THE SUBARU/LEAVE NO TRACE TRAVELING TRAINER PROGRAM

Currently in its 12th year, the Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers, 2 teams of professional outdoor educators, have reached over 10 million people in 48 states with Leave No Trace education and training.

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Picture of the Week 4/29/11

Spring has sprung in the Pacific Northwest!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

National Junior Ranger Day


Cuyahoga Valley National Park, OH - On Saturday, we visited Ohio's only National Park for National Junior Ranger Day. In celebration of junior rangers everywhere, the park put on a day of free programming. The festivities included arts and crafts with park rangers, fun activities, cake and ice cream, and the opportunity to earn a junior ranger badge.


About 100 kids, parents, and grandparents came out for Junior Ranger Day and enjoyed all the fun, hands-on activities the event had to offer, including exploring Camp Oh-No at the Leave No Trace booth.



Cuyahoga Valley National Park was the 10th most visited national park last year. The park is close to the urban environments of Cleveland and Akron, and offers a variety of things to do, including riding your bike on the Towpath Trail, hiking, horse-back riding, and scenic train rides.

All the best,


Agata and Jason

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Bigfoot Snowboarding?


The Traveling Trainers spent a day off at Alpine Meadows in Lake Tahoe, CA looking for Bigfoot. Check out this video to see if they spotted Bigfoot on the mountain!
Explore Responsibly...Kate & Tracy

Bigfoot Visits St. Francis de Sales School



Parma, OH - Last week, Bigfoot joined us for a visit to the Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades at St. Francis de Sales School. The students enjoyed hearing about Trek and Track's Great Adventure to Misty Mountain and learning about the seven principles of Leave No Trace, but nothing beat the visit from Bigfoot as the video above clearly illustrates.

All the best,

Agata and Jason

Monday, April 25, 2011

Gladstone Elementary School Raising Environmental Awareness


Gladstone, OR. Today Team West visited the fourth grade classrooms of John Witter Elementary School in Gladstone, OR to educate them about Leave No Trace. The students have been learning about water conservation and protection during science and they even organized a recycling and composting station for the cafeteria, so our discussion during the activity "How Long Does It Last?" sparked lively conversations and thoughtful questions.

The students gained an appreciation for the principles of Leave No Trace in the activity "What Principle Am I?" They learned just how fun and easy it is to leave no trace and were proud of themselves in realizing that many of them were already practicing it without knowing it. In the photo above, Kate teaches the students about the rule of thumb- a way to gauge safe distances from wildlife. Their imaginations went wild in thinking about what type of animals they would like to see using the rule of thumb!

Wouldn't you know it, here we are in Bigfoot Country and sure enough, our friend Bigfoot came out to visit the fourth grade lunch. He was so excited to see their recycling/composting station and gave a high five to anyone that learned about Leave No Trace. A special thank you to Mr. Curtis B. Williams for inviting us to come today!

Explore Responsibly...Kate & Tracy

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Picture of the week 4/22/11

Bigfoot and Team East teaching PEAK activities for Earth Day!

University of Wisconsin-Stout Trainer Course

Menomonie, WI - Last weekend Team East was out in the land of cheese for a two day Trainer Course hosted by Stout Adventures at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. The nine participants were well prepared to take on the challenge of learning how to practice and teach the seven principles of Leave No Trace in both theory and application.

The course was held on campus due to early spring wintry weather, but the flow of the weekend was educational and focused thanks to the efforts of the group. The office of Stout Adventures doubled as a classroom as well as a recreational opportunity as seen in the group photo at the rock wall.

Stout Adventures staff facilitate outdoor recreation trips around the world for the student body on campus. The participants were enthusiastic and very quick to connect with the common sense approaches to enjoying the outdoors in a responsible manner. The opportunities to develop the ethics of stewardship for public lands and minimum impact recreation skills were well received by the group on the course.

All the best,

Jason and Agata

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Richard Louv Speaker Series

This is an article written by Suz Lipman, Social Media Director of the Children & Nature Network. We just reserved our tickets for the Seattle talk on May 12th. We are so excited! Richard Louv will be coming to Denver on June 7th & 8th. Click here to see if he is coming to your city.

Richard Louv will be appearing across the U.S. and Canada this spring in a series of book release events and presentations. Many of these local appearances are free and open to the public, providing an excellent opportunity to introduce community members and potential partners to the goals and vision of the children and nature movement.

In his bestselling book Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv helped launch a vital dialog that spawned an international movement to reconnect children and nature. In his new book, The Nature Principle: Human Restoration and the End of Nature-Deficit Disorder, Louv delivers another powerful call to action—this time for adults. He will be speaking about the book in various cities.

What do adults have to do with the children and nature movement? Plenty. While time in nature helps people of all ages vastly improve our physical, psychological and spiritual health, children cannot make the nature connection without the help of the adults in their lives. In addition, Louv suggests, it will take people of all ages, working together, to shift the cultural norms that apply to all of us, to address and restore the fundamental human need for nature that he describes in his book, calling on much current research to underscore his case.

