The first thing you notice about Chad Kister is that he's not wearing shoes. None. Just the cold, dark earth seeping between those toes. He usually walks around Athens this way unless some store owner tells him that he has to put on shoes to get service. Then he relents.

But there is one thing which Kister, a 27-year-old OU graduate student, will not compromise onั the environment.

Sean Stipp/THE POST

Chad Kister meditates on top of a downed tree - one of the hundreds of trees he has fought to protect over the years - while taking a break from hiking at The Ridges. Kister said the Athens area, where he has focused his life on saving "Mother Earth," is special to him because his ancestors settled here in 1816.

Since he came to OU in 1989 as an undergraduate student in journalism, he has worked tirelessly for causes he believes in. And he will make almost any sacrifice to see them through.

Kister, an environmental studies major, said he has been arrested more than 12 times while protesting for the environment. Last fall Kister, along with 21 others, was arrested during his protest of logging in Wayne National Forest.

"We were prepared to sit in front of trees to stop the bulldozing," he said.

Following the suggestion on the button he wears on his hemp jacket that says "Defend Mother Earth," he has worked to protect the planet most of his life. He remembers planting trees on his grandparents' 200-acre farm in Darby, Ohio as a young child.

He said later, local developers cut down those trees around his grandparent's farm. As a result of developer's cutting, a nearby stream began to erode.

"This left a strong impression on me," he said. "All of our actions have a large impact on the environment."

It was those impressions that followed Kister through his activist career at OU.

Soon after he came to Athens, he formed an ecology club on campus and edited a newsletter called Earthspeaks. In 1991, he formed the Campus Greens, OU's environmental activist group.

One year later, Kister helped win one of the biggest victories for the environment when OU announced plans to build a Biotech Center, a 17-acre retirement community and a 300-acre golf course on Radar Hill. Kister and the Campus Greens stormed the trustee meeting and swayed some administrators to their side.

"We argued it to its grave," he said. "It was a coup of sorts."

During the summer, when Kister was not lobbying for environmental causes, he went on an expedition to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. There, he backpacked and rafted more than 600 miles through a Porcupine Caribou refuge that is threatened by oil development.

While in the Arctic, Kister said he went without food after losing his fishing rod in a rain storm. Without sustenance, he feared death. Fortunately, he met a couple who lent him their rod and reel and saved his life.

"In the wilderness, the best in people comes out," he said.

Two years later, he traveled through Japan and spoke about his experiences in the Arctic.

Kister's concerns for the environment dominate his life.

He usually rides a bicycle, and, if he does use a car, he is sure to carpool. His house uses only solar electricity and he wears clothing made of natural fibers, such as hemp, that don't use pesticides. When most students dine on greasy fast food hamburgers and pizza, he eats organic entrees and vegetarian cuisine.

This year, he canned 100 quarts of tomato sauce from the organic garden in his backyard.

His passion for the environment also creeps into his spiritual life. He likes to meditate in a quiet, outdoor place during sunrises and sunsets. He said he fuses Christian, Buddhist, Hindu and Native American beliefs into his spirituality. Spending all of his time focused on the environment might seem like a daunting task, but he sees it as a natural part of life.

"It is all interconnected," he said, "When you see a tree, it is part of us. When we exhale, that tree inhales."

That philosophy is what prompts him to walk through campus without shoes.

"Feeling the earth is very important," he said.

While some could dismiss him as a "tree hugger," Kister said he is here to make a difference. Recently, he helped send 500 letters to Gov. George Voinovich asking him to prevent proposed mining in Dysart Woods, the Midwest's last virgin forest.

After he graduates, Kister said he plans to stay in Athens for awhile. But there are a few more places he has yet to see, including Africa, Australia and South America. He said his faith in humanity keeps him wanting to travel the world. Perhaps he'll do it in his bear feet.