South Carolina

Host Glenn Gardner

South Carolina native Glenn Gardner has been tooling around the state for nearly all of his forty-something years. And he has run the gamut of jobs in the field of video production. A weekend desk job at a local TV station during college turned into a career path once the video bug bit.

Several years chasing fires and felons in the television news business was followed by a stint in commercial production in the Upstate. Then came a challenging eight-month gig in corporate communications in a very busy Charlotte, North Carolina. The coat and tie was soon replaced with the boots and jeans he preferred, and his current tenure at the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources has run from 1990 through today. Since his arrival at SCDNR, Glenn has worked on public service announcements, educational and informational videos and, of course, the TV show. He also enjoys teaching classes in photography, first aid, and land navigation at Camp Wildwood and Becoming an Outdoors-Woman workshops.

The call of the wild has Glenn’s number away from work too. He and wife Cindy (and Carson the Wonder Dog) spend every opportunity in the mountains with packs on their backs. Glenn is also a longtime runner. Sadly, the older he gets, the faster he used to be. The Gardners both hail from Spartanburg originally, and they spend too much of their current lives trapped in traffic on the way to their Lexington home. But it sure is nice and quiet once they get there!

Host Jean Leitner

Jean Leitner is a South Carolina native, and has lived and worked here almost all her life. She was born and grew up in Columbia. A lifelong attraction and fascination with the natural world led her to Clemson University where she concentrated her studies in Freshwater Fisheries. Jean loves her work as a biologist with the DNR’s Freshwater Fisheries Research Project. Some of her past and current research includes extensive genetic survey work of South Carolina's freshwater fish populations, comparing the performance of native stocks of fish in different regions of the state, and the effects of introduced species on native fish communities. Jean also enjoys serving as co-host for South Carolina Wildlife! The opportunity to help share with others so much of what our beautiful state has to offer, and so much of the great work that her DNR colleagues are involved in every day, is one she's proud to have.

Jean and her husband Kirby live in Columbia where he runs their family business, Mill Creek Pet Food Center. They have a daughter Leslie, and a brand new son Kirby Jr., born in April 2006. When away from work Jean enjoys training and trail riding with her horse, practicing Tai Chi, taking Leslie fishing, and teaching her about the natural world. Kirby Jr. will be joining them on their adventures soon.