Ted Mattison also known as ‘Ranger Ted’ is a Certified California Naturalist, trained in Wilderness First Aid with NOLS, a docent at the Tejon Ranch Conservancy, and a lifelong outdoorsman. He’s canoed, hiked and explored the great outdoors from Minnesota to Alaska to Washington and California. He’s the founder of Wonder Outside with Ranger Ted, an outdoor adventure and educational company. His book, the Power of Wonder will be released in 2019. Ted grew up in Minnesota, built a cabin on an island on Lake Vermilion from where he regularly canoes into the BWCAW. His guided hikes in greater Los Angeles and Orange County have earned him five star reviews from schools, corporate groups, Trip Advisor and AirBnB. He’s been a full-time actor for 25 years with appearances in scores of television shows including: Veep, American Horror Story, Criminal Minds and NCIS. He’s the director and subject of the award winning documentary film, Nothing Without You about Burning Man. Ted is a graduate of Oberlin College. He was a high school social studies teacher and has been a lifelong educator for others in the outdoors. He lives in Huntington Beach, California with his wife and two daughters and regularly hikes in Bolsa Chica Ecological Preserve, Griffith Park and the Santa Monica Mountains. Ranger Ted is committed to sharing the great outdoors with people of all ages and abilities one hiking adventure at a time. He believes that ground level interaction with the natural world greatly enhances the physical and mental health of all people. He believes that greater bio-diversity is the key to a healthy planet which includes all species of animals and plants of which we humans are an integral part. Ranger Ted knows that children who explore the natural world in unique, independent and imaginative ways learn a multitude of skills including confidence, leadership, curiousness, patience, stewardship and problem solving to name just a few.