The more high-tech our lives become, Louv writes, the more nature we need. The Nature Principle lays out a scenario that integrates nature into every aspect of our lives, from homes and family life to offices, urban planning and recreational spaces.

You can hear Richard Louv speak about The Nature Principle in the following cities: San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Portland, Seattle, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Chicago, Denver, Austin, Vancouver, Toronto and Saskatoon. More information is available about Richard Louv’s appearances. Not on one of the tour stops? You’ll be able to join him for live chats on Twitter, dates to be announced.

For more information about some of the concepts in The Nature Principle and how they apply to the children and nature movement, please see A Conversation with Richard Louv.

Explore Responsibly...Kate & Tracy

Monday, April 18, 2011

Trail Skills College - Cascade Locks, OR


Cascade Locks, OR. The 3rd annual Trail Skills Collge was held at Cascade Locks Marine Park in Oregon on April 15, 16, and 17. The College, which is free to all, teaches participants about building and maintaining trails. There are a variety of classes to choose from including trail tread construction, cross-cut and crew leadership. The Traveling Trainers were on hand to provide general outreach, as well as an awareness workshop. The nearly nonstop rain for the first two days did not deter these dedicated students from learning to be trail stewards. Our trail systems are dependent on the work of volunteers to keep them maintained and safe. The Pacific Crest Trail Association is dedicated to protecting and preserving the Pacific Crest Trail, a 2,600 mile trail that runs from Canada to Mexico. The PCTA does a great job of providing development programs for their volunteers to take part in, like Trail Skills College.
If you missed your chance to take advantage of this invaluable resource, check out the up coming trainings offered by the High Cascade Forest Volunteers on May 13-15 in Westfir, OR, and June 3-5 in Allingham, OR. Visitwww.highcascadesvolunteers.com. Thank you to Isaac Daniel of the Pacific Crest Trail Association for inviting to take part in this event!
Explore Responsibly...Kate & Tracy

Friday, April 15, 2011

Picture of the Week 4/15/11

Have respect for all things, big or small!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Exploring Leave No Trace with Girl Scouts



Carbondale, IL - On Tuesday, Team East joined several Girl Scout troops for an evening awareness workshop. To introduce the scouts to the Leave No Trace program, we drew on various activities from the PEAK program, including What Principle Am I? and Minimum Impact Match. Once the participants had a better understanding of the seven principles, we decided to take advantage of the green space outside and play an exciting game of Ok! or No Way! (You can give this activity a try by downloading it for free from our website). We finished the evening off by having the scouts draw on their artistic talents and create Leave No Trace posters. Check out a sampling of the posters in the slide-show above.

Thanks to Jamie Corr, the Assistant Program Director for Family Housing at Southern Illinois University!

All the best...

Agata and Jason

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Bigfoot visits Evergreen Elementary School



















Cave Junction, OR
On Monday, Team West traveled to southern Oregon to work with students at Evergreen Elementary School in Cave Junction, OR. Each classroom that we visited was very enthusiastic about learning Leave No Trace. Pictured above, students from the first and second grade class, pose with their hang tags and their new fuzzy friend, Bigfoot!
The fifth grade students we worked with will be going to Siskiyou Field Institute, a partner of Leave No Trace, for an overnight campout in about two weeks. We introduced the principles of Leave No Trace to the students as they prepared for their night under the stars.
Also visiting the school that day was the program Farm to Market. This program educates students about fruits and vegetables, whole grains, farm animals, and how to make good healthy choices in their diet. For lunch, students helped themselves to an A-Z salad bar, which included fruits and vegetables starting with every letter of the alphabet. We were lucky enough to join them for lunch in between classes.
A special thank you to Sherri Graham at Siskiyou Field Institute for setting up our visit and working hard to bring Leave No Trace to southern Oregon!
Explore Responsibly...Kate & Trace

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Outreach in Sweet Home Alabama


Huntsville, AL - On Saturday, we teamed up with Alabama Outdoors for a new event in the Huntsville community. We were joined by many local and national organizations like North Alabama Canoe & Kayak (NACK), Chaco, the Land Trust of Huntsville and North Alabama, Born Wild Ministries, Priority Medical Training, HEMSI Search Dog Unit, and Boy Scouts of America. Throughout the day community members and shoppers joined us for outreach and workshops.

Many thanks to Derrick, Brian and all the friendly staff at Alabama Outdoors!

All the best,

Jason and Agata

Friday, April 8, 2011

Picture of the Week 4/8/11


Just another day at the office. Thank you Leave No Trace and Subaru of America for the opportunity to enjoy the Traveling Trainer lifestyle!

All the best,
Jason and Agata

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Leave No Trace with Pack #149


Lutz, Florida - Team East began the week with a bang as they caught up with over seventy Cub Scouts, Webelos, and their families for an evening Awareness Workshop with pack #149. The audience was very animated and went full tilt into the PEAK program games and activities with as high a level of enthusiasm as we have seen this year on the road!

