< Back to Ways To Teach Leave No Trace

Training Techniques - General

The following techniques focus on all seven Leave No Trace Principles and outdoor ethics in general.

Age Group: Any adult audience, large scout groups or teenagers that participate in outdoor activities. It is too wide reaching for young children (but could be scaled down if you can make a map of their locality).
Duration: 30 min to 45 min.

Directions:
To begin, use the rope to make a rough outline of the shape of Ireland. Now gather all the participants together around your ‘Rope Map’ and begin with explaining that this is meant to be Ireland.

Now you need to ask everyone to go out and find two white stones and two black stones, if you are in an area where this is not possible then pass out the stones or card that you have brought.

Ask everyone to think of their two favourite outdoor places in Ireland. When they have decided on their two places, they should place their white stones on the map in the correct position relating to where these places are situated in Ireland.

Once this is done, ask everyone then to think of two places, where they saw or experienced the land being misused or badly impacted. It can be anything that they feel impacted on their experience in a negative way.

And again ask them to place their black stones on the map to represent these places. At this point, it is valuable to go around and ask everyone what places their stones represent and what the impact was that they encountered.

Now ask everyone to look at the map taking in the amount of black and white stones and lead into a discussion, asking do they think Leave No Trace is relevant here in Ireland from what they can see on the map?

Beach Ball Challenge

Objective: To warm up a group or close an activity. This will test your participants’ knowledge of Leave No Trace.
Materials: 2 beach balls, a marker, a list of Leave No Trace questions, 2 stopwatches, 2 volunteers to time and a sheet to
record the score.
Age Group: 10yrs and over, groups of any size.
Duration:15 to 30 mins.

Directions:
Make a list of 40 Leave No Trace questions; these should be specific to your group’s use of the outdoors, using a permanent marker, write 20 of these onto each beach ball.

Divide your group into two teams. A team must keep a ball in the air for 15 seconds without dropping it, to earn a question. The person holding the ball after the 15 seconds is the one to answer the question. If they get the question right they get two points, if they need to confer with the whole team its just one point. If they get it wrong the other team gets the point.

Explain that the first group to reach 20 points wins. When a question is earned, someone from the opposing team chooses a question from their ball to ask.If at any point the ball lands on the ground, then the team has to start over with their time. If your group considers this too easy, then make it a little harder to keep the ball in the air ie. they can only use one hand or their heads, or even just their noses.

You can do this game in a few variations; this is only one of them but feel free to adapt it to your needs or that of your group.

When everyone understands who they are representing, explain that they are all invited to a meeting to discuss a situation aiming to reach a compromise to suit as many needs as possible. You may need to adapt these descriptions to the knowledge of the group, or simplify them with a younger group.

If you are carrying this out with a group of professionals, give people characters that differ from what they do in their normal life, e.g. assign a hiker the role of a councillor.

Initiative
A local community forest is to be separated in half to make room for a new road that will relieve the traffic problems in the area by the local council. The forest is approx 149 hectares and has been there for over 100 years. It is not a natural forest it was an old plantation originally forested by the Irish Forestry Board Coillte. It contains Sika Spruce, Lodge Pole Pine and Scots Pine, although there is some natural regeneration of Oak, Ash, Holly and Hazel.

The Forest is used by the community and others for recreation, such as mountain biking, camping, horse riding, dog walking, hiking, picnics etc. There are a lot of community ties to the woodland. It is used by the local school, and education centre for nature studies and art workshops on the edge of the woodland. Coillte currently own the land and manage it in conjunction with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, as the woodland contains some protected areas (Special Areas of Conservation) which must be managed under specific guidelines. Coillte will harvest the remaining trees that are currently in the forest and then allow the sale of the land for
the road to be built.

Stakeholders

Farmer: You are a local farmer; the road will pass through some of your land and you are selling it to the government so they can use it. You need the money from the sale to keep your farm running as well as allow you to have greater access to your lands therefore enabling you to get in bigger machinery so you can reduce the labour involved in the farm work and turn over a larger profit. You are not really concerned with the woodland and the ecological side of things but you are concerned about having to cross a large road with livestock to reach the other side of you land.

Coillte Forest Worker: You are a representative of Coillte, the Irish Forestry Board. You see Coillte’s primary recreation objective as one of delivering maximum benefit to the most users. Coillte’s lands are used by many different outdoor users, often under permit. Though Coillte is a business and needs to make money which comes from cutting the timber. You support the need to cut the timber for the sale of the land
but you also understand the environmental concerns and want the best for the forest and its users.

Local Hiking Group Leader: For you the forest is an access route to the mountains, and you spend many hours hiking up there alone or with friends. It is an extremely important place to you, it is where you go to unwind and relax. You spend a lot of time maintaining the trails and preventing more damage being done to them. Now they want to wipe away all your hard work and you do not feel so happy about this, also you are an amateur naturalist and you do not like what it will do to the natural community of plants and animals that now live in
this woodland.

Hunter /Angler: You hunt and fish on this land with a permit. You believe that your experiences in the field and on the water make you a better steward of the environment. As a hunter, you promote sustainable use of resources by hunting and killing only what you need. You are selective in your fishing and hunting, in order to minimise impact. You believe that hunters and anglers value fish and wildlife, and therefore will expend extra effort to preserve natural habitats. For example, hunters and anglers approve and pay taxes on licenses and equipment. This money supports conservation programmes. You want forests maintained and cared for. You may be in favor of some cutting, if it is responsibly done; for example, replanting trees for every tree cut and not destroying ecologically sensitive areas.

