Leave No Trace training October 2010

This past weekend, I took a Leave No Trace "Trainer" course, offered by the Baltimore Area Council, Boy Scouts of America. In some ways, it was "just another weekend in the woods." In other ways, it was more an eye opener than many camping and/or training events.

I'll summarize only a few of the lessons imparted/shared this weekend, using the 7 principles of LNT, more or less, as headlines.



(1) Plan Ahead + Prepare

We as students had prep work to do. Some of us realized that earlier than others; I read the email in detail a few days ahead and had time to print up lesson papers, hunt down drawing utensils (crayons), and think through the teaching process. There were more students than I expected (like, twice as many), so I had them use the buddy system. I also printed on two-sided sheets, which I guess I didn't explain. The wrap up wasn't sensational, though I think with the hands-on activity the class was more engaged and interested than if I had lectured for 10-15 minutes.

Below is a shot of Tom Willis, the main instructor, handing over the group to Tony and Al for their segment. As you can tell by the projection screen, hanging materials, course paperwork, DVD, candy, and etc. etc. that you can't see (food, training books, props, flotsam, jetsam, stoves, fuel, more food, more papers) Tom and the other instructors planned a lot more than we did.



(2) Travel + Camp On Durable Surfaces

As mentioned above, the second part (camping) was my topic. We camped in 2 areas - front country and back country, though they were literally separated by mere footsteps. Below is a shot as we set tents up in the "pristine" area.

If you observe closely, this is typical Eastern seaboard camping zone, with somewhat mature second growth trees, and practically no undergrowth, young trees or loose material other than leaves. 60 years of Scout camping has thinned out the vegetation and trampled the soil. More later...




The phrase Tom used for the active compaction process was "sacrificial sites", those areas closest to the roads and parking lots to attract the majority of visitors. Large parts of Broad Creek are closed to camping, off-limits for fires, and only accessible after serious hiking. But the most public areas are the most impacted.


(3) Dispose of Waste Properly


We had several different views of waste, including minimization, best practices for disposal, and reviews of animal behavior impacts. This shot demonstrates a lower impact clean-up process than the traditional 3 tub method (wash, rinse, sanitize). It's more like a 1-and-a-half tub method, as only 1 tub gets dirty water in it. The one on the right is supposed to be hot (nearly boiling) water, and is used as a source for the rinse, done by pouring our of the small cup. Don Martin set this up for us (I think), and he had to instruct some of us more thoroughly than others not to dip dirty dishes in the rinse. We're so used to the "dip, dip, dip" process that this takes a little thinking.

Cutting down on the dirty water (also by not dipping plates with food particles still on them) reduces the generated waste and thus the impact of broadcasting that gray water over the ground when the cleaning is done. Or is it ever?





(4) Leave What You Find

This one is hard to illustrate, but there's a simulated artifact (cubical cardboard box) circulating through the class, picking up graffiti on the way. Chris, the segment instructor, took a "before" photo so we could appreciate how the relic was degraded by overuse. Very effective.



Also in this category was a discussion on non-native, or invasive species, led by Mike Huneke, a Forest Service professional and Baltimore Area Council Conservation Committee member. He's holding a tuft of "Japanese Stilt Grass" which I had seen but not recognized as invasive. A couple links related to this species:

• http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/fact/mivi1.htm
• http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/plants/stiltgrass.shtml
  

We walked on the road for most of this hike, but did go through a campsite to assess its impact.


(5) Minimize campfire impacts

Fire damage - see below.


(6) Respect Wildlife

To the right of the picture below, with the bright reflective strips flashing back the camera strobe, is one type of bear bag (cylinder in this case). Again, hard to illustrate in a photo, plus I missed shooting a video of the rope throw attempts over the rafters.



Very sharp eyes will note the official Leave No Trace stainless steel water bottle. I have one just like it, but that one is not mine. I carried the old, Nalgene, deprecated plastic bad material, with all of the seven principles rubbed off. And my old school Sierra cup, plus my newish spork, with the broken-off caribiner.


