Looking out my back door

Hope you are having a wonderful holiday season! Probably like me, many of your are taking this time to relax, reorganize and reinvigorate.

I've been going through my photos from the last twelve months and there were a lot of great trips and memories! However, this photo was, by far, one of my favorites - my backyard in the summer time.

Rarely does Denver look this green but we were pretty fortunate to have a wet late Spring, which means tree plantings and thriving vegetable gardens.

Here's to your favorite green space, be it your backyard, or the backcountry. Thanks for helping support Leave No Trace in 2010 - see you next year!

Sarah

Osprey Packs, Kids Essay Contest - September Winner!

Congratulations to the September winner of Osprey's Kids Essay Contest, Isabella Zimmer!

The Kids Essay Contest is a monthly submission contest run by Osprey Packs that encourages kids to tell us about their most memorable outdoor experiences, and how they practiced Leave No Trace along the way.

To read Isabella's essay, "A Story of a Day in Little Wild Horse Canyon," you can visit the Kids Essay Contest website.

Keep up the great work, Isabella!

Leave No Trace Trainer Course with Rocky Mountain Youth Corps

This past weekend I had the pleasure of co-instructing a Leave No Trace Trainer Course with the Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainer Senior Team, JD Tanner and Emily Ressler.  Over the two day course, we worked with Crew Leaders and employees of the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps, in Taos, NM.  

We had a great course in Carson National Forest, enduring some significant rain, learning how to teach Leave No Trace skills and ethics and, of course, having fun.  If you're an educator, youth leader, Boy Scout/Girl Scout leader, or just curious to learn more about Leave No Trace and how to teach others, I encourage you to learn more about the Trainer Course here.

National Get Outdoors Day - Denver, CO (6/14)

Free Event at Sloan’s Lake Park to introduce outdoor recreation opportunities to Denver youth.

On Saturday, June 14th, 2008, dozens of Community Partners, City, County, State, and Federal organizations will be highlighting outdoor recreation opportunities to kids during National Get Outdoors Day from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in Denver’s Sloan’s Lake Park at North Stuart and West 23rd Avenue.

Some of the activities will include:
* Climbing Wall 

* Wildlife Tracking in the sand
* Mountain Biking 

* “How-To” Demonstrations about Camping
* Canoeing 

* A “Ropes” Course
* Fossil Identification 

* “Tent” Raising Competitions
* Coloring Pages 

* Live Animal Displays

At the Junior Ranger Camp, youth can:
Become a Junior Ranger
Learn Map Reading
Explore land, water, and wildlife
Learn Outdoor Safety Skills
Participate in a Scavenger Hunt

Prizes will be awarded for participation in dozens of activities. Coleman Outdoor Products will be providing a complete camping outfit for a family of four as one of the prizes.

The U.S. Forest Service will be conducting Mule Packing demonstrations using their Rocky Mountain Region Specialty Pack String. (Mule Team)

National Get Outdoors Day is designed to get kids out of doors. Participating partners will offer opportunities for urban families to experience all types of outdoor activities. This unique event is designed to excite visitors about public lands and to introduce urban youth to the great outdoors.

Get your summer started and get outdoors by participating in the Denver Get Outdoors Day on Saturday, June 14, 2008 at Sloan’s Lake Park.

You can reach the park by riding the 28 RTD Bus, then use the Quitman Street and West 23rd Avenue stop and walk two blocks west to the event.

For more information visit: www.nationalgetoutdoorsday.org

Contact: For local information, please contact:
Ms. Jasmine Armstrong, Outreach Coordinator, National Park Service, Denver Get Outdoors Day, 303-969-2489 or email at Jasmine_Armstrong@nps.gov

Leave No Trace at Dirt Days for Earth Day

This past Saturday I had a nostalgic experience in the world of Leave No Trace – my “First Anniversary Event.” Exactly one year ago, I participated in a local Earth Day event, Dirt Days, after having only been working at Leave No Trace for 3 days.

