2012 Backyard Sessions

In the last year, the Center has initiated a new focus of incorporating Leave No Trace education into volunteer community-service projects. In 2011, Leave No Trace educators and volunteers facilitated 23 such projects resulting in almost 8000 man hours of trail work, invasive species removal, and clean-ups.

In 2012, the Center's target is 65 such "Backyard Sessions" and the Center is happy to announce that we're well on our way to hitting that goal having nearly a dozen such events already scheduled. This year so far, our hardworking volunteers and supporters have:

• Organized a clean-up of Beaver Lake near Bellvue, WA
• Coordinated with Indiana-based organizations and land mangers for a Community Day of trail/bridge work on the Low Gap Trail near Martinsville.
• Facilitated a PEAK training workshop at REI-Boulder for over 35 people.

These are just a few examples of how the Center is working to bridge the gap between traditional Leave No Trace education and "gloves and shovels" activism. To learn more or get involved, contact Education Programs Coordinator, Jason Grubb, at jason@lnt.org.

Backyard Session in Maine

Freeport, ME. Team East traveled to LL Bean's Flagship store to take part in a Leave No Trace Backyard Session. Hosted by the Maine Steering Committee, this session brought together 45 key volunteers from across the state of Maine. The energy in the room was exhilarating as the group discussed ways to increase training opportunities and awareness of Leave No Trace within their communities. In the photo to the left, Marcia and Gabe Williamson, former Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers and current Maine State Advocates, lead a brainstorming sessions on ways to strengthen and promote Leave No Trace in the state of Maine.

Attending the meeting were representatives from local schools and universities, such as Colby College and the University of Maine, Council leaders from the Boy Scouts of America and US Girl Scouts, staff and volunteers from Maine Island Trails Association and other local conservation groups, the Nature Conservancy and Saco River Recreation Council, local summer camps, and the Maine Bureau of Land Management, just to name a few. It was amazing to see such a diverse group of outdoor enthusiasts and educators come together and share ideas.

As a special thank you to everyone for volunteering their time to participate in the Backyard Session, partners of Leave No Trace donated some fun gear to raffle off at the end of the workshop. Included were materials from the Leave No Trace store, Outdoor Research T-shirts, RestStop Portable Toilets Systems, and one lucky winner walked away with a Keen Shoe gift card!

A special thank you to Charlie Jacobi, Marcia and Gabe Williamson, and the rest of the steering committee for hosting such a rewarding Backyard Session. Also, thank you to LL Bean, a long-time supporter of Leave No Trace, for providing a space for the session!

Explore Responsibly...Kate & Tracy

Le Petite Roche

Little Rock, AR.  It was a whirlwind tour through Central Arkansas.  We had many successful events in both Little Rock and North Little Rock, working with the Parks and Recreation Departments, local boy scout troops, and volunteers of the Arkansas River Trail.  We were fortunate to meet the mayor of North Little Rock, Patrick Henry Hays, who attended our Backyard Session, held at the Witt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center, and our awareness workshop at Burns Park in North Little Rock.
We woke before dawn to speak on Daybreak, the early morning news in Little Rock.  Click here to see our video clip of that interview.
To end the weekend, we traveled to Damascus, AR to be guest presenters at the Quapaw Area Council Leave No Trace Trainer Course held at the state of the art Donald W. Reynolds Training Center on the Blass Scout Reservation.  We want to thank all of the Leave No Trace Master Educators of the Quapaw Council for their hard work in training and educating the scouts and leaders of Central Arkansas in Leave No Trace.  You guys rock!
With so many events in the area, it was no surprise that Bigfoot joined in on the fun.  Check out some of the photos above.
One final thank you to Rob Stephens for being a stellar event host!  We look forward to returning to Central Arkansas for future events.
Explore Responsibly...Kate and Tracy

Boston Backyard Session

On August 15th, Team East and Boston REI hosted a Leave No Trace Backyard Session.  Despite monsoonal-like rain, 25 people came out for an evening of networking, training, and socializing.  Representatives from many local organization came to the event including the Student Conservation Association (SCA), MA Audubon Society, American Camp Association of New England, Youth Enrichment Services (YES), the US Forest Service, and Outdoor Explorations.  With such a diverse group of people gathered, the conversations were plentiful and enthusiastic in regards to ways these organizations can connect with each other on ways to bring Leave No Trace into their community.  To make the evening more exciting, KEEN Shoes donated one free pair of shoes to a lucky participant.  Congratulations to Nunu Stevenson of SCA!  We hope you enjoy many outdoor adventures in your new Keen Shoes.
A special thank you to Dane Tullock, REI Outreach Specialist, for all of his efforts in making this Leave No Trace Backyard Session a successful event.  To find out more about hosting or attending a Leave No Trace Backyard Session in your community, click here!
Explore Responsibly...Kate & Tracy

Leave No Trace in Washington State

Backyard Session at the Seattle Mountaineers June 27th

Bigfoot made a visit to say hello to Washington Leave No Trace supporters!

