Outdoor Ethics at the LA Fairgrounds

On Thursday of last week, we met with a Wildlife Conservation and Management class offered through the Regional Occupation Program (ROP) at the LA Fairplex in Pomona, CA. The ROP offers classroom experience and community-based internships to prepare students for industry-specific employment requirements. During the workshop, we introduced the 17 students to the Leave No Trace program by facilitating several activities including How Long Does it Last and Minimum Impact Match. Since these students will be going on an overnight trip in a couple of weeks and camping without any facilities, we discussed the significance of 200ft. in terms of disposing of human waste and camping away from water sources and trails. We also had the students break up into groups and perform a short skit on each of the seven principles of Leave No Trace.

All the best,

Agata and Jason

Urban Ethics

Good morning!

Yesterday, my coworker Catherine and I met with Denver Parks and Recreation. They are interested in incorporating Leave No Trace district wide into their Ranger Program. These urban Park Rangers patrol acres of green space attached to schools, neighborhoods and commercial areas. Needless to say, there is a lot of recreation and visitation happening.

Urban green spaces present their own unique set of human created impacts and issues. We've been asked many times if Leave No Trace has ever created or adapted the seven principles for a more urban environment. I've seen a few examples but would love to hear what you think! Here are the current backcountry and frontcountry principles (representing both Wilderness and day-use areas):

How would you adapt these even further? Or would you?

Plan Ahead and Prepare or Know Before You Go
Travel and Camp On Durable Surfaces or Choose the Right Path
Dispose of Waste Properly or Trash Your Trash
Leave What You Find or Leave it as you Find It
Minimize Campfire Impacts or Be Careful with Fire
Respect Wildlife or Keep Wildlife Wild
Be Considerate of Other Visitors or Share the Trail

City Oasis

To get to one of my favorite outdoor places, I don't even have to get in my car. Sloan's Lake Park in northwest Denver is a large urban open space, joining Cooper and Sloan Lake and offering, in my opinion, equally beautiful views of the front range and the city skyline (I recommend visiting around dusk).

It's close enough to many Denver neighborhoods that all you need to do is put on a pair of running shoes or hop on a bike and you can be there in minutes. Although it doesn't necessarily provide an "escape" from the city crowd, there is quite a bit of space for all to roam, and it's a stress free alternative to making the journey up a crowed I-70 corridor.

Unfortunately anytime I'm there, it's without a camera, so I've included a link to the city's greenprint page, which offers information on many Denver city parks.

http://www.greenprintdenver.org/environment/index.php

Enjoy!