Phaelan (aka Bub) is an outdoorsman through & through who shares his love for nature by inspiring & helping write poems about it with dad!
Thank you for generously supporting Phaelan in this year’s competition. Your participation helps empower the National Wildlife Federation in their mission to protect wildlife, restore habitats, and inspire the next generation of conservationists.
What Bub loves most about nature is being in and a part of it; in other words, he loves everything about it! He spent the first two months of his life in the Klamath Mountains and has lived in the redwood coastal forest since. He hiked each day on dad's back as an infant, and he has hiked by dad's side (or runs ahead of him!) ever since he could walk. His first word was "goosey" because he loves Canadian Geese. He spends every day living, breathing, and loving his environs and its denizens!
Bub's favorite animal is the one he is observing or interacting with at any given moment. Most recently, he made friends with a California Ground Squirrel & played a sort of no-touch tag with two American Crows at a State Park near home. He loved meeting Gucci the Opossum for his 4th birthday & Mazzi the Giraffe for his 3rd. He loves every animal & fears none. He delights equally in seeing a crab spider in a flower as he does in seeing a bunny hop by! You can't find an animal that he won't love!
Hiking, beachcombing, kayaking, wildlife viewing, flower smelling, berry picking, nature art, tracking, scat identification, birding, tidepooling, StreetStriding, camping--you name it! If it's outdoors & Bub is doing it, that's his favorite right then & there. He is a master of living in the moment in the natural world--not unlike the wild animals he shares that space with & considers his friends. He also enjoys making up nature poems with his dad. :)
Colossal is a nationally registered professional fundraiser that inspires people to advocate for themselves and those in need. Through online competitions like Jr. Ranger, Colossal offers participants the opportunity to make their mark while also making a big impact.
