Community Program Focus: Kids in the Valley, Adventuring

As part of the Education Department, I get the privilege of reading through a lot of awesome grant applications from organizations doing Leave No Trace related programs. I thought I'd share one from our Tools for Teaching Fund, keeping in mind that over $.80 of every dollar the Center takes in goes right back into programming such as this.

This application is from "Kids in the Valley, Adventuring", a free family program in southwest VA. Co-founder Chip Donahue describes how the program got started:

In January of 2008, my wife and I started a free monthly family nature club for the families in the Roanoke, Virginia area. We call it KIVA, Kids In the Valley, Adventuring! and we have been meeting in a different park each since then. Our motto is simple: KIVA - Play, Learn, Volunteer. As a father of three and a second grade teacher, I see the need to encourage families to get out together to ensure that we have more natural stewards in the future.

We maintain a website at www.kidsadventuring.org and produce a monthly newsletter which goes out to over 350 families. Our events have been very successful and we even ended up on the Today show last summer. We write up gear and product reviews to help parents make good choices about things to carry with them on family hikes. We also discuss ways to take care of our environment and always carry bags with us to make sure the park is cleaner by the time we leave.

There are endless ways to get involved with the Leave No Trace program. One of the easiest? Become a member! Your annual dues support programs like the Tools for Teaching Fund, which in turn, generate opportunities for youth and families in your own community.