Growing up in the snowy mountains of eastern and central Idaho, Keira spent all her winters playing outdoors. Birthday parties sledding at the base of the Tetons with her best friends, twirling on ice skates on frozen ponds and lakes and, best of all, skiing down the mountains with her family filled her childhood. Among all the wonderful memories of snow-filled fun, there are memories of years when the snow was sparse and the green grass showed through. Keira gradually began to learn that a snow-filled winter is not guaranteed. Keira realized that climate change was directly impacting Idaho’s snowpack and negatively affecting her way of life. She knew she wanted to take action to help preserve the snow pack and teach others how to help her.
In order to spread awareness about the effect of climate change on the Idaho snowpack, Keira wanted to reach outdoor enthusiasts with information about the issue and ways they could help create positive change. Keira pulled together research about how skiers could be more environmentally friendly in their outdoor recreation. She arranged a meeting with a local ski resort, Brundage Mountain, to propose that they work together on an awareness campaign. Keira worked with the Brundage team to create an informative web page encouraging skiers to carpool, use water bottle stations, use eco-friendly ski wax and other tips to help cut down their carbon footprint while skiing. Then she hand-designed a unique ski town sticker that included the page URL. Keira then attended two ski movie showings, Warren Miller’s 75th and Teton Gravity Researches Beyond the Fantasy, where she handed out the stickers and talked to the community about her project.
Between the two events Keira talked to hundreds of people and handed out over 300 stickers. The stickers have been showing up all around Valley County and the website continues to see active traffic.
“Based on the conversations I’ve had I know I’ve made and impact.” – Keira Rider
Keira’s education campaign will continue as she continues to find ways to distribute the stickers and eagerly talk with skiers about how they can help. Brundage will have the stickers available at their mountain adventure center as will several retail locations in Valley County.
“I look forward to getting out there shredding the gnar and spreading the word. Lets save the pow!” -Keira