On the road again...

Greetings from Team West, the newest Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainer Team, Kate Bullock and Tracy Howard. Some of you may recognize us, as we were the 2008 Leave No Trace E-tour team sponsored by Coleman Outdoor Product.

Excitement is in the air as we got this season off to a rip roarin’ start with two very successful events this week. To get us “into the mood,” we mingled with the Camping Singles crew from the Denver, CO area. The Camping Singles is a group of Colorado single adults who enjoy camping, fishing, hiking, swimming, biking, sightseeing, photography, the camaraderie of others, starry nights around the camp fire, memorable pot lucks, boating, rafting, hot springs, hay rides, etc.

Next stop…Adams State College in Alamosa, CO. Nestled in the San Luis Valley, the Adventure Program welcomed us with open arms. We worked with a group of student and staff leaders that organize outdoor trips. As a Connect Grant recipient, Adams State is working towards providing outreach to local youth serving organizations in southern Colorado. A special thanks goes out to Mick Daniels for his hospitality and efforts to spread awareness of Leave No Trace.

Stay tuned to see where the road takes Team West!

Safe Travels…Kate and Tracy

The Outdoor Retailer Winter Market

We hit the road for our first event of the 2009 Subaru / Leave No Trace Traveling Trainer Season. The Outdoor Retailer Winter Market is a very successful event for Leave No Trace and the Traveling Trainer program. At the show we have the opportunity to talk with hundreds of outdoor gear retailers and manufacturers. It is a great time for us to continue to promote Leave No Trace skills and ethics to professionals in the outdoor recreation world and to receive some Traveling Trainer invitations for the new year.

The highlight of the show is usually the Great Gear Giveaway that Subaru and Backpacker sponsor and Leave No Trace hosts. Over three days we test attendee's Leave No Trace knowledge and then reward them a chance to win some sweet gear packages from companies that have donated the gear. For all of you that attended the Winter show, we will see you in the summer where we will celebrating 10 Years of Education in Motion.

Rocky Mountain Snowshoeing

Before hitting the road for 10 plus months of Traveling and Training, we took advantage of Boulder's access to Rocky Mountain National Park. We headed into the foothills from Boulder and about 40 miles later found ourselves in Estes Park, the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. After entering the park we took Bear Lake Road up to the very popular Bear Lake Nature Trail. A short .6 mile hike around Bear Lake and then we continued on up to Nymph Lake, about .5 miles from the Bear Lake trailhead. You can actually hike on up to two more lakes, Dream Lake and then Emerald Lake, but allow yourself plenty of time in the winter. Hitting this trail in the middle of the week is ideal as it tends to draw quite the crowd on the weekends.

Happy New Year!!!

We’re ba-ack! After a six-week hiatus, we are excited to be back in the Subaru traveling around the United States for Leave No Trace. This year promises to be an exciting year for Leave No Trace as well as the Traveling Trainer Program.

We hit the ground running by taking part in our annual Master Educator Course Provider Meeting in Boulder, Colorado this morning. In addition to getting updates, we were excited to hear about all of the Master Educator Courses that will be provided in 2009. The Master Educator Course is a great way to gain in-depth information on Leave No Trace skills and ethics and to learn how to communicate Leave No Trace to others. Did we mention that there are scholarships available for theses courses?

Check back soon to hear about our new Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainer Team, our 10-Year Anniversary Celebration, and Outdoor Retailer Winter Market.

Hope your 2009 is off to a great start!

Conference Craziness

We have spent the past two weeks in the Pacific Northwest talking with folks at two different professional conferences. First we attended the International Association for Experiential Education Conference in Vancouver, Washington. Over 900 experiential educators from all over the world used the conference as an opportunity to network, build community, and learn from one another. We were very excited to sit on a panel during a workshop that focused on trends and issues in experiential education.