(7) Be Considerate of Other Visitors

It might be tricky to spot in this small image, but through the right side of our pavilion you can just see the next pavilion. We're so close that we might have been able to hear our respective snoring, if ours wasn't overpowering loud. The neighboring group had a largish campfire, brought plenty of vehicles right up to their tent sites (road or no road), yet were otherwise well-behaved. We probably should have asked them what they thought about our group.



Campfire impacts: Images From Space

I brought a clipped image of the Susquehanna site to the LNT course, showing it to my fellow students when we talked about campfire impacts. Of the many fire rings at Broad Creek, that one probably shows up the clearest from satellite photos as it is in a large open grassy area, while others may be closer to trees that diminish their contrast. As you look at the images below, visualize the tendency of a large circle to motivate Scouts to build large fires, sitting farther away from each other, and creating more and more ash.

Service projects to reduce the size of the fire rings, cutting down on multiple rings in the same camp site (note the 3 or 4 visible in the Camp Spencer view), and shrink the amount of wood consumed are noble goals. Will Scouts respond? Perhaps more likely if they see these are discernible from miles away, in space!

Camp Saffran

Pioneer site


View Larger Map


Susquehanna site



View Larger Map


Flint Ridge site


View Larger Map


Camp Spencer


View Larger Map



But don't forget the food! We used several LNT methods for food preparation, including camp stoves, pan fires for minimal impact, and as few pots as possible. The menus were awesome, the portions satisfying, and we still squeezed in a Saturday night cracker barrel with actual crackers. Not sure about the barrels, unless the bear vaults qualify.

Red trail crew

Saturday, after sleeping in quiet Camp Oest, we showed up at the parking lot to find out we were the sole crew for Trees and Trails day. Ranger Dave and Mr. Bill, Camp Saffran director, thanked us, then we headed off with Chris and Phil to the COPE course.

We spent the morning clearing trees from the Red Trail, either felled by wind or cut down due to illness. One spot down the hill from the COPE entrance used most of our time. The new Scouts got to use bow saw and ax on their first campng trip as Troop 350 members.

This afternoon we will work at Oest.

Leave No Trace beginning in elementary school

Our Cub Scout "feeder" pack had an awards ceremony Sunday, and 9 Cubs received Leave No Trace awards, with some also receiving the World Conservation award pictured on the left.



Here's a list of the awardees, prepared by Tommy, the Boy Scout Guide and a Cub Den Leader.



The best part of this accomplishment for me was how little extra effort was needed, once the Boy Scouts began getting the training and awards. The Cubs look up to their larger relatives or friends in the Boy Scouts, and will naturally want to emulate them.

It's going to be great to take these kids on hikes and camping trips as they get older, as they are prepared to be model citizens of the woods.

LNT and AC5 (Leave No Trace, and ArrowCorps5)

[Sara Close, the Leave No Trace Membership & Development Manager, asked me to share my thoughts on LNT]

Although I was born in the 1950s, my earliest memories are from the 1960s, including hearing about a black bear cub rescued from a forest fire and nicknamed Smokey The Bear. The same era of Disneyland, and the Disney on TV, with mock documentaries about the future, such as the traveling road paver machines that went through virgin timber, leaving macadam in their path. Superhighways were to be our legacy.

Pack-rat that I am, I found this in my folder labeled "post cards":


Fast forward to the end of the 1960's, the "death of the hippies", Chicago, Altamont, and the light of the first Earth Day. I was inspired by idealism of peace activists, the Catonsville 9 in a Baltimore suburb, the counterculture movement rejecting traditional concepts. In high school, I decided to take my math and science skills and put them to use as an environmental engineer. Fortunately, I was accepted into college and earned a 4 year degree that enabled me to do what? Become a "sanitary engineer" and then a "public health engineer," fancy names for an environmental professional. A defining moment came on a short walk in the woods of New Jersey with a college friend, where I carelessly dropped a food wrapper and got a stare, and then recognition that all the woods are my back yard, not just the ones near my house, or ones labeled state or national park. Colin, if you read this, thanks very much!

