It’s a tale as old as time—literally. According to the Bible, it is at the very start of the human race that snakes’ bad reputation originates, as the serpent tempts Eve, convincing her to eat from the forbidden tree and, thus, hurl humanity into sin. “On your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life,” God tells the serpent.

Aligned with danger, deception and evil, snakes have long had a PR crisis on their nonexistent hands. And with fangs instead of fluffy fur, it has been an uphill battle to undo the damage caused by literary devices of days past. However, they are making slow progress thanks to snake apologists around the world who are working to change attitudes and discourse surrounding the animal. Their goal? Help people to see snakes as fellow living things rather than killer pests to be exterminated.

Locally, the Hood family—father Kevin, mom Rachel and sons Kyler and Landon—is doing more than their fair share in pursuit of this goal with their Facebook page turned full-scale snake awareness operation, Louisiana Snake ID.

It all started at Kyler’s fifth birthday party back in 2012 when a ribbon snake was spotted amongst the guests. The boys—along with Kevin—caught the snake. But the encounter did more than just entertain or excite, and perhaps frighten a few, it set the family on a new trajectory, one laden with snakes. Following the birthday party, the family got their first snake, named Chris Paul Hood, and things gradually escalated, with more and more snakes being added to their collection as their love for the animals grew exponentially.

When the family relocated from a subdivision to the swamps of Springfield, Louisiana, in 2017 in a bid to get closer to nature, they started posting pictures of snakes they found on and around their property. Over time, they become known among family, friends and even some strangers as the ones to contact when you needed a snake identified or possibly relocated. To cater to their growing audience, they started the Louisiana Snake ID Facebook page, an open group that allows people to post pictures of snakes they want identified and have open conversations about native snakes.

“We really started the page to give people information so we could intervene in some way before they kill a snake,” Kevin says. “Knowledge is power. We like to think of ourselves as the snake myth busters. We are helping people see the truth where there is a lot of fake news.”

As interest in page, and especially the videos the family posts showcasing snakes in their natural habitat or being safely handled, grew, the Hoods decided to take the information and create an experience to be shared with the community. Traveling around the state, Rachel, Kevin, Kyler and Landon—along with a fair few snakes—present to audiences of all ages. Whether at the library, schools or birthday parties, the goal of the shows is to both educate and get people up close and personal in order to see the snakes’ true nature.

“My favorite part of the show is when people interact with the snakes,” Rachel says. “When you see someone overcome that fear and at least touch one, it’s like their mind has been opened. I always say, ‘You don’t have to love them, but please just don’t kill them.’ And I think once they have a positive experience, that is easier.”

Now that Rachel and Kevin have taken their passion project full time, the family is dreaming bigger by establishing a nonprofit, Snake Life Foundation, with hopes of expanding their efforts to conserve and protect native snakes.“We want to be able to help on a larger scale,” Kevin explains, noting that they work to offer snake relocation efforts free of charge. “Eventually, we would love to travel outside of the state, and, one day, maybe even have a facility for people to visit where we can relocate snakes and people can see them in the wild.”

Until then, the family is looking forward to making a difference and doing so together. “We’ve been able to go places we’ve never been and experience all of that together as a family,” Rachel says. “It has been so special for me, especially seeing the boys interacting at the shows. We are stronger together, and it has been so rewarding to be able to build this together.”

The Hood family will be at LSU Hilltop Arboretum on May 27. For more information, visit lsu.edu/hilltop. For more on Louisiana Snake ID and the Snake Life Foundation, visit louisianasnakeid.com and snakelifefoundation.org.