Champions of Nature #14

Kathy Crain

This is a series of flash interviews with people I admire, people who are doing something—anything, a lot of things—for the Earth. These folks walk the walk, each of them in their own way, using their own unique skillset. They dedicate their energy, their time, and their hearts to a crucial cause: the preservation of this precious planet we call home.

Here’s Kathy, enjoying a recent paddle on Lake Jocassee, a pristine mountain lake near her home in upstate South Carolina (Photo courtesy of Kathy Crain)

My friend Kathy Crain has one of those voices that sounds like a smile. You know what I mean? She brings sunshine into any situation, any conversation, any room she enters. And that’s not all she brings. Kathy is absolutely tireless in her efforts to contribute to her community in a concrete way—both locally and globally, from her own home to the wider world. She’s also an ardent advocate of social and racial justice.

Her career was in special education at public school systems in Texas, Arkansas, and South Carolina. The last 10 years she was a school psychologist. To mark her 60th birthday, Kathy served a six-month stint in Peace Corps Response, working with an NGO in the Philippines to increase disability awareness and accountability. Post-retirement, she stays busy teaching swimming at the local Y, supervising university students who aspire to be special ed teachers, and mentoring a seventh-grader at a nearby middle school. Once or twice a month, Kathy and her dog, Gloria, participate in what she calls “gigs of joy” as part of the SCTherapyDogs Group.

Even outdoors—where Kathy says she’s at her best—she works to share her bountiful energy with others. In addition to kayaking area lakes, she serves as outings chair and leads group hikes for the Foothills Group of the Sierra Club. With her husband Gordon, Kathy hosts an annual campout weekend for members of her Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship, as well as a First Day Hike and potluck each New Year’s Day.

Here’s what Kathy has to say about her rooted-in-nature lifestyle. Don’t miss the part about spousal showering!

1. Tell me about some of your early experiences in nature.

I was raised on Air Force bases, allowing me to ride my bicycle all over, to swim in the base pool, to explore the woods surrounding the flight line and golf courses. My parents took us on vacations to the military recreation offerings in the parks, along the shore, at the lake. But I never camped or hiked until starting my undergraduate learning at Auburn University, where I took an elective called Wilderness Skills. It was there that I also learned about my responsibility for living on this earth.

2. How did those early experiences shape your relationship with the natural world?

My father tended to guide us with thrift—to notice when lights were left on, to ride the bus to school because it was more fuel-efficient than driving a car to get there, and to pay attention to waste. I remember joining a group of high school friends to ride our bikes 4 miles to school to honor the second Earth Day. As an adult, I have been fortunate to have employment close enough to my home that I could ride my bike to work...and I remember a student seeing me get on my bike after school one day and calling out, "Miss! Why do you have to ride a bike?" 

My familiarity with being outdoors helps me feel safe there—and comfortable, too. When camping became a part of what I do, I started enjoying the outdoors even more. I like to take a peek at the stars each evening to look for the familiar there.  

3. How do you connect with nature now … through your work or leisure or both?

My household recycles, we cook with natural ingredients, we pay attention to energy conservation. For the last 47 years of living with my husband, we have never had central AC, we have never had a clothes dryer (using a clothesline instead), and we conserve water by (can you guess?) showering together most days. For many years, we have grown lots of our warm-weather vegetables. We have partnered with the South Carolina Adopt-a-Stream program for the last several years to monitor water quality at the Dug Mountain access of the Eastatoee River, and we prove each time that the water there remains pristine. 

Through my work as a public school educator, our classroom sponsored the school-wide paper recycling. There were lucky classrooms who enjoyed camping together for class projects. We worked with an Eagle Scout troop to create a "birdhouse garden" on our middle school campus, and we worked with an AmeriCorps team to create a nature trail through the woods on the elementary school campus.  

When the city stopped curbside recycling at our Unitarian-Universalist fellowship, I accepted the task to take the recycling to its central pickup location. When hosting a gathering, I do my best to provide reusable materials and recycling options. My neighborhood can be accessed by a state highway; I pick up trash along that road several times yearly. 

I have not flown in a plane since 2014 and have chosen to continue that until 2033 when (hopefully) the Infrastructure Plan will level things out and the carbon footprint of an airplane ride will not be so intense.

4. What are your biggest fears for the future of our planet?

I am fearful that people will not recognize the importance of being in this conservation movement together. I don't understand the prominence of disposable plastic drink containers...of throwing away aluminum...of not paying attention that there is indeed much we can do to minimize our impact and live less wastefully.  Our small steps can be meaningful. 

5. What is your biggest hope for the future of our planet?

I celebrate the youth and their outspoken determination to do right by our planet. Many of their ideas can be considered "out there"—such as minimizing investments in oil—but these are foundations of good moves for all of us to consider. Change is hard, but with increasing use of efficient methods for living, playing and working, we can continue working, together and individually, toward taking care of this planet. May we join and support the environmental movement of young people and choose actions to work toward a healthy future for our planet Earth.

Thank you, Kathy, for being a Champion of Nature!