The beginnings of Kirton's Wildlife: A dream of making the outdoors possible

It has taken a whole lot of dreaming and talking to get here, but here we are! A whole website and plan later!

It really started with a habit.

Andre takes a fishing rod everywhere.

EVERYWHERE (well, maybe except the office).

Not sometimes. Not just on planned trips. Everywhere. From the US to Guyana to India to Mexico. Camping and fishing, near and far.

In the trunk, leaning against the back seat, tucked into whatever space is available. You never really know when you’re going to pass water, and in his mind, that’s reason enough to be ready.

That’s been his way for a long time.

Andre on his annual salmon fishing trip

Fishing isn't something he started in his adult years. It came from growing up in Guyana. Guyana, tucked along the northern coast of South America, is a place of wide rivers, deep rainforest, and a culture shaped by Caribbean and South American roots. The country's name literally means "Land of Many Waters", traced back to indigenous Arawak roots. It reflects the country’s landscape - filled with rivers, creeks, waterfalls, and wetlands that shape daily life and movement. Rivers, open space, a kind of freedom that just becomes part of how you move.

Andre's 90s childhood centered around fishing the canals of Georgetown, the capital city of Guyana. Then life shifted to New York. Concrete, buildings, constant movement. The kind of place people don’t usually connect with slowing down. But even there, he found water. Found moments. Held onto that same feeling. He kept coming back to the same thought. More people should have the chance to experience this. Not just the ones who already know how. Families. People who are curious but not sure where to start.

Back in the summer of 2018 and through COVID19, when everything slowed down and so much felt uncertain, fishing became his way of finding peace and filling the long days at home. By January 2019, Kirton’s Wildlife was officially started.

At that point, it was just an idea he believed in. Something he knew mattered, even if he didn’t have every piece figured out. Trialing small group fishing and camping trips for friends from the city helped him figure things out a little bit more!

Now it’s central to our family of 5 as we continue to cultivate an outdoor family lifestyle. Part of how we live. And something we're building into a legacy for our boys - that they can grow up in and carry forward.

A bit more about us, "The Kirton's", in another blog post, but for now, know this: We’re a family of five, raising three sons, and most days, when we can,

we’re outside.

Sometimes it’s fishing. Sometimes it's tending to plants in the garden. Sometimes it’s just walking near water. Sometimes it’s staying a little longer than we planned in the supermarket parking lot because something caught someone’s attention (usually a large full moon or the sun setting over the Catskill Mountains). We rarely overthink kids activities these days.

Being outside doesn’t have to be anything big. Doesn't have to be something over-planned. "Outside" can happen anywhere - the pace of New York, where everything feels tight and fast. And the quiet of upstate, where things stretch out and slow down. In both, there are always small openings. A lake, a trail, a patch of trees. Something to step into, even briefly.

That connection is always there.

Kirton’s Wildlife grew out of that.

A way to make the outdoors feel possible. Something people can move toward without needing to have it all figured out first.

We’re still learning what that looks like for our own family. What keeps us coming back. What works. What doesn’t.

That part hasn’t changed. For us, for now, we're fishing upstate New York!

People should have the opportunity to experience this.

And sometimes, it starts with something as simple as keeping a fishing rod nearby.

So come and get outside with us.

Where families grow wild!

-Tiffany-