Meet Destiny and Tristan from Alaska

They are celebrating their one year wedding anniversary! The couple met through a mutual friend. They are minimalists and believe that less is more. They said, “Sustainable living is so important, not only for the environment but also for your soul. Living a minimalistic lifestyle actually brings us more joy than any monetary means could. It helps us to slow down and brings us closer together. We’d rather be making memories together than living in a get-rich mindset.” They both feel at home connecting with nature. As a child, Tristan‘s mom started a “farm babysitting” business. Farmers would hire his family to come and caretake their land and animals when they had to travel. One day, while living in an old hunting cabin that was strictly heated by wood, they saw an ad in a newspaper that they were using to start the fire with, for the sale of a zoo in Rome New York. Out of curiosity, they reached out to see how much the seller was willing to sell the zoo for. Tristan’s father has a degree in zoology and in pharmaceutical biology. His mother not only ran the farm babysitting business but also an animal hospital. The seller was more than an obliged to sell to the right family. On May 5th 2019, they were asked to come and run the zoo and officially bought it. Tristan and Destiny have just moved from Alaska and they are on their way to Rome to help their family run the zoo. They aspire to be the next generation to share the zoo’s educational experiences and connections to nature with their surrounding communities. One of the hardest parts of their relationship has been enduring the Alaskan wilderness. They believe if they can do that together, they can do anything. They said, “Communication is everything to us. It’s not us against each other. It’s us working to find a solution to the problem.” The one thing they want to tell the world is, “Those who carry the brightest torches have wandered through the darkest caves; meaning, those who have seen or been through hell in their lives, have found the light and have found their way out, to make the world a better place and are better for it. There are places you can go where money can’t save you. When working with nature, we must replace everything that we take. We must be mindful of how our impact on the earth now will affect the earth for future generations. Don’t be selfish. Be selfless.” Wise words! Happy Anniversary, Destiny & Tristan!

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