Meet Sanna Moravek: W.I.L.D. Founder & Executive Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sanna Moravek and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sanna, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
You read it while standing in line to checkout at the grocery store, on the cover of a magazine…. “The health benefits of connecting with nature” – but not everyone has grown up knowing how to access the outdoors or even begin to recreate. There are over 600 million acres of public lands in the United States – and Women’s Initiative for Learning and Discovery (W.I.L.D.) helps to bridge that gap – to provide free and low cost outdoor education on all levels and for all women and girls. We have generations of women that growing up were not allowed to go camping, as it was “for the men and boys only”. These women grew up, had children and a new generation of women still have the desire to go into the wilderness, but since their mothers never went camping, they never brought their daughters. With the world at our fingertips now – women and their daughters, and even their daughters daughters are peppered with Instagram photos, advertisements, magazine articles and in film of people in these incredible places, soaking up the beauty and health benefits of our public lands and National Parks. And the urge and desire to see this beauty in person sets the internal flame on fire. But then fears also set in…. what about wild animals? What do I do if I get lost? What stuff do I need? Is it safe to drink the water? The fear of the unknown and self doubt can deter the desire to explore. By providing free community hikes, (open to everyone), teaching wilderness skills during classes and on trips, providing gear and actually going into the backcountry W.I.L.D. is allowing women to break into outdoors. With confidence. By teaching women how to read a map, what items they need to take on a hike, how to identify and deal with wildlife, and how to purify water is allowing generations of women to start to gather the skills needed to safely head into the backcountry. W.I.L.D. is space where women learn and become confident in themselves. These women in turn teach their children. Where women encourage other women. Where a community of strong, confident, and knowledgeable women of all backgrounds, cultures, and socio-economic statuses come together with a common desire to get outdoors – and now the skills to do so.

What should our readers know about your business?
Women’s Initiative for Learning and Discovery (W.I.L.D. for short) is a 501c3 non-profit organization. W.I.L.D. was founded when the need for outdoor education for women was discovered. We originally started out as classes offered after hours at our local outfitter store (where I worked and was a whitewater kayak instructor). I was shocked when we first started on how many women signed up for various classes. It was not until we started doing trips into the backcountry where the financial hurdles exposed themselves. Outdoor gear is expensive. Items such as tents, sleeping bags, backpacks, and even hiking shoes easily cost over $100. Not being able to afford gear was stopping many women from going into our public lands. It was then that I discovered that W.I.L.D. needed to become a non-profit. Taking that leap was scary – to turn a casual meet-up into a non-profit and full time job. But the need was there, and the desire to be able to give all women the equal chance to get into nature overcame. W.I.L.D. officially became a non-profit in 2017. Since then we have provided a space for girls and women to become skilled and confident in the outdoors, and have provided access to wilderness areas all across the southeast. It always brings a smile to my face when I see one of our ladies change their profile picture to them on top of a mountain or hiking in the woods. My heart is filled especially when I know the personal or physical struggles women have faced to even reach that mountain top, but to see their confidence shine through. Over the past few years, have been witness to women teaching the skills they have learned to their children, and now creating family time and memories on camping trips. Women going on hikes with their partners and building friendships with others that they would never have met unless they had the common goal of getting outside. I would love to have the world know how important community support of our non-profits are. That each person that makes a contribution to a non-profit touches more than just one person. That donations or volunteering can change lives.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Columbus, Georgia is filled with good eats and gems to explore. Our Uptown District (otherwise known as downtown) is filled with great locally owned business. We would start with breakfast at Plucked Up – where you can eat a breakfast chicken biscuit while a giant paper mâché chicken wearing shorts stares down at you! Then walk down to rent bikes from Ride on Bikes and head down to the riverwalk where miles of paved trails run adjacent to the Chattahoochee River. All that riding gives you an appetite – and there is no better place in town than to grab a sandwich from Bodgea 1205; a Latin-American Fusion restaurant and groceries. From there we can take our hammocks and hang them up at the hammock park, located at Woodruff Park above the river. After a great siesta, Banks Food Hall is just down the street, where our favorite afternoon pick me up spot is The Bakeshop – where Edy bakes up the best cupcakes and cookies – pairs perfectly with a Fountain City Coffee. Our next days adventure would be to swing into Beejou Kombucha to pick up a bottle of their new specials and head down to Providence Canyon State Park – otherwise known as the “little Grand Canyon”. Here you can spend the entire day hiking the backcountry and exploring the canyons – but make sure to wear shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty! The canyon floor is filled with our red Georgia clay and usually has a trickle of water running though it, even on the hottest days. If we did this trip on a Wednesday we would have to make it back to go eat ramen at Jarfly in midtown Columbus – where this special is only served once a week and until they are sold out! But their tiki cocktails sure do taste good after a long day of hiking. During their trip we would have to get on the river- and there is no better way than to laugh, step outside our comfort zone and to have fun than to take a SUP Yoga Class with Charlotte at Supyall Yoga. Even if you can’t hold a tree pose while trying to stay balanced on a board, you will still learn and enjoy with her! If their visit is during the spring time, we would have to walk up to check out the whitewater course and to try and spot some of the Shoals Spider Lilies that Chattahoochee River Conservancy has been working on to restore. And since everything in Uptown is within walking distance – we would have to make sure to spend some time at Nonic Bar and Kitchen, with their great tap list you are always going to find something you like. Overall Columbus is a great place to explore, and use as a launching point to visit places like Providence Canyon or Florence Marina State Park. With lots of great places to eat and drink, shops to check out and Saturday market and concerts there is never a shortage of things to do! Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Shoutout to my Mom & Dad – who took me into the backcountry and started teaching me outdoor skills before I could walk. For opening the doors into the great wide wilderness, for teaching me not to pick the flowers so everyone else can enjoy them too. Shoutout to my daughter CJ, for being fearless on the trails and her passion for preservation. And to my Bryan. For always encouraging and allowing me to never stop exploring.

Website: www.wildoutdoorlearning.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wild_columbus/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WILDColumbusGA

Podcast: Women Gone Wilderness

Image Credits
Brooke Jackson Sanna Moravek