National Parks Waive Fees for Veterans Day on Wednesday, November 11

From the National Park Service ...

National Parks Waive Fees for Veterans Day on Wednesday, November 11

Date: November 5, 2009
Contact: Mike Litterst, Public Affairs Officer, 757-898-2409

Yorktown, Va. – To honor America’s service men and women, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has declared that areas managed by the department will not charge entrance fees on Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11. Included in the fee-free day are all National Park Service sites, including the Historic Jamestowne and Yorktown Battlefield units of Colonial National Historical Park.

“The Department of the Interior is honored to offer this fee free day to thank our nation’s service men and women,” said Salazar said “The sacrifices and achievements of the brave men and women of our armed forces can never be understated. We invite all of our visitors to enjoy this fee-free day and take time out on this national holiday to remember our service men and women who are currently serving overseas in harms way.”

As an agency of the Interior Department, the National Park Service preserves and protects 392 units representing some of the country’s most significant scenic and cultural places. The National Park Service website provides information on National Park Service battlefields, military parks, and historic sites that commemorate the service of American veterans.

Free entrance on Veterans Day applies also at other areas managed by the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture’s U.S. Forest Service.

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Peace Corps Volunteers Incorporate Leave No Trace

Peace Corps volunteers from around the globe have been using Leave No Trace programs for years. Recently we sat down with a volunteer who is extending her relationship with her host country and is very interested in incorporating Leave No Trace in her work:

Jennifer Johns, recently returned from the Peace Corps in Honduras and is currently forming an outdoor leadership program for the community of Tornabe in Honduras. She travelled to Colorado to meet with Center staff because she wanted to teach the children of the Tornabe Leave No Trace. She also plans to teach Leave No Trace to adult educators there. As a result, she is taking the Spanish-translated PEAK program back to use and incorporate into her new program.

Stay tuned for more about Jennifer's program. What do you think about extending Leave No Trace programming and resources to to the international community?

Great Deal on KEEN NW 23rd Bags

We have teamed up with KEEN to bring you the sleek and stylish Keen NW 23rd Daypack with a large Leave No Trace logo embroidered on. The fashionable look gives the bag great street appeal, perfect for the college campus or downtown work environment. Get a jump on your holiday shopping, and get these bags while they are 25% off, through the end of November in our online store!

Culturally Responsive Environmental Education

Denver was lucky enough to be the site for the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME) conference this year.

Even with the very wintery weather, hundreds of educators, teachers and school administrators made the the trek to the annual conference, the theme this year being "Name the Change You Wish to See."

Multicultural Education (MCE) or Culturally Responsive Education is just as applicable to non formal classroom settings or environments as it is to formal school districts. The backgrounds of students participating in outdoor or environmental programs are just as diverse as those in a city classroom.

Campers at a Central Park Summer Camp participate in a nature-based activity. Photo by Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers - Team East.

If you run a literature search for Multicultural Environmental Education (MEE), the findings are a bit limited, though there are are several case studies and assessment tools that look at the framework, intentions and outcomes of urban based environmental programs.

Here is a link to a cultural competency study conducted by the Barr Foundation in MA, looking at three urban-based environmental programs in the city of Boston: Understanding Cultural Competency.

A very comprehensive study, it reminds us that while environmental education is important and relevant to everyone, the environmental issues and values that people bring to the table are diverse and often culturally defined.

Anyway, enjoy the articles and, as always, leave your comments for us!

Have a great day,

Sarah

Poll Answer - What would allow you to spend more time outside?

Thanks to all those who participated in our recent poll - What would allow you to spend more time outside? Almost 70% of respondents noted that more time would allow for greater time spent outside. This further demonstrates just how busy our lives really are on a daily basis. A few telling stats from the Bureau of Labor Statistics most recent study (2008) on how Americans spend their time:

Leisure Activities in 2008

--On an average day, nearly everyone age 15 and over (96 percent) engaged
in some sort of leisure activity, such as watching TV, socializing, or
exercising. Of those who engaged in leisure activities, men spent more
time in these activities (5.7 hours) than did women (5.1 hours).

--Watching TV was the leisure activity that occupied the most time, ac-
counting for about half of leisure time, on average, for both men and
women. Socializing, such as visiting with friends or attending or
hosting social events, was the next most common leisure activity, ac-
counting for about three-quarters of an hour per day for both sexes.

--Men were more likely than women to participate in sports, exercise, or
recreation on any given day--21 versus 15 percent. On the days that
they participated, men also spent more time in these activities than
did women, 1.9 versus 1.3 hours.

--On an average day, adults age 75 and over spent 7.6 hours engaged in
leisure activities--more than any other age group; 25- to 44-year-olds
spent just over 4 hours engaged in leisure and sports activities--less
than other age groups.

--Time spent reading for personal interest and playing games or using a
computer for leisure varied greatly by age. Individuals age 75 and
over averaged 1.2 hours of reading per weekend day and 0.3 hour (17
minutes) playing games or using a computer for leisure. Conversely,
individuals ages 15 to 19 read for an average of 0.2 hour (10 minutes)
per weekend day while spending 1.0 hour playing games or using a com-
puter for leisure.

--Employed adults living in households with no children under 18 engaged
in leisure activities for 4.5 hours per day, nearly an hour more than
employed adults living with a child under age 6.



Bottom line - we all have to make time for getting outside. It's not easy, but for those of us who love the out-do-doors, it's what we have to do.

Wrapping up 09 Season

Our travels have been gradually winding us back toward Colorado. Over the last few days, we have spent time in Minnesota and Nebraska as the Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainer Season '09 begins to wind down.

Amidst enjoying the fun outdoor recreational activities that Minneapolis has to offer, mainly disc golf and bike riding, we toured the campus of Minnesota State University. We provided an Awareness Workshop to the students in the Programming for Outdoor Settings course. As they learned the skills and ethics that drive the Leave No Trace program, they also picked up a little bag of tricks on how to teach this information to groups they will lead in the future.

Onto Ralston, Nebraska for an evening with over 50 cub scouts for their den meeting. These 6-9 year old boys learned ways to Leave No Trace through an energetic game of What Principle Am I?, an activity available in the PEAK Pack. The boys and their families took home education, as well as their very own Subaru/Leave No Trace tote bag. The totes were a BIG hit with Halloween right around the corner! For us, back to Colorful Colorado...

Sate travels...Kate and Tracy

Join the Rucksack Revolution!

Did you know that every year in Patagonia, over half a million fuel canisters per season end up as landfill?

Erratic Rock, a Guide Service & Outfitter Partner of Leave No Trace, is on a mission to not only bring awareness to this fact, but to do something about it. Their new campaign, along with the help of partners like the American Alpine Club, MSR, Outdoor Research and Leave No Trace, is launching this season to facilitate the ease of recycling fuel canisters. The result: climbers and other adventurers to these beautiful Patagonian areas are part of the solution to keeping Patagonia pristine.

Leave No Trace, as an education program that focuses on what people can do to minimize their impact in the outdoors, is proud to work with Erratic Rock and support their efforts to educate and empower individuals to these areas to be responsible stewards and leaders in the climbing community.