Applicants Wanted!

POSITION: SUBARU/LEAVE NO TRACE TRAVELING TRAINERS

SALARY: Monthly salary plus all travel expenses, gear, and apparel for life on the road.
CLOSING DATE: January 8th, 2008
SEND RESUME & COVER LETTER TO:
Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers
Leave No Trace
P.O. Box 997
Boulder, CO 80306
-OR-
jobs@LNT.org (subject: Traveling Trainers)
***NO CALLS PLEASE***

SUBARU/LEAVE NO TRACE TRAVELING TRAINERS

Leave No Trace is seeking a dedicated, savvy, dynamic team of educators (only teams of two are accepted as applicants) for seasonal traveling positions. Leave No Trace is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to the responsible enjoyment and active stewardship of natural lands worldwide by all people. The Traveling Trainers travel throughout the U.S. teaching and promoting minimum impact techniques to outdoor enthusiasts of all experience levels. The Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers reach millions of individuals annually, promoting stewardship of the outdoors, and supporting active lifestyles. The Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers program is an established, well-respected education and outreach program that is in high demand across the country.

Couples and pre-paired teams only apply. We will not place individuals in a team.

The Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers, sponsored by Subaru, represent the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics as goodwill ambassadors. The teams will present special programs for diverse groups such as youth serving organizations, land managers, students, hiking, bicycling, climbing and other user groups, outdoor retailers, and general public. Scheduled stops include trade and consumer shows, special events, trail projects, volunteer events, and other related events. Throughout the season, the team will keep a monthly on-line journal and communicate regularly with those interested in learning more about Leave No Trace. Teams must represent the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, the Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainer program, and Subaru of America in a positive and professional manner at all times.

Team members will be outfitted with apparel, equipment and supplies necessary for teaching and camping, as well as communicating electronically. Compensation package includes food and lodging expenses, and monthly salary. Part time employment (6.5 months) and travel will begin without exception, March 14th, 2008 and run through September 2008.

Education and Technical Requirements
* Bachelor Degree in a related field and at least two-years of teaching experience
* Exceptional written and verbal communication skills
* Recommended outdoor recreation skills set include: hiking, backpacking, canoeing/kayaking, mountain biking, rock climbing, winter sports, trail running, travel with pack stock, etc.
* Current Basic First Aid and CPR certification (Wilderness First Responder or WEMT preferred)
* Formal Leave No Trace Training (Master Educator preferred)
* Availability to travel without exception, continuously from early to mid March 2008 through September 2008
* Personal budgeting and expense tracking skills
* Macintosh computer and digital camera proficiency

Leadership and Interpersonal Requirements:
* Direct experience teaching, guiding and instructing (outdoor settings preferred)
* High level of motivation, energy, creativity and professionalism
* Charismatic and entertaining public speaking and verbal communication skills
* Ability to deal with an evolving and sometimes unpredictable itinerary
* Excellent time-management skills

For more information, visit www.LNT.org

To apply please submit the following by 1/8/08
1. A joint cover letter, 2 page maximum
2. Resumes for each team member, 2 page maximum per person
**other information and/or material are not necessary or accepted

Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainer Program
C/O Leave No Trace
PO Box 997
Boulder Co, 80306

No calls please
Leave No Trace is an equal opportunity employer.

Back to Our Old Stomping Grounds.

After spending the last eight months talking with thousands of people about Leave No Trace, we decided to spend a little more time talking with students at Southeast Missouri State University about Leave No Trace. We joined Dr. Tom Holman and one of his outdoor recreation classes for a weekend backpacking/Trainer Course trip in the Shawnee National Forest. In the first picture, bottom center, is Tom Holman. Top middle is TJ Goldsberry, student instructor. Both are Leave No Trace Trainers. Tom and TJ have been a great advocates for Leave No Trace. Tom is also playing a huge role in developing the outdoor recreation program at Southeast Missouri State University. This was the fourth Trainer Course he has hosted. He recently hosted a Wilderness First Responder Course and is working on putting together a Master Educator Course.

When we returned to Cape Girardeau, Missouri after our travels we were greeted by our biggest fans Arnie and Aspen. We have been spending every moment we can with them to try and make up for missed time.

End of the Season

We returned to Boulder in mid-October to the friendly faces in the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethcis. After catching up on all the happenings at the office and in Boulder we spent some time doing office work and of course spent some time hiking. We were able to take one last hike with North and Ella before they hung up their Traveling Trainer hats(Bye guys, we hope your next adventures will be as fun as your Traveling Trainer adventures).

After a week and a half of office work we had the opportunity to sit in on the fall Board Meeting. What a great experience! To see these board members devoting their time to Leave No Trace was very inspiring. We really appreciate all the hard work that everyone on the board donates to the Leave No Trace organization.