Skip ahead to the late 1980s, now married, with an infant son, living in an urban neighborhood in Baltimore City. We became involved with the community organization, because our friends were already there. The City published announcements that they wanted to start recycling, and wanted neighborhood groups to run local collection stations. Kathy and I worked on a proposal to obtain one of 10 "roll-offs" for Belair-Edison, then patiently waited for the governmental wheels to turn. Maybe not as much patience as others, but we were rewarded, so to speak, with the responsibility of managing the site, volunteer workers, and publishing news, rules, and reports. For over 1 year, we collaborated with people of all ages to make recycling work. After the City began curbside pickup, we found ourselves with a lot more free weekends!

Jump ahead to the late 1990s, with our son grown up and joining Cub Scouts, and then Boy Scouts in our current neighborhood in Baltimore County. I began to learn about the requirements in the Boy Scout handbook, finding the sections on waste disposal (the slightly misnamed "cat hole" for example) familiar. Teaching young men how to behave in the woods became an unanticipated challenge, such as the strident debate on the merits of building portable toilet shelter in the campgrounds behind our host church. I steered the educational path along the Leave No Trace guidelines in the Scout manual, reasoning that quoting authority is a better approach then "because I said so".

During a merit badge weekend in 2002, I learned more formally about the Leave No Trace program, when another adult led an all-day training session, complete with cooking tips and sharing of food. I liked the patch, I liked the idea, and unlike a lot of other BSA awards, I could earn this one as an adult.

I needed to complete specific requirements, of which the most challenging turned out to be assisting 3 troop members to earn the award. By the Troop Court of Honor in December 2003, 4 Scouts had completed their LNT programs, so I earned the patch along with them. As of today, 3 others in the troop, including my son, met the BSA Leave No Trace requirements. During out 8 to 10 camping trips each year, we put the principles into practice, bringing home others' trash, recyclables and often working on service projects. Details of the troop awards are online at www.editgrid.com/user/jspath55/LEAVE-NO-TRACE-BSA-TROOP-350.

Somewhere in this timeframe, I visited the LNT.org website and joined as a member. After seeing the bigger picture, I started to gift memberships to those Scouts who earned the LNT patch. One in particular wears his Leave No Trace member T-shirt whenever possible, so much he's probably in need of a replacement! In 2005, I recognized that LNT is a non-profit eligible for donations from my company's (Black & Decker) matching gifts program. From then on, whenever I renew my membership or award a membership to another, I do the paperwork to increase my impact.

Early in 2008, I corresponded with colleagues at SAP (a large software firm based in Germany) about social responsibility, focusing on small steps such as reducing disposable water bottle use at large conference settings. I had a brain storm to increase Leave No Trace awareness by offering a free reusable water bottle to those who cared. I intended to give away 5 memberships, but didn't reach that goal. I was able to give away a few and plan to try this scheme again.

Now, what about ArrowCorps5?

I wasn't thinking of AC5 as a Leave No Trace project, as it initially seemed to be about trail building and trail maintenance, with the aim of encouraging national forest visitation. But as I went through the squad leader training weekend, and observed the participant training on Sunday before the crews went out into the forest, I realized that LNT principles are an integral part of the planning and execution of trail projects. Just having several hundred youth and adults working on National Forest property was a challenge. and you know what? I didn't find any trash in our project areas. The only thing I came back to camp with were a few nylon trail marker ribbons that had come off their locations.

As I reflected on the project goals, I decided one legacy I could leave was more memberships. I've decided to give my team the same opportunity I've given the Scouts in my local troop. Now I'm just waiting for them to get back to me with their choice of water bottle or T-shirt.


[Leave No Trace training for ArrowCorps5 participants at Camp Goshen, for the George Washington Jefferson National Forest project]

This past Sunday, our Cub Scout pack had a combined awards ceremony, Boy Scout bridging, and pool party. I asked Tommy, one of our Scouts, to get me a list of the Leave No Trace awards given to the Cubs. With his help, I uploaded this to a web page:

http://www.editgrid.com/user/jspath55/LEAVE-NO-TRACE-BSA-PACK-350

And, I referenced LNT for Cub Scouts in a short blog:
http://jspath55.blogspot.com/2008/07/leave-no-trace-beginning-in-elementary.html