Last week in Seattle, volunteers, activists, partners and staff joined together for two

Leave No Trace

Backyard Sessions. Outreach Manager Dave Winter, Education Programs Manager Sarah Folzenlogen, and Washington State Advocate Jon Wilmot led the events. These evening sessions provided an important opportunity to network with over 50 existing Master Educators, Trainers, members and partners. Leave No Trace Partners from Seattle (Cascade Designs, Outdoor Research, myscenicedrives.com, Eddie Bauer, The Mountaineers, Washington Water Trails Association) set up small displays and provided giveaways for those in attendance. Attendees were encouraged to get involved and were introduced to some new volunteer opportunities within Mount Rainier National Park this summer.

The park service has three great opportunities for you to get involved if you live in the Seattle area. Mount Rainier National Park is looking for over 40 volunteers to help with routing trails through the snow at Paradise, assisting the revegetation crews with planting and with outreach during the Keep Wild Life Wild weekend in August. If you are interested in any of these volunteer opportunities please email Dave@LNT.org.

Washington Volunteer State Advocate Jon Wilmot was pleased

to meet many new key volunteers, including

Rangers from the park and to

learn more about the Centers work with Mt Rainier

. Jon is planning on building on these two sessions and is looking forward to hosting a Leave No Trace Backyard Session this summer in his hometown of Spokane Washington.

These two sessions provided the following updates on the Centers work so far with Mt. Rainier in 2011.

Mt. Rainier National Park Hot Spot Update– The Center has been working with staff from the National Park Service (NPS) on strategies for minimizing recreation-related impacts in the Paradise area of the Park. In consultation with NPS staff, the Center will provide the following services for the Park (some of this work is already underway):

1. Provide training for key park staff and volunteers. Center staff provided Leave No Trace training for both existing and new volunteers, known as Meadow Rovers, at the Park on June 25th and 26th. Theses trainings aimed at better integrating Leave No Trace into the work of the Meadow Rovers. Both trainings had over 40 attendees who left the training with new tools to effectively disseminating Leave No Trace information to park visitors.
2. Provide expert review of the situation at Paradise. Center staff enlisted the expertise of leading recreation ecologists and protected area managers to provide input and advise for strategies on minimizing the recreation-related impacts at Paradise. These experts reviewed the situation at the Park and provided consultation on both direct and indirect management actions that could minimize and/or mitigate the damage from off-trail hiking.

3. Draft recommendations and language for signage to be placed in the Paradise area to help keep visitors on trails and off the fragile meadows found in the area. Center staff drafted a comprehensive suite of recommendations for Park managers, from which managers can make better-informed decisions based on new research for dealing with the impacts at Paradise.

4. The Center will provide funding for the production of signage for use in the Paradise area in order to keep visitors on designated trails.

5. Generate significant media coverage. The Center has distributed two national press releases about Mt. Rainier’s Hot Spot designation, which have been run by over a dozen newspapers in western Washington and other print media outlets. Additionally, the Center will leverage its social media network of over 75,000 individuals to further raise awareness about Paradise.

Meadow Rovers discuss ethics and how they can help visitors build their own outdoor ethic.

First Seattle Backyard Session a Success

April 18, 2011, Seattle, WA: The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics conducted a Backyard Session in Seattle, Washington to discuss this year’s Hot Spot at Mount Rainier National Park’s Paradise Area. Mount Rainier National Park rangers, Jordan Mammel and Christine Czazasty, presented an overview of impacts related to recreation at the popular Paradise area within Mount Rainier National Park. Mount Rainier stands as an icon of the Pacific Northwest and it was evident that there is incredible enthusiasm around Mount Rainier and Leave No Trace Programs within the Seattle area. Dave Winter, Leave No Trace’s Outreach Manager, moderated the discussion and lunch held at Seattle’s downtown REI store.

