Picture of the week 7/3/09

The berry essence of Oregon- Team West meets with Oregon State Advocate, Georgia Bosse, at the local farmers market.

NAS Whidbey Island Trainer Course

Whidbey Island is a beautiful area in off the coast of Washington.  With dense forests, vast beaches, and plenty of recreational opportunities, the island was a perfect location for a trainer course.  The weather more than cooperated as we explored Leave No Trace both at the campground at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station and at Deception Pass State Park.  

All seven participants on the course were excited to learn ways to incorporate Leave No Trace into their lives, whether it be working with boy scouts, leading mountaineering trips, working with the Washington Trails Association, or teaching their family and friends.  Over the two days we all learned and laughed a lot!  Some of us had new experiences- SPAM and eggs or banana boats- but all of us enjoyed our first Swedish candle!  Thanks again to Dave Myers for all his hard work in setting up this weeks events- you are the best Big Bear!

Safe travels...Kate and Tracy

Great American Backyard Campout - Newmarket, NH

Campers arriving and setting up there tents.

JD talking with the campers about Leave No Trace.


Like the other traveling teams, we also spent last Saturday at a Great American Backyard Campout event. We were in Newmarket, NH for our campout. The campout saw about 100 kids from the Newmarket area come together for a fun evening of games, music, food, and of course Leave No Trace. About 25 kids came over and joined in on some Leave No Trace activities.

Great American Backyard Campout

Over the weekend, we took part in the Great American Backyard Campout on Whidbey Island in Washington.  The campout, a national program put on by the National Wildlife Federation, provides an opportunity for everyone to relive-or to experience for the first time-how much fun it is to spend a night sleeping under the stars and enjoying the sounds of nature.  Campers at Whidbey Island were part of over 40,000 campers nation wide that decided to "unplug" for the night and get outside with the family.

Campers were offered a variety of activities over the weekend, including dutch oven cooking demonstrations by Northwest Dutch Oven Cooking Society, campfire activities, star gazing, surf fishing, gps & geocaching, archery, and, of course, Leave No Trace activities.  We presented workshops for adults and children, focusing on ways the campers can leave no trace while camping out this summer.  We had a lot of fun working with the navy families.  Campouts are a great way to connect to nature, especially for children!  So take the time this summer to get outside and spend a night under the stars- you won't regret it!  A special thanks to Dave Meyers for all his hard work in setting up the campout!  We are looking forward to working with Dave again later this week at a trainer course, also held on Whidbey Island!

Safe travels and happy camping...Kate and Tracy

Picture of the Week: Outdoor Classroom

There are many beautiful outdoor areas that make great classrooms. This is one of our favorites...the beach at Donnell Pond near Ellsworth, ME. Where is your favorite outdoor classroom?

Trainer Course at Student Conservation Association HQ

For our most recent Trainer Course, we headed to Student Conservation Association (SCA) headquarters in Charlestown, NH. In addition to SCA crew leaders, we were joined by several representatives form the White Mountain National Forest and one lone Boy Scout leader. We had a great time, and were excited to meet up with New Hampshire State Advocate, Lew Shelley. Thanks for putting together a great Trainer Course Lew!

Here are a few of our favorite photos from the course!

How Green Is Your Grass?

We spent the better part of last week at The Telluride Bluegrass Festival.  During the festival, we had the pleasure of running and judging How Green is your Grass? - a creative campsite challenge.  This contest encourages Festivarians to raise the bar for sustainable camping by honoring campsites that excel in achieving the highest level of sustainability, cleanliness, and creativity during their stay at the festival. There were daily winners each of the four days that are now finalists for the grand prize.  Daily winners enjoyed a prize package that included Chaco gear, Clif Bars, and New Belgium Beer.   Stay tuned, the winer of the 2009 How Green is your Grass? competition will be announced on the next "Notes from the Planet" email.

In addition to the campsite challenge, the entire festival embraced sustainable living.  For example, Eco Products donated compostable bags that were handed out by camp hosts at each of the campgrounds.  The New Community Coalition (TNCC) coordinated stations called CRT (Compost, Recycle, Trash) and they were able to provide trained volunteers the entire four days at each station to direct waste to the proper receptacle.   Also, Renewable Choice Energy was able to offset all of the travel the bands did to get there.  Each year Planet Bluegrass continues to find new and exciting ways to challenge Festivarians to leave their concert space better than they found it.  Hats off to everyone who participated in making this years festival a supreme success in sustainability!

Safe Travels...Kate and Tracy