Matty Horkan
Live,Love,Learn,Share
Connecting humans to nature is my passion
In 2023, while I was in Tenerife working in whale and dolphin conservation for a charity, I was hit by a wave that broke my neck and caused a spinal cord injury at C6/C7, leaving me paralysed from the chest down.
Even after everything that’s happened, I’m still incredibly passionate about nature conservation, forest therapy, and helping people connect with the natural world. If anything, that passion has only grown stronger. Spending two and a half years in hospital, completely disconnected from nature, it made me realise just how important that connection really is.
Nature has always been a huge part of my life, even before my accident. Now, I’m determined to continue that work in a new way by setting up my own charity, Joewild.
The aim of Joewild is to help reconnect people with nature through forest therapy, public speaking, motivational talks, TikTok, podcasts, and more. I’m especially driven to work with young people, because I believe that if we can help the next generation build a strong connection with nature, they’ll be more inspired to protect it. That’s how we create a future with more compassion, awareness, and care for the environment.
Through Joewild, I want to make a real difference. I want to make nature feel accessible and welcoming to everyone, including disabled people.
Ambassador for #wildlifemedia
Matty Horkan
Live, Love, Learn, Share
Public Speaking
I am honored to be able to share my love of nature and my journey with mental health to encourage a love and understanding for nature in a variety of different ages of people. I am extremely passionate about promoting how important our connection to the natural world is to younger people. It is my belief that we can help create a new generation of nature-conscious individuals to create a healthier and happier world for us all to live in. As humans, we often have a belief that we are separate from nature, but in actual fact, we are nature and being in nature has a vast impact on our overall health. These are the messages I speak about when doing public speaking.
JoeWild
Being a full-time wheelchair user now, I’ve had to come up with new and creative
ways to reestablish my connection with nature in an accessible way. This is where
the idea for JoeWild began. Before my accident, I had been searching for a way to
help people connect back to nature and had begun developing this idea into a start-
up charity. I hosted nature based retreats and took courses in conservation and
forest therapy before my accident brought all this to a halt. Now I want to share what
I've learned about connecting with nature as a disabled person with others and as a
result I am launching JoeWild
JoeWild is named for my younger brother Joe who sadly passed away and it’s
fundamental purpose is to help young people with disabilities better connect to
nature. As a young person with a disability, I have a unique perspective and empathy
for others in my position. I want to help them experience the benefits of getting
outdoors in nature. My original aim was to help young people connect to nature in a
world crowded by noise and technology, but I’m now driven to focus on young
disabled people who face double the challenges to experiencing nature.
My connection to nature has been crucial to my recovery and there are so many
ways in which this can be used to help others. I’m currently training as a forest
therapy guide, specialising in accessible and tailored forest therapy experiences.
With my background in conservation and forest therapy and my own love for nature,
I want JoeWild to be a safe environment for people to learn, engage and connect in
creative ways to the natural world. My future is looking bright and I’m so excited to
evolve JoeWild as I learn more about life in nature as a disabled person. Stay tuned for updates
I am a gardener by trade and have been running my own gardening company, Shabby Goat Services, for the past 8 years. I have a passion for outdoor work and enjoy the challenges that come with facing Mother Nature on a daily basis. Throughout my career I have had the opportunity to use my creativity and problem-solving skills on a range of projects, leading to successful outcomes for my clients. In addition to the satisfaction of running my own business, I have developed strong communication skills and built a dedicated client base. I take pride in the transformation of overgrown gardens into spaces that my clients can once again enjoy.
If you share similar values and beliefs or are going through a tough time with your mental health, please reach out to me. I'm here to listen and offer support as you work to reconnect with the beauty and healing power of nature.
I have always had a passion for photography. I love being able to express my emotions through my pictures and showcase the raw power of nature. Photography is a great way for me to document my travels, allowing me to look back and remember where I have been. It also gives me photos to use to promote the work I do and engage my followers on social media. My camera is always with me, ready to capture special moments and wildlife no matter where I go.
Photography
How my friends describe me
Inspiring, Enthusiastic, Resilient, Ambitious, Amazing, Compassionate, Skillful, Positive and Determined
I am honored to collaborate with amazing businesses and charities that support my work.
