Interview to Kyt Lyn Walken of C.R.O.W.
Kyt Lyn Walken is a certified ranger who is part of the famous US nonprofit organization Conservation Rangers Operations Worldwide (C.R.O.W.). The Facebook page of C.R.O.W. is: https://www.facebook.com/CROWNGO.ORG/. The website is: https://crowngo.org/ (be careful, strong images inside the website).
In addition to this she holds courses for Man-Tracking enthusiasts and is the founder of the MountHome association.
She has been using Bivo for a few weeks as food during her tracking, but not only in that occasion.
Q: We are honored by your appreciation of Bivo and we have decided to ask you some questions to find out more about your work and your activities. First of all, we want to know how you became a ranger. How long have you been doing this mission and how did you form?
Kyt: I actually started to get closer, in 2015, to the art of Tracking, that is to follow the traces and specifically those of human nature. I then discovered that, apart from the forensic environment, the main users of this art are the Rangers that protect species at risk of extinction (and not only). In sharing my love for nature and my interest in conservation, I decided in 2018 to take part in a two-week intensive course organized by an American registered NGO, C.R.O.W. to learn their methodologies and contribute to the preservation of our planet.
Q: Can you explain to us exactly what your job consists of?
Kyt: The work of the Conservation Ranger consists mainly in monitoring wild areas sometimes immense, looking for Snares (animal traps) and Poachers, saving animals trapped and caring for them, carrying out research, repairing perimeter barriers and all that is needed to protect the biodiversity of our planet.
Q: Being a ranger means living in nature, what are the most challenging places?
Kyt: C.R.O.W. operates mainly in medium and high risk areas, mainly in Africa and Asia. Each environment represents a discovery, from the Jungle of the Congo to the peaks of the Karakorum, from the Namibian desert to the South African Bush. I think they are all special and fascinating places, each one in a different way.
Q: From your Facebook page, let’s see you work with Conservation Rangers Operations Worldwide. Tell us a little about this organization.
Kyt: C.R.O.W. was born in 2017 from the union of volunteers with more than ten years of experience in the field of conservation coming from USA and Europe. This is a transparent and officially registered organization in Texas that offers free services to all parks, both governmental and private. Services include sending instructors with professional experience in medical / paramilitary training, sending volunteers like me to support rangers in the field, from donating materials to APUs (AntiPoaching Units) to developing programs of research supported by European Universities.
Q: In addition to your ranger activity, you also organize Man-Tracking courses. Can you explain what it is?
Kyt: Since December 2017 I have the honor of being an Official Representative of the Hull’s Tracking School of the United States, founded by David Michael Hull, Tracker of over forty years of experience. Tracking consists of the art (and science) of reading, following and understanding human and animal traces. The applications have been widely known for centuries, since Tracking has been used since the primitive era over the centuries in a tactical environment (Indian wars, Vietnam war, Rhodesia war, operations in Afghanistan just to name a few) where it is still very valuable (South African Army, Marines, Navy SEALs) and Search & Rescue, revealing the great effectiveness of this art compared to high-cost operations that normally use helicopters or molecular dogs. This ability, used by humans since the first hunters, is disappearing from the common knowledge despite still having useful applications in the contemporary world, such as Surveillance, Search & Rescue, IED Prevention, SERE, Survival … The Man-Tracking, in particular, is focuses on research and understanding of human signs (also called spoors) and can be extremely effective in preventing criminal and terrorist actions.
Q: Do you follow other projects you want to talk about?
Kyt: There are many, both in Italy and abroad, starting from the Workshop focused on Tracking that I will keep in the Bushcraft & Survival Course of Dave Canterbury in March (8th, 9th, 10th March, in Modena), in collaboration with CIMONE OUTDOORS and OUTDOOR TRIBE.
Q: What are you planning for the next few months?
Kyt: Follow my new classes in Italy and Europe and improve myself taking part in some Tracking courses in England and the United States. Always being a student, as I like to say, is an absolute privilege.
Q: A few weeks ago you contacted us because you wanted to start a collaboration. We are happy to support an organization like Conservation Rangers Operations Worldwide because we share the values that animate it. But we wanted to know when you understood that Bivo could be a useful ally in your missions.
Kyt: From the point of view of product functionality, Bivo will certainly prove to be a very valuable ally of the Rangers: light, easy to mix and assimilate. There is nothing else to add: perfect for the international missions of C.R.O.W.!
Q: Would you recommend it to outdoor enthusiasts and in general to lovers of outdoor life? Why?
Kyt: Absolutely yes. In addition to the aforementioned “practicality”, it is a tasty product and definitely devoid of unhealthy hidden additives. Easy to prepare and perfect both as a hot and cold meal!
