Thank You Donors!

The e-tour would love to thank all the generous donors who have been giving towards our educational mission to bring Leave No Trace to deserving youth around the country. We are excited to have such ardent believers in making meaningful connections to our environment possible for kids everywhere. The both of us are genuinely grateful for your messages of encouragement and patronage.

If you're a fan of Leave No Trace support the e-tour for a day, a week, or more!

Mark and Tara

2011 e-tour team

Photo of the Week 6.26.11

Buttermilk Falls, Ithaca, NY

Mark and Tara

2011 e-tour team

Adventures NYC

Yesterday the e-tour joined City of New York Parks and Recreation, Backpacker Magazine, and The North Face at Adventures NYC in Central Park. Beautiful weather and the Unified Bouldering Championships brought the crowds out in force. We challenged people to Dispose of Waste Properly while investigating how long common trash items last when left outside. Many folks were shocked at the idea that landfills hamper decomposition, even for food scrap items and other 'natural' waste.

This puppy enjoyed the festivities while catching a ride and keeping cool. It's easy to dispose of your pet waste properly when they are kept on a leash... or in a stroller:)

Mark and Tara

2011 e-tour team

Photo of the Week 6.18.11

The e-tour strolled around the grounds at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA. Thousands of species of flora, impressive vegetable plantings, water gardens, forested knolls and many engaging exhibits for children allowed for hours of sensory excitement. We found their attention to the auditory experience a fresh approach to the old standby of a garden stroll. Wood block instruments, chimes, fountains, and insects provided a pleasing soundtrack to the meandering paths throughout the property.

Mark and Tara

2011 e-tour team

Christodora-Manice Education Center

Florida, MA. The e-tour provided a Leave No Trace Awareness Workshop to the seasonal staff of the Manice Education Center in the Berkshire mountains of Northwest Massachusetts. They are preparing for their first round of campers to arrive to participate in environmental education and leadership development courses including multi-day excursions into wilderness settings. Most of the campers they see have never left New York City before and no one is denied participation due to financial need. The staff will be teaching their campers how to Leave No Trace on their trips backpacking and canoeing while encouraging a spirit of cooperation and self-confidence guiding participants toward a broader understanding of themselves, their environment and their community.

Thanks for such a great visit!

Mark and Tara

2011 e-tour team

Bigfoot spotted again!

Greenbrier State Park, MD. Last weekend the e-tour found Bigfoot coming off the Appalachian Trail to meet up with his friends at the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) Day and Picnic. The PATC, operated by large committees of dedicated and energetic volunteers, maintain 240 miles of the Appalachian Trail (stretching 2175 miles between Maine and Georgia) and also maintain other regional trails totalling over 1000 miles.

Bigfoot checks out a map with Trail Patrol members Courtney, Barb, Murry, Bob and Cindy.

We enjoyed three days of engaging conversation, laughs, and yummy food with the Trail Patrol committee who is the education and outreach section of the PATC. Throughout the year they offer a number of outdoor skills classes for the public including backpacking, hike leadership, CPR, backcountry first aid and Leave No Trace Outdoor Ethics! Thank you to all our new Potomac Appalachian Trail Club friends for the hard work you continue to accomplish!

Get outside and take a class to have some fun and improve your skills!

Mark and Tara

2011 e-tour team

The North Face Endurance Challenge: D.C.

Bigfoot broke a sweat catching up with athletes at the latest installment of The North Face Endurance Challenge series. Just outside our nation's capitol along the banks of the Potomac River participants took to the trails at Algonkian Regional Park in races ranging from 5 km to 50 miles. After crossing the finish line and catching their breath many of the runners marveled at the hard work of The North Face's Leave No Trace volunteers who kept the course clean all weekend long. While Bigfoot posed on the podium the e-tour team educated and entertained the youth in attendance with interactive games illustrating the importance of recreating responsibly.

Mark and Tara

2011 e-tour team

Baltimore Inner City Outings

How Long Does it Last?

6/7/11. The e-tour spent a couple hours after school with students at Digital Harbor High School in Baltimore, MD. Many of the students at the workshop were gearing up and preparing for summer and fall adventures with Baltimore Inner City Outings (BICO). Founded in 1999, the goal of BICO is to provide under-served Baltimore City youth with educational, enjoyable and safe experiences at no cost to them.

The students reflected on how important it is to Trash Your Trash by considering how long it really takes for some of our common trash and recyclables to break down in nature and played an exciting game of Step on It! Challenging themselves to understand which surfaces are more durable while they Stick to Trails.

Mark and Tara

2011 e-tour team

Photo of the Week 6.12.11

The e-tour took a morning stroll at Patapsco Valley State Park and found the "Swinging Bridge" to be a welcome respite from the hot, humid weather that Maryland has been having lately. The bridge was originally constructed to allow passage for the Orange Grove mill workers to pass between their settlement and the mill. The remnants of their historic workplace can still be inspected by visitors to this cool and shady retreat only minutes from downtown Baltimore. We were thrilled to see bicyclists striving to Be Considerate Of Other Visitors, obeying signage asking two wheeled travelers to walk their bike across the span. It's a long way down to the waters of the Patapsco River, and as you can see, space on the narrow bridge is at a premium.

Mark and Tara

2011 e-tour team

Merryland

The e-tour team has been spending some time in the fine state of Maryland. Two of those events were in conjunction with Maryland State Parks. At Rocky Gap State Park we joined in the training of over sixty exuberant interpretive staff members, who will be entering their busy summer season with an aim to incorporate the principles of Leave No Trace into their already stellar park programming. A very special thanks to Matthew Ritter, Maryland Park Service Chief of Interpretation for keeping the camping close by, and far from a rumbling tummy.

We enjoyed a perfect summer day on the shores of the Chesapeake with thousands of kids gearing up for their time away from the classroom, and out of doors at the Maryland Green School Youth Summit. We taught a lot of aspiring outdoor enthusiasts how to Know Before You Go, to keep them having fun on all of their adventures. Mark had been looking forward to this event ever since he found out there was going to be a kite rally!

Mark and Tara

2011 e-tour team

Picture of the Week 6.4.11

Sunrise over the Chesapeake Bay. Better than coffee:)

Virginia Heights

Compton Overlook

Last week after a short hike in Shenandoah National Park, the e-tour had an amazing evening and delicious bbq dinner with our Virginia State Advocate Laurie Harmon and her husband Randy. The following morning we had the opportunity to introduce the Leave No Trace principles to her Outdoor Education and Leadership class at George Mason University in Manassas, VA. During the lesson, we also had time to play a few activities with her students such as "The Ethics Game" from the TEEN Activity Pack and "Minimum Impact Match" from the PEAK Activity Pack that these aspiring outdoor educators can add to their bag of tricks for future use.

Susan, Dan and Laurie

After the class, Laurie introduced us to Susan and Dan at The EDGE: Mason Center for Team and Organizational Learning who recently received a Leave No Trace Connect Grant. The EDGE has a mission to challenge the members of the global community to better understand themselves, those around them, and their world by using innovative approaches that educate, inspire and empower. We enjoyed a full tour of their facility and wished we had more time in our schedule to enliven our sense of adventure in their daring treetop playgrounds.

The Tower

Connect Grants are primarily focused on providing support and training to people and organizations that work with culturally diverse communities. To learn more and apply click here.

We hope you have the opportunity to get out and challenge yourself this week. Have fun!

Mark and Tara

2011 e-tour team