A few days later, we drove over the Columbia River for the National Association for Interpretation Conference. NAI is a professional association for those involved in the interpretation of natural and cultural heritage resources. We spoke with interpreters from parks, zoos, museums, nature centers, botanical gardens, and historical sites about ways that Leave No Trace education can be incorporated into many different programs.
We met with some amazing individuals at both conferences and we are looking forward to working with many of the organizations that were represented.

"A Climate for Change"

We just left sunny San Diego where we were excited to be a part of the 2008 AORE Conference. The Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education is one of our non-profit partners and aims to provide opportunities for professionals and students in the field of outdoor recreation and education to exchange information, promote the preservation and conservation of the natural environment, and address issues common to college, university, community, military, and other not-for-profit outdoor recreation and education programs.

The theme for this year's conference was 'A Climate for Change', which highlighted AORE's awareness and action towards environmental sustainability. During the conference we talked with hundreds of students and professionals about ways that Leave No Trace can easily be incorporated into any outdoor program. It was great to reconnect with many old friend that we have worked with during our time as Traveling Trainers and to meet new friends that we hope to see for the 2009 Traveling Trainer season.



Here is Leave No Trace "Wanderer" Member John Hill laughing it up at our booth. Check out the ink on John's left calf!!! Thanks for your support John and it was great to meet you.

Requests a visit from one of our teams in 2009! Here's how.

CELEBRATING 10 YEARS of ‘EDUCATION IN MOTION’

Be a Part of the Celebration by Requesting a Visit from the
Traveling Trainers during the 2009 Season!

The Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers Program celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2009. The teams will continue to visit a wide range of people including (but not limited to) outdoor retail stores, guiding services, educational institutions, national parks and forests, state parks, elementary/middle/high schools, open spaces, municipalities, youth serving organizations, and festivals. In 2009, the Center for Outdoor Ethics will have one team traveling the West and one team traveling the East from January through October. There will be a third team on the road from June 1st-September 1st.

Our Schedule:

The 2009 Traveling Trainer location schedule is set! In 2009, the teams will actually visit many states twice. Locate your state on the following schedule and plan accordingly. This format was chosen in an effort to regionalize our travel as much as possible and to travel to states during good camping weather. Please note that this is a tentative travel itinerary. If you don’t see your state listed and live in a neighboring state, we encourage you to still request a visit. All requests must be made online. Hope to see you in 2009!

Feb. 5 – March 25: AZ, NM, UT, CA, TX, OK, KS, AR, LA, MS, AL, GA, SC and FL.

March 26 – April 30 : CA, NV, AR, AL, MS, TN, KY, NC, and SC.

May 1-July 14: CA, NV, OR, WA, ID, MT, WY, ND, SD,CO, PA, DE, MD, WV, NY, VT, NH, CT, MA, RI, ME.

July 15 – Aug. 1: WA, OR, ID, MT, UT, CO, NV, WY, NE, IA, MO, KS, ND, SD, IL, IN, and OH.

Aug. 2 – Oct 1: WA, OR, NV, ID, MT, PA, DE, MD, WV, ND, SD, NY, VT, NH, CT, MA, RI, ME, IL, IN, and OH

Oct. 2 – Oct. 15: CA, TN, KY, VA, NC, SC, AZ, NM, TX, OK, KS, AR, LA, MS, AL, GA, and FL.

Oct. 16 – Nov. 1: CA, CO TN, KY, VA, NC, SC, AZ, NM, TX, OK, KS, AR, LA, MS, AL, GA, and FL. AZ, NM, UT, CO, NE, MN, IA, MO, WI, and MI.


To request an event:

Step 1 – Visit: http://www.lnt.org/programs/travelingtrainers.php

Step 2 – Select Team East for states east of the Mississippi or Team West for states
west of the Mississippi. All requests must be made online.

Step 3 – Fill out the online request form providing as much information as
possible about your event.

Step 4 – Wait for a reply from the Center’s Outreach Manager, Dave Winter