the Young Guns Class of 2018, one
of the things that made her nomination
stand out among the others was her mis-
sion to put herself out there by taking
risks, giving 100 percent to her endeavors
and being the type of citizen who could
help the state reach its full potential. Since
then, this mother of two has turned her
attention to the next generation of West
Virginians, going above and beyond to
leave an indelible mark on young lives in
the Mountain State.
With a passion for the outdoors and an
awareness of children’s increased screen
time, Reed joined forces with her long-time
friend, Valerie Warner, in 2018 to create
the nonprofit Wonder & Grow: Mindful
Nature Experience, Inc. in an attempt to
change this pattern among West Virginia
youth. Rooted in nature, the nonprofit’s
mission is to ignite a sense of wonder and
grow scientific understanding and con-
nection with the natural world through
20
WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE
curiosity-driven exploration and mind-
fulness practices.
“We wanted to be proactive in getting
kids in our community back to enjoying
nature, and with West Virginia’s abun-
dant natural spaces, we saw a perfect
opportunity,” Reed says of establishing
the nonprofit. “We have seen benefits of
mindfulness in our own lives by incorpo-
rating practices such as meditation and
yoga, and we wanted to share simple
practices with school-age children to help
them deal with stress.”
To gain additional experience in work-
ing with children in outdoor settings that
would be beneficial to the nonprofit’s pro-
grams, Reed took the extra steps to become
a certified Tinkergarten leader and a level 2
mindful outdoor guide though the Kripalu
School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership.
“Becoming a Tinkergarten leader has
provided me additional training to be
comfortable leading groups of young
children,” says Reed. “My learning from
the Kripalu School of Mindful Outdoor
Leadership has provided a community
of support for me as well as fact-based
evidence pointing to the importance of
nature connection for humans to thrive.”
In the short time since it was founded,
Wonder & Grow has been able to impact
many young people, like the fourth and
fifth graders at Beverly Elementary School
in Randolph County. Reed has also been
able to cultivate a partnership with the
West Virginia Autism Supportive Center,
where board chairperson Erin Browning
has provided training for working with
children on the autism spectrum.
“We have been able to see kids of all
different backgrounds play and work
together during a mindful nature experi-
ence,” says Reed.
The newest expansion of Wonder &
Grow is the incorporation of Elkins High
School students, the purpose of which is
two-fold. Reed is hopeful it will provide
mindful nature experiences to the high
school students that will allow them to
discover the wonders of their local area
and develop a connection to each other.
She also sees this as an opportunity to
create teenage mentors for the younger
children’s program.
Wonder & Grow has beneficial ele-
ments for adults as well. Reed recently led
the Defining Moments Women’s Retreat
and the Awaken Your Inner Wild Retreat.
The current Leadership West Virginia
class has also utilized its practices during
several sessions this year by incorporating
into the program’s curriculum time for
reflection on each session as well as the
experiences the class has together.
Reed’s motivation comes from her own
children as well as her community and
the Mountain State as a whole. “This
work is important to me because I want
to see my community and my state be the
best version of itself, and that happens
when we are the best versions of our-
selves,” she says. “I want to be involved
in helping others see they have control
in making healthy decisions that impact
their well-being, and that should start
with our young ones.”
MAGGIE HATFIELD
TRACY A. TOLER PHOTOGRAPHY