Nature Activity Books for Kids

graphic from Leave No Trace

from Leave No Trace

America’s 250th anniversary is a chance to look back at what we’ve built together — and commit to protecting it for the next 250 years. Leave No Trace has partnered with the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to launch a national campaign focused on caring for public lands, from local parks to national forests and open spaces across the country.

We’ve created free resources for young people, families, educators, and outdoor enthusiasts to celebrate, learn, and take action. Watch the campaign video, then explore and download youth activity booklets, posters, and social assets to share the message in your community.

There are two different workbooks that can be downloaded, free, at the link below.

See Leave No Trace


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Leave No Trace Seeking Seasonal Educators

Leave No Trace is seeking a dedicated, savvy, dynamic team of educators (only teams of two are accepted as applicants) for seasonal traveling positions.

Leave No Trace is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to the responsible enjoyment and active stewardship of natural lands by all people. The e-tour seasonal team travels throughout the U.S. teaching and promoting minimum impact techniques to kids of all experience levels. The e-tour will reach out to millions of individuals, promoting stewardship of the outdoors and responsible recreation practices.

The e-tour, sponsored by the Coleman Company, represents the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics as goodwill ambassadors. The team will present special programs and activities specifically for kids in retail stores across the country. Team members will be outfitted with apparel, equipment and supplies necessary for teaching and camping, as well as communicating electronically.

Compensation package includes food and lodging expenses and a monthly salary. Part time employment and travel will begin early to mid May 2008 and run through early to late August 2008 depending on start date. Education and Technical Requirements

• At least two-years of teaching experience
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills
• A love of the outdoors along with some outdoor recreation skills: ie: hiking, backpacking, canoeing/kayaking, mountain biking, rock climbing, winter sports, trail running, etc.
• Current Basic First Aid and CPR certification
• Leave No Trace Training (Master Educator preferred)
• Personal budgeting and expense tracking skills
• Macintosh computer and digital camera proficiency Leadership and Interpersonal Requirements:
• Direct experience teaching, guiding and instructing (outdoor settings preferred)
• High level of motivation, energy, creativity and professionalism
• Charismatic and entertaining public speaking and verbal communication skills
• Ability to deal with an evolving and sometimes unpredictable itinerary
• Excellent time-management skills

Couples and pre-paired teams only apply. We will not place individuals in a team. Submit applications by Feb 8, 2008.

for more information visit Leave No Trace
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State Parks Forge Partnership with Leave No Trace

The National Association of State Parks Directors, composed of the leaders of America's fifty state park systems and Puerto Rico, and the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, a nonprofit organization that teaches outdoor environmental skills and ethics, just signed a formal partnership agreement. The agreement is intended to engage individual state parks around the country with Leave No Trace on-site educational programs. The partnership will work to expose millions of park users to environmental messages and minimum impact skills as well as make available new training resources for state park employees.

Upon signing the agreement, Leave No Trace's Executive Director Dana Watts said, "This is a vital step for the thousands of state parks in our country. Leave No Trace is already the environmental ethics program of many federal land management agencies and this important partnership with state parks extends the clear, concise Leave No Trace program to people enjoying their local recreational resources."

The United States has 5,842 state parks and over 827 million people use the state parks each year. This agreement makes widespread Leave No Trace programming available to the National Association of State Park Directors (NASPD) as well as individual state parks.

Greg Butts, President of NASPD, noted that the Leave No Trace is a perfect fit for the nation's state parks stewardship responsibilities. Butts said, "It's a people program, it's a behavior program, and it's a program that will reduce maintenance issues and increase stewardship on the part of our park visitors."

The Leave No Trace program promotes a consistent, minimum impact message for visitors to recreation lands. The organization is dedicated to the responsible enjoyment and active stewardship of the outdoors by all people worldwide. Since its founding in 1994, Leave No Trace has provided training in every state in the U.S. and over 25 countries. There are more than 25,000 active volunteers and members who help provide trainings and outreach that impacts more than 22 million people annually in the U.S. alone.

a news release of Leave No Trace, "State Parks Forge New Environmental Partnership", Sept 28, 2007
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Leave No Trace 2008 Master Educator Courses

Leave No Trace is an national and international program designed to assist outdoor enthusiasts with their decisions about how to reduce their impacts when they hike, camp, picnic, snowshoe, run, bike, hunt, paddle, ride horses, fish, ski or climb. The program strives to educate all those who enjoy the outdoors about the nature of their recreational impacts as well as techniques to prevent and minimize such impacts. Leave No Trace is best understood as an educational and ethical program, not as a set of rules and regulations.

Leave No Trace Training
Regardless of the outdoor activity, Leave No Trace skills are important to learn. Leave No Trace courses function like a pyramid. Master Educator courses are at the top of the pyramid and train people to become comprehensive Leave No Trace educators, or Master Educators. Master Educators, in turn, teach the second level, the Trainer Course, to people who become Leave No Trace Trainers. Trainers (or Master Educators) are then able to conduct our third level of training called Awareness Workshops, which are designed for the general public and promote Leave No Trace.

Master Educator Courses
A Master Educator course is typically five-days in length and designed for people who are actively teaching others outdoor skills or providing recreation information to the public. Currently, there are over 2700 Leave No Trace Master Educators worldwide representing dozens of countries and all 50 U.S. states. This valuable training is recognized throughout the world by the outdoor industry, land management agencies and the outdoor recreation community. Successful graduates of the Master Educator course have the ability to train others in Leave No Trace skills as well as facilitate Leave No Trace Trainer courses and Awareness Workshops.

Classes for 2008 are scheduled in all four corners of the United States: North Carolina to Washington, New Hampshire, Arizona and more. Follow the link below for complete information.

a news release of Leave No Trace
See Leave No Trace Training, for details of sessions (a pdf)
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