Whidbey Island Trainer Course

On Tuesday and Wednesday, we traveled to Whidbey Island in WA to provide a Leave No Trace Trainer Course. This is the second year in a row for us at Whidbey Island. We had participants from the US Forest Service, North Cascades Institute, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, as well as staff from the US Naval Recreation Program. With all of this diversity, the course was beaming with insightful and thoughtful discussions of the skills and ethics of Leave No Trace. We had perfect weather for the course and spent an afternoon hiking at Deception Pass State Park. We are excited at the prospect of having this be an annual course held at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station! A big thanks to Dave Meyers for hosting an amazing course and congratulations to our 8 new Leave No Trace Trainers! Please enjoy this slideshow of photos taken during the course.

Happy Adventuring...Kate and Tracy

Whidbey Island Trainer Course

Whidbey Island is a beautiful area in off the coast of Washington. With dense forests, vast beaches, and plenty of recreational opportunities, the island was a perfect location for a trainer course. The weather more than cooperated as we explored Leave No Trace both at the campground at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station and at Deception Pass State Park.

All seven participants on the course were excited to learn ways to incorporate Leave No Trace into their lives, whether it be working with boy scouts, leading mountaineering trips, working with the Washington Trails Association, or teaching their family and friends. Over the two days we all learned and laughed a lot! Some of us had new experiences- SPAM and eggs or banana boats- but all of us enjoyed our first Swedish candle! Thanks again to Dave Myers for all his hard work in setting up this weeks events- you are the best Big Bear!

Safe travels...Kate and Tracy

Great American Backyard Campout

Over the weekend, we took part in the Great American Backyard Campout on Whidbey Island in Washington. The campout, a national program put on by the National Wildlife Federation, provides an opportunity for everyone to relive-or to experience for the first time-how much fun it is to spend a night sleeping under the stars and enjoying the sounds of nature. Campers at Whidbey Island were part of over 40,000 campers nation wide that decided to "unplug" for the night and get outside with the family.

Campers were offered a variety of activities over the weekend, including dutch oven cooking demonstrations by Northwest Dutch Oven Cooking Society, campfire activities, star gazing, surf fishing, gps & geocaching, archery, and, of course, Leave No Trace activities. We presented workshops for adults and children, focusing on ways the campers can leave no trace while camping out this summer. We had a lot of fun working with the navy families. Campouts are a great way to connect to nature, especially for children! So take the time this summer to get outside and spend a night under the stars- you won't regret it! A special thanks to Dave Meyers for all his hard work in setting up the campout! We are looking forward to working with Dave again later this week at a trainer course, also held on Whidbey Island!

Safe travels and happy camping...Kate and Tracy