First Quarter Grants Awarded

The Education Department was pleased to award its first rounds of grants for both the Packing with PEAK and Tools for Teaching programs. Over 15 PEAK packs as well as educational materials were awarded to Leave No Trace community projects. Notable grant recipients included:

- Wonders of Wildlife (WOW), Springfield, MO. WOW is focused on wildlife conservation and serves youth through five outdoor education schools across the state of Missouri. WOW programs use volunteers from various land management agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Leave No Trace related activities will be incorporated into their programs.

-Headwaters Youth Conservation Corps (HYCC), NY. HYCC program conducts environmental restoration projects and education programs each summer. This summer, the Green Summer education program will focus on the theme of Leave No Trace Outdoor Ethics with youth ages 5-17. One of the youth will participate in a service project based on what they learned from Leave No Trace.

To learn more about Leave No Trace grants visit:http://lnt.org/programs/grants.php

Connect Grant Recipient: School of the Arts

Tracy explains the rules of Minimum Impact Match

San Francisco, CA. Leave No Trace offers three different Grants that award opportunities for organizations or individuals to receive FREE educational materials. Leave No Trace also offers a fourth grant, in the form of a scholarship, that provides partial course tuition towards a 5 day Master Educator course. For more information on the grants and scholarship programs, CLICK HERE.

The Center's hope is that these grants will encourage people to bring Leave No Trace into their communities. Please consider applying today!

One of the grants, called Connect Grant, is designed to provide direct support and training for organizations and people that serve culturally diverse communities. The Center for Outdoor Ethics recently awarded a Connect Grant to the San Francisco School of the Arts. This high school is expanding its environmental sustainability program, which includes a 4 day trip to Yosemite National Park in the spring. We were able to chat with students that are attending the trip and provide insight on the importance of practicing Leave No Trace on their outing. For most of these students, this will be their first time camping and their only experience in a wilderness area. Their teacher, Andy Padlo, has been educating his students about Leave No Trace by utilizing the education materials he received through the Connect Grant. As Traveling Trainers, it is rewarding for us to work with the community leaders that are passionate about connecting people, youth especially, with the natural world. We commend Mr. Padlo and the enthusiasm with which he shares his passion about the outdoors with his students. Have so much fun on your trip!

Explore Responsibly...Kate & Tracy

Connect Grants- Deadline Extended!

Connect Grants for Culturally Diverse Communities provide Leave No Trace educational materials, training and partnership to programs working with multicultural communities.

The deadline this year has been extended to November 1, 2009.

For more information on Connect, and to apply, please visit: http://lnt.org/programs/connect_grants.php

View the photos below for information on past recipients. Please direct any questions, comments or inquiries to grants@LNT.org. We look forward to hearing from you!

View more presentations or Upload your own.

A Third Deadline for Leave No Trace Connect Grants

Connect Grants for Culturally Diverse Communities—Extended Deadline Nov. 1, 2009

Connect Grants help support Leave No Trace education and outreach in multicultural communities. Grants can be directed toward educational materials, teaching resources, training and course scholarships, as well as partnership with the Center. Please note, these grants specifically focus on programs within the United States. The Center is unable to award international grants at this time.

To apply, please visit our online application: http://lnt.org/programs/grantproposal.php
More more information about Connect Grants, please visit: http://lnt.org/programs/connect_grants.php

For questions or inquiries, please email or call Sarah Folzenlogen in the Education Department at 303.442.8222 x 107.

Take a Kid to Camp

I received an email last week from the organization cityWILD. They were selected as one of 10 organizations nationwide that would be benefiting from Mountain Hardwear's "Send a Kid to Camp" campaign.

cityWILD was a Connect Grant recipient through the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, as well as Outdoor Outreach, another organization selected to be part of this campaign.

"Send a Kid to Camp" is a great example of the outdoor industry giving back to its community. Here is a summary of the program from the Mountain Hardwear website:

YOUR click can help Send a Kid to Camp. For every visitor to the Send a Kid to Camp site, Mountain Hardwear will donate $1 towards this program. Help us spread the word. Between now and April 15th, you and your friends can click to Send a Kid to Camp. You may return every day to donate!

As the website mentions, you can click through once a day until April 15th. It's an easy way to show your support for outdoor youth programs in your region, and it makes you feel good!

Click away!