Southeast Louisiana Camporall

This weekend we celebrated the 100th anniversary of scouting at the Southeast Louisiana Camporall at the Salmen Scout Reservation in MS. Over 3,000 cub scouts and their families were on hand to join in on the festivities. We were there to set up an educational booth where more than 200 people took the Bigfoot Challenge. We also taught the scouts to Trash Their Trash through the activity How Long Does It Last? In addition to the Leave No Trace activities, the scouts took part in rope making, shooting practice, a ropes course, climbing wall, and obstacle courses. We were able to get in on some of the more adult oriented activities, when we were asked to be guest judges at the dutch oven cook-off. YUM-YUM! The weekend ended with an entertaining arena show, including a great fireworks display! It was a fun weekend. A special thanks to Fonnie and Randy for taking care of us all weekend!

Happy Adventuring...Kate and Tracy

Team East joins Alabama State Advocate Skip Essman

After a snowy couple of days in Atlanta, GA we traveled down to Prattville, AL, a small town outside of Montgomery, to be guest speakers at a Leave No Trace Trainer Course led by Alabama State Advocate Skip Essman. The course was held at Camp Tuckabatchee, a beautiful scout camp outside of town. We were asked to speak to the nine participants, as well as other Leave No Trace Master Educators and Trainers who were there to assist in instruction, about the Traveling Trainer program and new initiatives launched this year including Leave No Trace Hot Spots and the Bigfoot Challenge. We would like to thank Skip for inviting us to the course and for all his hard work throughout the year as the state advocate! We look forward to working with Skip again on Tuesday, when he will join us at the University of Alabama in Birmingham for an awareness workshop.

Happy Adventuring...Kate and Tracy

Bigfoot is heading west!

Everyone here at the Center in Boulder are working hard to get ready for the Outdoor Retailer Show in Salt Lake City later this week. Much to our surprise, we had a special guest come by to get ready as well. Yep, you guessed it, Bigfoot is Back!

Bigfoot had a pleasant hibernation period and now he is rested and ready for another fun-filled year of outreach, awareness and adventure! He will be joining us in Salt Lake City, so be sure to look out for him if you are heading to the show. If you are not going to be at Outdoor Retailer, be sure to check out Bigfoot's web page and take the Bigfoot Challenge! There will be new challenges posted every month and a chance to win some sweet gear from our partners to use on your next outdoor adventure.

Safe travels...Kate and Tracy

Impromptu Awareness Workshop

Typically an Awareness Workshop with the Traveling Trainers is set up months in advance. The host contacts our Outreach Manager, Dave Winter. Dave puts the workshop on the calendar. We contact the event host and work out all the logistics well in advance. This is not a story about one of those Awareness Workshops.

Over the weekend we headed to Malibu Creek State Park for an event sponsored by Subaru. The evening before the event we showed up at the park's campground in hopes of finding a place to camp. As we drove around the campground loop we noticed that we seemed to be drawing more attention than usual (if you've ever seen the Leave No Trace Subaru, then you know it has potential to draw a modest amount of attention). As we commented to each other about all the staring, one camper waved us down for a quick photo (of the Subaru, not us). We pulled over and jumped out to chat while several people began photographing the car. As we chatted to the photographers we discovered that they were all part of the same recreation class at a local university. We also found out that this was their first camping trip as a class and that they had recently taken a test that focused on Leave No Trace...talk about perfect timing!

We got the whole group to take the Bigfoot Challenge! What a great group and the perfect opportunity for some impromptu Leave No Trace talk.

If you are interested in setting up an Awareness Workshop with the Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers for the 2010 season (and don't want to take the chance that we'll just happen to show up at the perfect time) please submit an online request.

Team East visits Edith Macy Conference Center

Last week we were invited to the Edith Macy Conference Center in New York to be a part of the Outdoor Skills Certification/Conference for the Girl Scouts of USA.  Leaders from all over the country gathered to learn skills that will be essential tools to teach the girls in their councils.  Our first mission was to be a support team on the Leave No Trace Trainer Course, held early in the week.  15 dynamic and passionate participants became Leave No Trace trainers.  Every woman on the course provided thoughtful presentations and discussions to the training.  They are all excited to learn ways to integrate Leave No Trace into their curriculum.  A special thanks to Marj Eby, chair of the GSUSA/Leave No Trace Task Force, JoAnn Schiffer-Burdett, Bureau of Land Management/California State Ethics Coordinator, and Tina Smith, Girl Scout IOT,  for running a great trainer course and making our stay so comfortable and welcoming.  

In addition to the trainer course, we also joined Karen O'Brien, Leave No Trace State Advocate for Massachusetts, at a "meet and greet".  This provided an opportunity for Karen to talk about the State Advocate position and ways people can get involved in the Leave No Trace community.  Thanks Karen!

