WILLIAMSBURG – For brothers Ricky, 7, and Rico McCoy, 5, exploring nature has become more than a backyard hobby, it’s now the heart of a growing social media project built around asking strangers questions about the natural world.
The Williamsburg-area brothers have been creating videos as part of Ricky’s entry into the Jr. Ranger contest. The competition is run by the National Wildlife Federation, where kids from 4-12 years of age compete to win $20,000 and appear in Ranger Rick Magazine. For their chance to win, Ricky and Rico, with the help of their mom Jinji, created videos stopping people in the community to ask questions about nature while documenting what they learn along the way. Jinji said the project quickly became bigger than the competition itself.
“We’re one of, like, only a couple that created our own page and then started to really, you know, go full on the videos,” she said.
The family said their videos, many filmed around Williamsburg, have gained major traction online, with some reaching well over 100,000 views.
“It feels super, super good,” Ricky said of seeing so many people watch their videos.
The boys’ interest in nature started long before the contest through gardening, growing food, and hands-on outdoor exploration with their family.
“All their life growing up, we’ve kind of grown food and had them planting seeds and participating in gardening and stuff like that,” their mother said. “I think that they’ve also just been brought into it just by, like, our whole family’s love of it.”
For Ricky, nature is about discovering value in everyday things.
“A lot of times, like, we find little things. Some people think they’re just a nut or just a cone,” he said. “There are a lot of details in them.”
Their videos often feature spontaneous conversations with strangers, something their mother said has been eye-opening.
“Almost every single one we asked said yes,” Ricky said.
The family has also found humor and learning opportunities in the process, including awkward pauses, surprising answers, and the need to fact-check information from interviews.
“One thing is it encourages us to do our own research on the things that people tell us, and we get to kind of figure out more about the world and about different people’s perspectives,” their mother said.
One of their most popular videos followed a park ranger on a hike, which their mother initially worried might not connect with viewers.
“People absolutely loved that one,” she said. “That opened my eyes to if people do want to learn and people do want educational content, they just want it given to them in a way that they connect with.”
Inspiring kids and adults to reconnect with nature while building toward future dreams of owning a farm and helping feed children is the larger mission the family has beyond contest rankings.
“We wanted to feed hungry kids with it,” their mother said.
Although not passing through the next round of votes, Ricky sees the bigger picture. For other children hoping to start similar projects, Ricky’s advice is direct: “Go out and connect with people. Ask people questions.”
To continue Ricky and Rico’s journey with nature, visit their Instagram page.