Having come full circle after a year of work at Leave No Trace, including participation in other events, and even attending and completing a Master Educator course, I can say that this year’s Dirt Days event was a fantastic occasion to use as a one-year marker.

After a delicious breakfast at the Farmer’s Market, my colleague, Catherine Smith, and I spent a beautiful, blue-sky day on the lawn of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), which plays host to this event each year. Organized in conjunction with the Boulder Adventure Film Festival, Dirt Days seems to get bigger, more successful, and more fun for the entire community each year.

There is something to be said for seeing the pure enjoyment on kids’ faces as they explore the outdoors. Hundreds of examples crossed our paths on Saturday, some with faces brightly painted, others plunging seeds in biodegradable planters, and some careening along a designated trail fitted with a pack holding 10 percent of their body weight. Not to mention, several kids with chocolate from cookies baked in a solar oven smeared all over their face (usually matching the chocolate on their parents’ faces, as well).

Even better is seeing the lasting result of this exposure and new appreciation for the outdoors. Shortly after the event ended, I found myself running on a trail near my neighborhood. Up ahead of me were two girls and a boy, who were trading a single pack amongst them and practicing running down the middle of the trail, negotiating the rocks, and communicating their quick approach to others (over and over again). Off the back of their small pack was a Leave No Trace Kids Reference Card – a bright yellow reminder for kids on how to play outside, responsibly. I couldn’t help but smile and give them all high fives as we passed each other.



-Sara Close

Taking It Personally

By Rick Crosson
Vice President for Subaru of America and Chair of the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics' Board of Directors

Think back to when you first saw something in nature that awed you. For me, no matter how many years go by (and it has been quite a few now), that first vision is still vivid and fresh.

It was during my youth. We were on a weeklong summer trip that this time included hiking and camping through a variety of settings - from a spring-fed, clear water river to grassy meadowlands to rugged hill tops. The 2,600 plus acre site was in the midst of the Texas Hill country on land called the Devil’s Backbone. It was hot and the stillness in the air added to the central Texas heat. As we made our way up an incline, we were focused on our shoes and just making it to the top of a hill. Suddenly, we crested a ridge and the vista popped open. A rugged landscape was visible for miles and miles. Interspersed were patches of green meadows and gorges where I imagined water was gurgling. The air was moving at the ridge top, and the sweat from the effort to get there, now cooled me down. I heard the breeze rustling through the cedar and other trees, and saw the birds floating freely up and down as they road the thermal air waves. It could be described as nothing less than breath taking. I realized how small I was in the whole scheme of the earth.

We were following established trails with clearly defined camp sites and cooking areas. Although I didn’t know it at the time, our leaders were following the seven principles of Leave No Trace. We planned and prepared for the trip. We camped on durable surfaces and minimized the impact of our campfires. We didn’t take souvenirs. We packed our waste in and out. We were careful in observing the wildlife and were mindful of the other groups also trekking.

Since then, I have had the wonderful opportunity to visit many parts of the United States and other countries. I have enjoyed unique places like Yellowstone and Petrified Forest and walked on a frozen over Walden Pond. I camped at Watkins Glen, walked parts of the Appalachian Trail in five different states, and visited the Outer Banks, the Amalfi coast, Caribbean reefs and most recently viewed wildlife in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. I felt a similar awe of nature and experienced the calmness that generates from the greatness in these environments.

I have been involved with Leave No Trace for almost five years as a board member and have the privilege to be Chairperson for this year and next. If someone asked me what is important about Leave No Trace and its mission, it would be those personal sights and lasting visions. Leave No Trace is a way to promote the responsible use and enjoyment of this beautiful land and the vistas to which we have been entrusted. It’s not about protecting or preserving the environment for me. Those words sound too restrictive. It is about allowing my children, and someday hopefully my grandchildren and their children, that same opportunity I had to be awed.

I believe that education and awareness is a key to that responsible use – teach the children, engaged the parents, show them how and the future will be bright. Leave No Trace is at the forefront of that education.

What is your first place of awe and wonder?

-RC