Hawk Mountain Scout Reservation Trainer Course

This weekend we led a dynamic group of 7 participants that are involved with the Boy Scouts of America at the Hawk Mountain Scout Reservation in Schuylkill, PA.  This was a unique opportunity to train people that are involved in the organization on many different levels, including cub scouts, high adventure, and future eagle scouts.  Everyone was excited to take their new knowledge and apply it to future outings with their troops.  The Boy Scouts of America have just re-written their hand book to include a more extensive section of Leave No Trace and they will be working hard to integrate Leave No Trace at all levels of scouting. We wish the new trainers well in all their future Leave No Trace workshops!  Here are a few pictures from the course- enjoy!

Safe travels...Kate and Tracy

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

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!

Play and Work...Work and Play!

We spent the weekend at Lake Mineral Wells State Park, gearing up for our Trainer Course on Tuesday.  The park is a lovely spot to camp, hike, bike, fish, boat, climb, and just relax!  Although the trails were closed to visitors due to the heavy rains last week, we appreciated the parks efforts to protect the resources.  We are hoping that the trails will re-open today and we can go exploring!  We are excited for our last trainer course in the Lonestar state.  If you are planning on visiting the Dallas area in the future, be sure to check out Lake Mineral Wells State Park- you will not be disappointed!

Safe travels...Kate and Tracy

Tennessee Valley Authority

Here are some photos of a Trainer Course we recently completed with one of our new partners, Tennessee Valley Authority. TVA has 290,000 acres of land that offer many recreational opportunities, including water skiing, canoeing, sailing, windsurfing, fishing, swimming, hiking, nature photography, picnicking, birdwatching, and camping. We had lots of fun on this course and were excited to meet and work with all the staff at TVA.

Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center Trainer Course

This week we headed to Mansfield, Georgia for a Leave No Trace Trainer Course at Charlie Elliot Wildlife Center. Managed by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources this 6,400-acre area offers many recreational opportunities including hiking, fishing, hunting, and many educational programs. Here are some photos from the course.

See you out there, JD and Emily

AEE Trainer Course

We were a part of the Association of Experiential Education Conference over the past week in Albuquerque, NM.  The conference provides quality professional development workshops, networking, and other resources for teachers, college professors, students, group and challenge course facilitators, counselors, outdoor and camp professionals, program administrators, and environmental educators.  As part of the conference, we offered a trainer course that was held at Bear Canyon, which is owned by Albuquerque Academy.  

The course went extremely well.  We had 8 participants from a variety of backgrounds including the New Mexico Audubon Society, GOES (a new youth program in Western CO), WinGate Wilderness Therapy, and local public schools.  The diversity of the participants made for great discussions that focused on protecting our public lands and making a spiritual connection to nature.  One participant played a Native American flute for the group as part of her presentation on Minimize Campfire Impacts.  She gave the group goosebumps as she showed her passion for the spirit of the outdoors.  We were reminded the importance of making a connection to the outdoors and developing a sense of pride in caring for the special places we love to visit.  Thank you to all the participants for sharing so many wonderful and inspiring stories!

We are wrapping up our time in New Mexico, then it is off to Texas!  Yee-ha!

Safe travels...Kate and Tracy