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First they surfaced at Southmost Preserve near Brownsville, gawking at the native sabal palms, draping themselves in pond weeds and contemplating the border fence that slices through a chunk of property protected by The Nature Conservancy.

Next Matt Vale (left in photo above) and Riley Engemoen (right) headed to Rio Grande City, where they checked out the endangered star cactus at Las Estrellas Preserve.

It’s all part of the Austin pair’s summer gig, wandering around the state, exploring Nature Conservancy preserves, writing stories and filming short documentaries for their multi-media project, “Everybody in the Wild with Matt and Riley.”

The purpose? To get younger audiences excited about nature and environmental conservation.

“A lot of these are really wild beautiful places in Texas that people just don’t know about,” Vale says. “Part of the purpose is to show people what’s out there in this diverse and wacky state. Living comfortably like we do indoors, there’s an artificial distinction between our lives and nature.”

The two 19-year-olds piled into Vale’s slightly dented Honda Pilot in May with $500 in their pockets. they plan to keep traveling through July, posting their work every two weeks or so here and on Facebook.

Already, they’ve watched an archeological dig at Independence Creek Preserve, jumped into the clear water of the Devil’s River at Dolan Falls and watched swarms of lady bugs at Davis Mountains Preserve in West Texas.

Next, the duo is headed to Love Creek Preserve near San Antonio, a bustling hot spot for endangered song birds like the golden-cheeked warbler and black-capped vireo. They’ll also visit the cypress swamps of Caddo Lake, the only natural lake in Texas.

The job’s a natural for Vale, who grew up camping, backpacking and exploring with his father. “I’ve been outside catching snakes and jumping in creeks since I could stand up. It’s the one true love of my life,” he says.

The pieces are quirky and fun, but backed with an important message: Nature is beautiful, and it’s essential to our future that we save places like these.

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<a href="http://www.austin360.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/fitcity/entries/2011/06/23/matt_and_riley_explore_protect.html?cxntfid=blogs_fit_citytag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.austin360.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/fitcity/entries/2011/06/23/matt_and_riley_explore_protect.html?cxntfid=blogs_fit_cityThu, 23 Jun 2011 16:43:27 GMT 00:00″>Austin TX recreation: Running, cycling, swimming, parks, Fit City