Finally, we joined Marj and Tina again for a 3 hr workshop with an additional 15 people at the conference.  The workshop provided a great venue to share some of our PEAK Pack activities, talk about the Bigfoot Challenge, and share insight into how these leaders can get Leave No Trace more involved in their councils.  

We had such a fun week working with these women.  Their passion and commitment to building strong girls of the future is commendable.  Keep up the good work ladies!

Safe travels...Kate and Tracy

Bigfoot Wants You to Leave No Trace!

We spotted Mr. Bigfoot on our way to Humboldt State University. During our visit there, we presented to several classes and set up a table in the common area. We talked with hundreds of students, many of whom took the Leave No Trace Bigfoot Challenge!

To show our appreciation, we gave every student who took the challenge a sweet "Bigfoot's Been Doing It for Years" t-shirt.

Want your very own "Bigfoot's Been Doing It for Years" t-shirt? All you have to do is take the Bigfoot Challenge and pay shipping and handling!

LEAVE NO TRACE

(BIGFOOT'S BEEN DOING IT FOR YEARS)

Ox Roast at 7 Ranges

The 32nd annual Ox Roast at Seven Ranges scout camp in Kensington, OH provided a great opportunity for the Buckeye Council scouts to gather for a big feast, earn and swap patches, and learn about Leave No Trace.  There were over 500 scouts and leaders swarming the grounds, excited to learn new skills.  We taught the boys about ways to minimize their impacts while camping with their troops and how to dispose of waste properly.  

We also encouraged folks to take the Bigfoot Challenge, as seen here in the photo.  A special thanks to Jack Smith for inviting team east to be a part of this boy scout tradition.  

Safe travels...Kate and Tracy

National Order of the Arrow Conference-NOAC

The National Order of the Arrow Conference is a six day celebration where Arrowmen from around the world come together to share their ideas on lodge leadership, activities, and ceremonies as well as participate in a large variety of competitions.  The conference is held every couple of years.  This year it was at the University of Indiana. It always promises to be a week filled with fun and learning.  

Our booth was set up in the Experience tent.  We spoke with over 3,ooo Arrowmen about ways they can Leave No Trace on their outings.  We were also able to sign up nearly 1,500 scouts for the Bigfoot Challenge! 

During our visit, we were invited to be guest presenters at a trainer course that was taking place during the conference to speak about the Traveling Trainer program and also resources that are available on the Leave No Trace website.  Congratulations to the newest Trainers! 

The Boy Scouts of America have been hard at work revamping their handbook to include a section on Leave No Trace training.  Cheers to all their efforts and all of their hard work in putting together such an outstanding conference.  Here is a slideshow that captures only a few of the numerous activities that took place. Enjoy!

Safe Travels...Kate and Tracy

Picture of the week 7/31/09

Even kids can take the Bigfoot Challenge!  

Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2009

We spent the better part of last week in Salt Lake City, Utah for Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2009. With over 20,000 people in attendance, the bi-annual event is considered to be the largest outdoor sports industry gathering in the world.

Thanks to the help of Subaru of America and Backpacker Magazine, we were able to host the Great Gear Giveaway again this summer! We gave away a total of 18 fabulous prize packages of gear, donated by dozens of our friends in the outdoor industry. It's pretty exciting, but the best part is that through the Great Gear Giveaway we were able to sign hundreds of people up for the Bigfoot Challenge.

We want to give a big thanks to everyone who took the Bigfoot Challenge at OR. We'd also like to thanks all of our incredible partners who find the most creative ways to help us out and highlight our educational efforts during the show!

YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT BIGFOOT…

He’s really good at Leave No Trace and he probably wears a very large boot (if he even wears boots).  Speaking of large boots, we spent the weekend in Freeport, Maine, where we saw thousands of people gearing up for summer at the L.L. Bean Paddlefest.  We challenged many of these folks to take the Bigfoot Challenge!  Now we are challenging you! 

Take the challenge, challenge your friends, and LEAVE NO TRACE (after all, Bigfoot’s been doing it for years)! 

Did we mention prizes?  Oh yeah, you know we’re giving away some sweet gear from some of our amazing partners.  To find out more about the Leave No Trace Bigfoot Challenge visit our website.

Time to take the Bigfoot Challenge!

In celebration of 10 years of Education in Motion, the Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainer program has teamed up with Mr. Bigfoot himself to challenge the outdoor community to make a difference this summer!  By visiting www.lnt.org/bigfootchallenge or catching up with the Traveling Trainers at an event this summer, you have a chance to take the Leave No Trace Bigfoot challenge and try to leave no trace just like Bigfoot has been doing for years!  We have only one question for you...are you up for the challenge?