24 Hours of Cycling for CASA

Lafayette, IN.

This weekend Team East traveled to Lafayette, IN to Subaru of Indiana Automotive (SIA) for a 24 hour cycling challenge.  Over 200 riders came out to test their endurance, enjoy some camaraderie, and raise money for CASA for children.  CASA, Court Appointed Special Advocates, raises money for abused and neglected children in their community.  Through generous donations from riders and their families and friends, this event raised over $37,000!

While on site, we were able to educate the riders in their down time about the principles of Leave No Trace.  We also signed up new Leave No Trace members during the race.  Each new member received a free pair of Smartwool Socks and were entered to win a pair of Chaco Shoes!

Leave No Trace "Lounge"

It was very inspiring to watch these riders all night long, peddling away into the wee hours of the morning, through thick heat and humidity, all in honor of children who need love and support.  Most of the riders are from the Lafayette area, although some traveled from VA, PA, and KY to attend the ride.  Also in attendance was Executive Vice President of SIA, Tom Easterday, who logged many miles for CASA.

We enjoyed our time at SIA, especially the tour of their facility.  The SIA plant is a zero waste facility and has been driving force  here in the Lafayette community since 1987!
Explore Responsibly...Kate & Tracy

Rocky Mountain Folks Fest

Planet Bluegrass celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Folks Fest held every August in Lyons, CO. Camping is available on-site, so for the fourth year in a row, Planet Bluegrass has partnered with the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics to promote the "How Green Is Your Grass?" Campsite Challenge. We challenge festavarians to stop by our booth and let us know how they are being sustainable, creative, and clean at their campsites. A random winner is chosen each day, then from those three entries the grand prize winner is chosen. What is the grand prize you ask? None other than a pass for on-site camping at the festival the following year! The daily winners received an awesome prize package including a pair of Keen Shoes, Planet Bluegrass CDs and DVD, and Bigfoot also threw in a hat, patch, and a one year membership to Leave No Trace. Congratulations to all of the campsites that took the challenge of keeping your grass green!
Speaking of membership...we had twenty festivarians join Leave No Trace as individual members this weekend. Everyone who signed up for a membership at Folks Fest received a pair of Smartwool Socks and were entered in a drawing for a pair of Chaco Shoes or a Seal Line Urban Backpack from Cascade Designs! We want to thank all of our partners who support the Traveling Trainer Program! Also a big shout out goes to all of our volunteers this weekend- Betsy, Lindsey, Alex, Molly, and of course Bigfoot!

Happy Adventuring...Kate & Tracy

How Green Is Your Grass?

We spent the better part of last week at The Telluride Bluegrass Festival. During the festival, we had the pleasure of running and judging How Green is your Grass? - a creative campsite challenge. This contest encourages Festivarians to raise the bar for sustainable camping by honoring campsites that excel in achieving the highest level of sustainability, cleanliness, and creativity during their stay at the festival. There were daily winners each of the four days that are now finalists for the grand prize. Daily winners enjoyed a prize package that included Chaco gear, Clif Bars, and New Belgium Beer. Stay tuned, the winer of the 2009 How Green is your Grass? competition will be announced on the next "Notes from the Planet" email.

In addition to the campsite challenge, the entire festival embraced sustainable living. For example, Eco Products donated compostable bags that were handed out by camp hosts at each of the campgrounds. The New Community Coalition (TNCC) coordinated stations called CRT (Compost, Recycle, Trash) and they were able to provide trained volunteers the entire four days at each station to direct waste to the proper receptacle. Also, Renewable Choice Energy was able to offset all of the travel the bands did to get there. Each year Planet Bluegrass continues to find new and exciting ways to challenge Festivarians to leave their concert space better than they found it. Hats off to everyone who participated in making this years festival a supreme success in sustainability!

Safe Travels...Kate and Tracy