GAVIN MCKENZIE

A 5th generation Miami native, Gavin McKenzie is a passionate advocate of the environment. Growing up in South Florida, he spent his childhood experiencing and enjoying the raw beauty of the Everglades’ unique ecosystems and magnificent inhabitants. In 2021 he moved his family to the mountains of Western North Carolina, where that same passion for nature is central to his life. An avid fisherman and outdoorsman, Gavin believes that protecting the magic of these wild places is part of our basic responsibility as humans. Through photography, activism, and leading wellness and nature-based retreats on his 70 acre property, Firecreek Retreat in WNC, he aims to share his passion and inspire others.

As a long time design-builder by trade, he founded of McKenzie Craft, a custom fabrication firm providing high-end, custom millwork and metalwork, headquartered in Miami, Fl and established in 2005. After serving as Chairman for years, Gavin is now a board emeritus of The Alliance for Florida's National Parks, a board member for the The Dade Heritage Trust and The Artists in Residence in Everglades, and a volunteer at Yancey County Humane Society. Gavin resides on a homestead/retreat center in the Blue Ridge mountains of Burnsville, NC, where he and his wife, Christy, are raising their two young children and hosting retreats and events, all while stewarding and learning to live off the land.

For more information visit firecreekretreat.com, and mckenziecraft.com

You can also follow Gavin on instagram @gavindmckenzie @firecreekretreat and McKenzie_craft