Bay Area Wilderness Training at the Presidio, CA

San Francisco, CA

On Monday and Tuesday, Team West provided two four hour trainings for Bay Area Wilderness Training (BAWT). BAWT, a program of the Earth Island Institute, began with the idea that California's bountiful wilderness areas are a vast, yet untapped, resource for local youth-serving organizations. BAWT promotes the wise use of these national, state, and regional parks through professional wilderness leadership training. As the program continues to develop, the staff have embraced Leave No Trace within their programs, especially the Camping at the Presidio Program.

We had a variety of participants join us for the training including BAWT staff and interns, CAP interns, staff from the Presidio Trust and Conservancy, as well as locals who wanted to learn about teaching Leave No Trace to youth. This dynamic group allowed for thoughtful discussion on ethics during the Ethics Game, and had a passion towards educating the youth in their area. Over the four hour training, we dove into the PEAK (Promoting Environmental Awareness in Kids) Program and shared a few of our favorite activities we use during youth programs we run and how to effectively communicate the Leave No Trace skills and ethics. We enjoyed the two days and nights we spent in the Presidio and look forward to working with BAWT in the future. Thanks to Grace Malango-Blake for organizing the events!

Explore Responsibly...Kate & Tracy