Along with representative from the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, individual members, board member and Mount Rainier National Park, participants included representatives from Cascade Designs, Outdoor Research, Eddie Bauer, REI, Groundspeak, Washington Trails Association, The Student Conservation Association, Rainier Mountaineering Incorporated, My Scenic Drives.com, and The Mountaineers.

The next Seattle Backyard Session will be held in June:

June 27th at The Mountaineers Program Center in Seattle, 7-9pm
June 28th at The Seattle REI Flagship Store, 6:30-8pm

If you live in the Seattle area, we would like to invite you to join area educators, partners, volunteers and members to sign up for volunteer opportunities at Mount Rainier National Park, learn about upcoming Leave No Trace trainings in the area and discuss all things Leave No Trace for your community.

About Backyard Sessions
Backyard Sessions encourage Leave No Trace community activism and create a platform for training, environmental youth programs and Leave No Trace–based stewardship activities. Through the Backyard Session program, like-minded people gather together in local communities across the country for fun, social and interactive events to learn how to incorporate Leave No Trace where they live and play. Learn more or bring a Backyard Session to your community at Backyard Sessions.

Leave No Trace Backyard Session in Missoula

Last Thursday night saw yet another fun and informative Leave No Trace Backyard Session at the REI store in Missoula. In addition to having Ben Lawhon, Leave No Trace Education Director in attendance, Leave No Trace Master Course Provider and longstanding US Forest Service partner, Bob Hoverson from the Ninemile Wildlands Training Center was there too. Bigfoot even made an appearance!



The Session drew lots of folks from the Missoula area who were either existing Leave No Trace members, educators and supporters or who were interested in learning more about the program. Attendees included US Forest Service staff, University of Montana faculty, Girl Scout leaders, REI employees and others. The group viewed the new Leave No Trace public service announcements, learned about what the Center is focusing on in 2011 and heard about Bob Hoverson's programs at Ninemile, including his Master Educator Course efforts.






It was a great event, and helped to further connect the Leave No Trace dots in Missoula. We'd like to thank both the REI Missoula staff for their hospitality and Bob Hoverson for coming out to talk about Ninemile. If you're interested in hosting a Backyard Session in your town or for your community, please contact Bigfoot@LNT.org or visit: http://lnt.org/01_community/backyard_sessions.php

Going Local: 2011 Backyard Sessions!

In 2011, the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics introduces a new social activism and environmental stewardship program called the Backyard Sessions. Backyard Sessions bring together and activate local communities to find ways to incorporate Leave No Trace into all of the ways we live and play.

Backyard Sessions are social events where all types of Leave No Trace supporters, members, volunteers and partners will gather, meet new friends, learn about current Leave No Trace programs, make plans, share food, drink and camaraderie. Sessions may include the following elements:

· Opportunity to meet others in your community, volunteers and Leave No Trace staff at local REI or other retailer, park or open space

· Outdoor service project like a clean up or trail work

· Kids training utilizing our PEAK program activities

· Family outdoor activity, from a hike to picnic in local or state park

· Leave No Trace Awareness Workshop

· Guest speakers (partners, science/research resident experts and others who will talk about their involvement with Leave No Trace)

· Bigfoot appearance and Bigfoot Challenge

Check out this video about the Houston, TX Backyard Session that took place on February 26th, 2011. A complete listing of the Center's 2011 slate of Backyard Sessions will be published soon so stay tuned. If you are interested in learning more about Backyard Session, contact Outreach Manager Dave Winter.

Leave No Trace Volunteerism

We are coming upon national volunteer month in another few weeks, so thought I'd take this opportunity to recognize our awesome State Advocate volunteers. These individuals serve as volunteer coordinators in their state, assisting Leave No Trace educators and volunteers with local efforts to promote and teach minimum impact outdoor ethics.

The State Advocate Program is sponsored by Keen Footwear’s Hybrid.Care, which helps fund community events and programs. This year, State Advocates will be instrumental in helping organize or promote the Leave No Trace "Backyard Sessions."

The "Backyard Sessions" are community social events to generate local support and volunteerism for the the Leave No Trace program. With successful Backyard Sessions having occurred already in San Diego and Houston, stay tuned for one near you in the coming months.

If you haven't already, check in with your State Advocate to find out what's going on in your area: http://lnt.org/01_community/index.php

If you notice a vacancy in your state, contact sarah@LNT.org to find out how to apply for this volunteer position!

Photo above: Our ID Advocate Paul Holle at a Sierra Trading Post event.