Monday, June 29, 2009

Great American Backyard Campout



Camping in Oakland?  You bettcha!  The third Annual Great American Backyard Campout took place in the City of Oakland’s Joaquin Miller Park.  Family campers gathered on Saturday afternoon to experience the joys of camping and the discovery of nature.  The Leave No Trace e-tour was on hand to educate campers on the seven principles of Leave No Trace and how to responsibly enjoy the park, its resources, and other areas folks may travel to in future outings.  We welcome the Great American Backyard Campout as partners and are excited to provide education and outreach at many of their events in the future.

 

Happy Trails,

 Topher and Alexis 

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Skylark Ranch



Yesterday we ran 6 awareness workshops to 124 Girl Scouts at the SkyLark Ranch. The ranch is 300 acres and nestled right between Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz on the Coast of California, surrounded by red wood trees in a temperate rainforest. We worked with girls that were 10- 16 years old, and even some counselors in training. The scouts attend week long sessions, with certain activities as their focus like horse back riding,  climbing, sea kayaking,  archery, and primitive camping. We focused on a variety of principles with the girls, and played games from the PEAK and TEEN pack. Two of our last programs at the camp were working with the Gillys or the primitive camping scouts which are some what removed from the rest of camp, and they make and sleep and in tree beds, and truly ruff it! We really enjoyed all the scouts and their amazing counselors at camp! Thank you to Tori aka Batgirl, our program host for everything and having us at one of the most amazing camps we have seen!


Happy Trails from the E-Tour, 
Alexis & Topher 

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Nevada Outdoor School



Winnemucca Nevada is home to the Nevada Outdoor School. They are a non-profit organization that fosters knowledge and respect for all living and non-living things, increases scientific literacy, and promotes ecological stewardship in rural Nevada and beyond. We worked with one of their summer groups today 10 students and 4 NOS staff. The group is setting out on a hiking and overnight trip tomorrow in Water Canyon of Northern Nevada. Their trip offered the perfect setting to teach Leave No Trace, and how to recreate responsibly. During the three  hour awareness workshop we  covered all the Principles, and how they are related to the specific trip they are going on. We focused heavily on Know Before You Go, by playing “How Prepared Are You?” in the Teen Peak Pack. This activity allowed the participants to work together and discuss all the gear needed for an overnight hiking trip, and what questions to ask their trip leaders.  After covering the importance of trip planning we covered the other principles and played a variety of games; Step on It, How Long Does It Last, Stealing the Wow, and demonstrations on Leave No Trace Fires.  We hope the trip is a success in Water Canyon, and sparks many  more outdoor adventures for the group.

Wanted to Thank the Nevada Outdoor School and their staff (Rachel, Jessica, Bonnie, and Amanda) for having us, and hope y’all have an amazing summer!

 

Happy Trails,

Alexis & Topher 

Home for a Day



After our program in Utah we were able to a squeeze in some  time In Lake Tahoe, the place  we call Home! Making the most of our time on the North Shore and with friends we hit up the Tahoe Rim Trail and Mountain Biked one of the most popular sections at Tahoe Meadows Trailhead to Tunnel Creek, 12 miles of technical rock features and scenic vistas of Lake Tahoe. After riding we hit up Old County, a sweet Bouldering spot in Tahoe City. The next day we went and climbed bunch of sport routes at Big Chief in the Truckee River Valley, one of our favorite spots to climb overhanging juggy basalt rock! There isn’t enough time in the day to get in all of our favorite recreational spots in Tahoe, but we sure did squeeze in as much as possible in two days, while also catching up with friends. Now we are off to Winnemucca, Nevada to work with the Nevada Outdoor School!

Happy Trails from the E-tour,

 

Alexis & Topher  

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge




Today we joined our Utah State Advocte Kathy Stopher at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Brigham City, Utah.  They had a Movie Premier at the Refuge, "Wings of Thunder", and we were there as well to do outreach and education. We talked to Children and Families on the importance of practicing Leave No Trace, and respecting wildlife. We had a small interpretive trail set up outside, but unfortunately the weather was not so great and rained out our Leave No Trace Trail, so we tabled inside instead.  Other activities that were going on were face painting, Making Bird masks, and the interpretive center activities inside the refuge visitor center. This is our second time doing outreach in the area, last fall we conducted a Trainer Course for the Refuge Centers volunteers and staff, and this year worked right beside them at the visitor center. Thanks again to Kathy for bringing us back, and having us at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. 

Happy Trails from the E-Tour, 

Alexis & Topher 

SOS PEAK Training

Friday afternoon we met with SOS Outdoor Guides in Minturn, Colorado. SOS & Meet the Wilderness have merged, and have been doing Outdoor Education programs since 1993.  They focus on winter sports, rock climbing, backpacking, and challenge course programs for teens. We worked with 8 Field staff who are getting ready for the summer program season, and had their first day of staff training on Friday. SOS is a recipient of the Leave No Trace Connect Grant, and we were their to teach the staff how to facilitate the Teen Peak Pack. We covered three of the activities; How Prepared are You?, Principle Presentation, and the Ethics Game. The SOS staff were already very knowledgeable of Leave NO Trace, which made teaching the PEAK pack very easy and fun. 