Pictured above a gaggle of Cub Scouts take the "Rule of Thumb" to a whole new level as the audience learns more about enjoying wildlife from a safe distance and the PEAK principle "Respect Wildlife"!

Many thanks to our host Orlando Serrano and the all the families who attended this event. Keep an eye on Team East as we head up north through Alabama, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Ohio over the next few weeks!

All the best,

Jason and Agata

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Member Highlight


Check out Betsy Workman's blog! We emailed Steven today, and he is working hard and logging the miles he needs to train for this event. Team West will be there as Steven takes on this monumental feat, so stay tuned...

Meet Steven.

Steven is a member of Leave No Trace and will be climbing the 10 highest mountains (majority over 10,000 ft) in Oregon in 6 days. Total elevation gain is 50,000 feet! This event is to help promote Leave No Trace Awareness. The Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers will be traveling and camping with Steven, providing outreach to local state parks and REIs along the way.

He will begin Sunday July 10, 2011 by climbing Oregon’s 7th and 10th tallest mountains. Sacajawea Peak (9,833′) 13 miles and Aneroid Mountain (9,702′) 14 miles. He will be running the 27 miles with nearly 10,000 feet of elevation gain. During the climb, the Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers will be holding trainings at Wallowa State Park for the public and for local Boy Scouts.

Monday, July 11th I will climb Matterhorn Mountain (9,845′) and Hurwal Divide (9,775′). Matterhorn is Oregon’s 6th tallest and 19.5 miles long, and Hurwal Divide is Oregon’s 8th tallest at 15 miles long. Again, I will run the 34.5 miles with nearly 10,000 feet of elevation gain.

Tuesday, July 12th Steven will run Oregon’s 9th tallest summit, Steen Mountain (9,733′) in only 3 miles round trip. The Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers are holding a PEAK (Promoting Environmental Awareness in Kids) Training at REI BEND that night at 6pm. FREE and OPEN to the PUBLIC. Tuesday evening we will be camping at Tumalo State Park, Leave No Trace and Steven will be holding an evening talk at the Park.

Wednesday Steven will be running South Sister (10,358’), Oregon’s 3rd tallest mountain. By the end of the third day he will have run over 3 marathons with almost 30,000 feet of elevation gain. This evening, come back to REI BEND at 6pm to hear Steven's stories thus far on the adventure. He will have photos, stories, and will be talking about his Leave No Trace experience during his climbs. Refreshments provided. FREE and OPEN to the PUBLIC.

Thursday July 14th he will climb the remaining 2 Sisters. North Sister (10,085) and Middle Sister (10,056).

Friday July 15th he will hike Mt. Jefferson (10,497), skin up Mt. Hood (11,239 ) and ski down completing the challenge. There will be a press conference at Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood after the summit. The Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers will be on site for the press conference, offering booth outreach at the Lodge.

For more detail on his climb, visit his Facebook page.

Go Steven!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Trainer Course in the Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve


Green Swamp Preserve, Florida - Last weekend, April 2nd and 3rd, Team East was back in the sunshine state for a weekend long Trainer Course hosted by Florida Southern College. The nine participants represented students and staff from Florida Southern, the Boy Scouts of America, and various non-profits from around the state.

The group dynamic was excellent and everyone on the course came together for what turned out to be a wonderful weekend of teaching and learning together about minimum impact outdoor recreation. The sixteen-hour course focused on the seven principles of Leave No Trace and how to use the educational program to practice and teach the skills and ethics of enjoying public lands responsibly.

The group was engaged by the educational experience as well as seeing alligators, snakes, and the ever popular "frankensandwich" (peanut butter, jelly, cheese, and summer sausage) that captivated group lunch on day two in the swamp!

Many "thanks" to all the energy and enthusiasm the participants and our hosts, Michelle Thompson and Era Keys, put into making this trainer course an enjoyable weekend for all.

All the best,

Jason and Agata

Monday, April 4, 2011

Can't Burn This...



San Luis Obispo, CA
Walking down the beaches of San Luis Obispo County, one can't deny the beauty that surrounds them. With the clear blue-greens of the ocean dancing and flirting with the rays of sunshine, the sweet salty air lifts your spirits, and the lush rolling hills surround you with peace. We love spending time in the mountains, but being at the ocean evokes many memories of our childhood growing up in New England.
Another fond memory we have about the beach is spending evening around a campfire as you listen to the waves crash on the shore. Unfortunately, we have all seen beach fires that are entirely too large and potentially dangerous, often resulting in half-burned logs and trash left on the beach in the morning. The large log, or maybe we could call it a tree, in the photo below, is a prime example of the importance of practicing Leave No Trace and minimizing campfire impacts where ever you are. Sometimes, you just can't burn this...

Explore Responsibly...Kate & Tracy

Friday, April 1, 2011

Picture of the Week 4/1/11

Fun with Photoshop. Have a colorful weekend!