Christen Welfel, a dealer development officer for Truist subsidiary Sheffield Financial, was emotionally gutted by the devastation Hurricane Helene wrought in Western North Carolina. An avid volunteer for Wild South, an organization dedicated to the stewardship and restoration of public lands, she sprung into action with the group to help communities recover.

Get to know how Christen’s hobby evolved into a purposeful pursuit that continues to touch disaster affected lives and landscapes for the better.

(Her answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.)

• Learn how her skill with a crosscut saw became her superpower to help with Hurricane Helene relief.
• Find out what tools she uses to conduct clean-up.

What inspired you to get involved in public land conservation as a volunteer passion?

I have always had a love of nature and hiking, so I wanted to find a way to give back to the places that have brought me so much joy.

How did you connect with Wild South?

I was lucky enough to meet someone that had been volunteering with Wild South for a while. They invited me to join them one day and I’ve been an avid Wild South volunteer since then.

What was your initial reaction to the effects of Hurricane Helene on the area?

I was in complete shock, and seeing the devastation in person made me very emotional. I was not prepared to see the amount of damage that completely changed the landscape of these beautiful areas. Also, walking into someone’s home and seeing almost everything destroyed puts a lot of things in perspective.

Disaster recovery work is a big part of what Wild South does. Describe the efforts to provide recovery and relief after Hurricane Helene struck.

When Helene hit and devastated the communities of Western North Carolina, we shifted gears from land conservation to helping the people of the community first. We helped multiple families clean and gut out their flood damaged homes. Once we were able to safely get back onto trails and national forest lands, we cleared hundreds of fallen trees and debris that littered them. We are still working on restoring trails and debris cleanup to this day.

Your photos show you holding a big saw or an axe ,reminiscent of a lumberjack or rather “lumberjill”. Can you tell us about the tools you use to go into storm ravaged areas to conduct clean-up?

Since most of the areas we have been cleaning up are in designated wilderness areas, by law we can only use non-motorized tools such as:

• Crosscut saws
• Folding saws
• Axes
• Pulaskis – which are hand tools that look like firefighter axes used for digging, chopping and cutting
• Loppers – a hand tool commonly used in wilderness restoration and horticulture for pruning and trimming small trees and branches.

What kind of training did you undergo to help?

I have been volunteering with Wild South for almost two years now, so I already had some experience using these tools. Once we saw how much damage was done, several of us that already had experience using the crosscut saws took the U.S. Forest Service class to become certified crosscut sawyers which is the official name for people who use the tool to cut trees.

"Even the smallest gesture can go a long way, so be proud of the work you do."
- Christen Welfel

How do you feel about the impact you and Wild South have made toward relief?

Even though we were just a small part of thousands of volunteers across Western North Carolina, it felt good knowing we were bringing some sort of relief to people in the smaller communities. One person we helped stated ‘Yeah, I lost all of my stuff, but that’s not why I’m crying.’ He was crying watching the outpouring of support from volunteers and hearing that just made all our work even more meaningful.

Wisdom for other nature lovers interested in conservation and disaster relief work?

Don’t think you have to have certain skillsets to get started. Every little thing matters, even if it’s just picking up trash. Most non-profits like Wild South always welcome new volunteers. We have volunteers ranging from 10 years old to 70 years old.

What is your personal purpose?

Strive to be a better version of myself every day and always choose kindness.

How does your volunteer passion connect with your work and purpose?

It helps align my work with my core values and to achieve my goal towards continuous self-improvement. It also helps me find the deeper meaning in helping others, whether it’s a client or a community.

What lessons did you learn from working in disaster recovery that you carry into your day-to-day work?

Even the smallest gesture can go a long way, so be proud of the work you do.

On the lighter side:

What three words would your best friend use to describe you?

Personable, determined, and thoughtful

What other hobbies do you have?

Other than hiking, I love rock hounding and collecting gems/ minerals. I recently found some North Carolina emeralds on my last rock hounding adventure.