We wanted to Thank Dan for having us, and hope the summer season is a success!  

Coleman Outreach




While in Colorado we have been able to do outreach at two of the Coleman Factory Outlet Stores Castle Rock & Loveland. Coleman is a Partner of Leave No Trace, and is the official sponsor for the Leave No Trace E- Tour for the past three years. Without their support and dedication to the Outdoors we would not be able to do the amount of outreach and education while on the road.  While at both Coleman locations we talked with shoppers about the skills and ethics of Leave No Trace, and ways to get involved and support the organization. We also ran two awareness workshops to local scouts.  Since the scouts are getting ready for summer outings and trips, we talked about the impact we see and how to be more responsible. 

We wanted to Thank all the employees at Coleman and our Contact hosts Sally and Doug for having us at your store! 

Happy Trails from the E-tour, 

Alexis & Topher 

Monday, June 15, 2009

National Get Outdoors Day


This past saturday Leave No Trace teamed up with the organization called Stay the Trail at National Get Outdoors Day at City Park in Downtown Denver. The event had around 7,000 attendees, and we talked to around 500 participants. We had an interpretive trail set up at the event, that mirrored the 7 principles of Leave No Trace and how to be a responsible while out recreating. Families, children, and students hiked the trail, and stop at interpretive signs and stations along the trail. Some of the stops along the trail were a downed tree obstacle, a plan ahead a prepare station, a cultural artifact/ wildflower station, a campsite station, a wildlife viewing station, switchbacks, and multiple trail user stop along the trail. Once participants finished the trail they received a stamp for their Jr. Ranger passport, a mini first aid kit, and a mini Coleman lantern. The trail taught participants how to make good decisions while hiking, and how to minimize your impact while camping. 
It was a great event, and we want to give Justin and Adam from Stay the Trail and Sarah our Education Program Coordinator a BIG THANK YOU! 
Happy Trails the E-tour, 
Alexis & Topher  

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

The Peoples Fair



This past Saturday & Sunday in Downtown Denver was the 38th Annual Peoples Fair at the Civic Park.  There were 250,000 people at the event, 350 vendors, and we probably talked to 2,000 people during the two day event. We were with other "Green" vendors like the Bike Depot in Denver and the Eco Car Share non-profit in Boulder. There were a large number of other non-profit exhibitors and lots of local artists and musicians.  Festival goers were able to grab any of our educational materials, and play a little trivia for a cool coleman prize, Thanks Coleman!! Our next event is in Colorado at the Coleman Factory Outlet of Loveland!

Happy Trails, 

Alexis & Topher 

Friday, June 5, 2009

Boundary Waters

Closing out our tour through the mid-west we found time to slip up to the Boundary Waters for three days of paddling and camping on the Kawishiwi River.  National Geographic was right when they selected this area for the top 50 must-do trips of a lifetime.  Our days were filled with paddling and portaging deep into the wilderness where we discovered just why this area draws so many people each year.  Even though we saw several other boats on the water, this area is so vast that the majority of the time we had that wondrous feeling of solitude.  Each day we would paddle to our next camp and each night we were rewarded with great campsites where we were the only ones around.  

The Boundary Waters is host to a diverse array of wildlife including, bears, wolves, moose and deer, as well as a variety of water fowl, fish, and turtles.  Due to the volume of visitors, the National Forest Service requires that all visitors must run through a checklist related to Leave No Trace Skills and Ethics.  We will say that this has managed to keep the area relatively pristine, but still there are some folks who do not heed the permit regulations, and desecrate the land by leaving trash and food, and having fires in undesignated locations and burning their trash.  All these abuses damage the land, threaten wildlife, and impact other visitors experience.  With all this said, the fact still remains that this is an amazingly beautiful, and spiritual area.  

Happy Trails, 

Topher & Alexis  

Crag Cleanup


Our latest endeavor found the e-tour on the border of Minnesota and Wisconsin in the Interstate Parks area of the St. Croix River Valley.   Teaming up with the Minnesota Climbers Association, and our dedicated State Advocate Dave Rasmussen, we tackled cleaning up the Taylors Falls climbing area.  The day started off with small teams of climbers policing up the various crags for litter.   Participants helped clean up everything from cigarette butts and diapers to fishing line, hooks, and various beverage containers.

After the cleanup we met with area climbers and conducted an awareness workshop related to climbing.   The presentation stressed the importance of leaving nothing behind and stewardship of our lands.  It also touched on relevant issues pertaining to the impacts of climbing on the environment.  After it was all said and done we even had the opportunity to partake in some of the finest climbing in the region.  We would like to thank our Advocate Dave and the good folks at the Minnesota Climbers Association for welcoming us and and promoting stewardship in the climbing community.         


Happy Trails, 

Topher & Alexis