As we prepare for a couple of months off before another season on the road we just wanted to say good-bye to Dusty & Amy and North & Ella. We will miss you guys next year and we hope to see you on the road where ever you end up.

End of the road...

We returned to California for our final event of the year and to wrap up our time as Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers.  We spent two days in beautiful Yosemite National Park working with guides and outdoor educators during a Trainer Course.  Then we met up with family for a few days of hiking before returning to Northern California to do our final wrap up.  It is with very mixed emotions that we are coming off the road: excitement for all the different things the future holds and sadness at leaving such an incredible job and group of people that we have been working with.

So a few thank yous and thoughts about being on the road:    

Thank you to everyone in the office, your incredible support and logistics has made these past two years awesome!

Thank you to Dusty and Amy and JD and Emily.  Y'all are wonderful educators and it has been a pleasure to learn from and with you and share road stories.

Thank you to all the folks we have worked with over the past two years (all 13,000 of you!), we have learned so much from each event and have been consistently amazed by the enthusiasm and interest that has greeted us throughout the country (44 states!).

We encourage folks to continue to take steps forward in their personal Leave No Trace practice and keep asking questions about what might be the best practice in a specific environment or activity.  Most importantly: get out there and have fun!  Enjoy the public lands that we have the opportunity to use, have fun biking, running, climbing, sleeping, riding, etc, and introduce a young person to your favorite place.

See you on the road....

North and Ella

School is in Session

We wrapped up our first season as Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers last week in Phoenix and Flagstaff, AZ. In Phoenix we met up with Lisa Verghese, an english teacher and outdoor club advisor, at Xavier College Prepartory school. The hour was spent talking with the 40+ club memebers about applying Leave No Trace skills and ethics to their upcoming outings.

After our visit to Phoenix we checked out the scenery at the Grand Canyon before moving on to our final event at the PEAK Charter School in Flagstaff, AZ. At the PEAK Charter School we talked with 5th, 6th, and 8th graders about the importance of Respecting Wildlife and Trashing Your Trash. As a part of their physical education curriculum, students can elect to participate in an outdoor trip program. Lea Schlachter, a teacher at the school, takes the students out to go hiking, biking, boating, as well as many other forms of recreation.

We are sad to see the season end, but we will be back next season after spending some time with our families and our dogs. See you soon.

Don't mess with Texas!

What do you get when you mix over 40,000 people, hundreds of vendors and exhibitors, countless Texas State Parks volunteers, two Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers, and one Texas State Advocate?  You get the Texas Parks and Wildlife Expo!

We spent the past weekend in Austin, Texas talking with a few thousand of those 40,000 people and discovering some of the things that make Texas such a great state.  We had the opportunity to eat some delicious barbeque, take in some life music in Austin, stay in McKinney Falls State Park, and meet some of the people that are taking care of the wild spaces in Texas.  Throughout the Expo we were able to enjoy the REI PEAK maze as well as spend time exchanging ideas with Griff Danheim (our Texas State Advocate).  Griff is doing a phenomenal job here in Texas, educating, networking, and role modeling Leave No Trace.  The Expo was a great experience and we are excited that we were able to be a part of it!

See you on the road,

north and ella

Small Town + Cool Company = Recipe for Success

For our final events in the West, we felt very honored and excited to travel to the exquisite North Fork Valley and Paonia, CO to visit and work with Chaco, one of our primary Traveling Trainer sponsors and an amazing footwear company with a large social conscience.  

Paonia serves as Chaco's  home ground and one immediately becomes aware of the seamless and endearing relationship that the company has with its place.  They care about the valley, its people, and the greater natural world at large.  It's reassuring to see a corporation with this much heart making such great products AND walking their talk by assisting us in providing free education and programming to thousands of  individuals each year!

For three days, we were warmly hosted by Chaco's Brian Scranton and Dave Knutson as they introduced us to a behind -the-scenes view of both the company and this stunning corner of Colorado. When not sharing meals and meaningful dialogue with these guys, we were doing our part to help share Leave No Trace with a diverse cross-section of the valley's community.

During our time there, we presented to over 100 of Chaco's employees, over 130 4th-6th graders from local schools, a creative and energetic group of 1st-3rd graders, and some hunters from the area. Their energy, enthusiasm, and sincere questions were a delight to encounter each day.

Thanks again to Chaco for serving as a model within the outdoor industry. It is always exciting to know that more and more companies are understanding the need for education of all outdoor enthusiasts.  If individuals and groups do not understand how they can help to protect and preserve these amazing places through simple choices, will there be future customers wishing to buy outdoor gear and apparel for a denuded and impacted landscape?  Think about it...