Dog walker & Community Member: You live in the town nearby and know a lot of the people at this meeting you feel a little pulled both ways. The traffic is an awful problem that many people are really feeling the stress of, and it is affecting their daily lives, but at the same time, this woodland is a place you come when you need time alone. You walk your dog there every day and know all the different paths and trails around it. When the spring clean litter pick happens in the forest you have volunteered on many occasions to clean up the forest. You are here in the hope to understand exactly what the council want to do with the road and what effects it will have on the woodland.

Environmental Education Centre Owner: You do not want this project going ahead as it will ruin your business. You run a small centre where you take school children out into the forest to teach them about plants, animals and trees. It would be totally hypocritical teaching children that they need to protect these beautiful places when there are machines cutting down trees a few hundred meters away. The adults that come for walks to learn how to ID trees or learn about bugs, will not want to cross a large busy road in the middle of their nature walk. You feel this will be detrimental to your business. On a personal level you do understand that most of the species in the woodland are not native and are not considered important by the wildlife service, but from working there you feel like you know all the creatures and trees that live there and it would be a huge loss to the forest. You are very knowledgeable about the environment.

Local Councilor: You represent the local government on the matter of the road. You have been receiving months and months of complaints about the traffic situation. With limited funds and options you support the idea of this new road, understanding that it will free up time and relieve stress for many people and in fact even reduce carbon emissions on the roads as people will not have to sit in traffic for so long.

Owner of the Road Construction Company: You are there to explain what you are going to do and what the options are. You wish to explain to people that there are options for the wildlife such as underpass’s and tunnels to let them travel to the other side of the forest. You really need this contract as the amount of roads being funded are declining. Many people rely on you for their jobs and to support them you need contracts to build roads.

School Teacher: You live near the forest and it takes you forty minutes to drive to work when it should be ten minutes. You take your class into the woods regulary as it is so close to the school but in future this would mean crossing a very dangerous road with a large group of students which would not be allowed for insurance purposes. You suffer in the traffic but enjoy the forest as a resource and worry as your students use and enjoy the woods too.

Conservation Ranger: You have been sent to represent the National Parks and Wildlife Service; this woodland has been in your monitoring area for many years. You believe it is a nice woodland, but the conservation value is low, the trees are all pine, therefore not native. The only thing you are there to do is to ensure that the road will not cut through or impact on the two important areas in the forest (Special Areas of Conservation). You are concerned about the wood being cut in half and that the animals can no longer travel to the other side, you would like to ask for passes to be placed in under the road to allow the animals to access both sides of the habitat. You see the need to cut the wood for the road to go in, but you are sad that more areas are being taken over. This puts more recreational pressure onto very sensitive areas. You believe that despite the forest not being of a high conservational value it has huge recreational value which in turn does protect the more sensitive places, as people do not need to find other places to walk, hike or ride, when they have an area like this on their doorstep.

Mountain Biker: You use the forest after work almost every evening. Great mountain bike trails have been set up. As long as the road won’t cut off the trails you don’t have a major problem. Actually it may be quite good, as you may be able to drive right to the entrance of the first route, which would save you time in the afternoon when you come from work. Also it will be helpful for the emergency services to have easier access, as your friend fell and it took over 2hrs to get him out of the forest. You don’t really understand why the other people are so upset, it’s a nice forest but there will be loads left, you don’t understand the ecological effect the road will have on the forest.

Conclusion: Encourage your group to develop a plan that will suit as many people’s needs as possible. Figure out if there is a solution for all or will some stakeholders need to give a little more than others.

Transference: If this were a real issue, would you have anyone to whom you could voice your concerns? Who could you talk to? What options are there? Are there any other stakeholders involved in this issue that we did not give a voice to? Trees, plants, animals and children? Do you think they should have a say?

Age Group: Ages 10 and up. A group size of at least 9 people.
Duration: 20 to 30 min.

Directions:
This activity follows the same setup as X’s & O’s. Arrange the board on the ground using whatever materials you have chosen. Make the board large enough for people to stand in their positions without crowding each other. Alternatively draw the board on the ground with chalk or use four ropes to mark out the squares. Divide the group in half with one group being the O’s and the other being the X’s. Keep the game moving fairly quickly.

Decide which group will start by whatever method you choose – coin toss, rock-paper-scissors, etc. You can use the questions below or make up your own with area specific questions.

Ask a question to a person on the side chosen to go first. That person has to answer the question without assistance from their group. If they answer it correctly, the whole group can then help decide where they want that person to stand on the board. When they take their position, they must assume the pose of the letter they represent — the O’s hold their hands above their heads forming an O and the X’s cross their arms across their chest forming an X. If the person fails to answer the question correctly, the other group gets a chance to answer. There is no time limit set on answering the question.

The first team to get three across, down or at an angle wins the game. Often the game will end in a tie.

Here are some sample questions:
This activity will work best if you create questions that are specific to the area and group:

Give an example of a durable surface?
Rock, sand, gravel, dry grasses, deep snow.

What is the largest National Park in Ireland?
A) Carlingford Lough
B) Ballycroy National Park
C) The Burren National Park
D) Wicklow Mountains National Park

In extremely rainy conditions, trenching around a tent is
acceptable - T/F (False).

How do gaiters help to reduce impacts when hiking?
- You can walk in the middle of the trail even when its muddy
and wet.

When encountering a horse rider on the trail, it is best to
step to the downhill side - T/F (True).

How can you avoid introducing non-native plant species?
A) By cleaning your boots after a trip
B) By washing the bottom of your boat after each trip
C) By not picking/transporting seeds/flowers
D) All of the above

How do you know when you are too close to wildlife?
- When their behavior changes, e.g., they stop eating, their ears
go back, they look up, they run away.

Name two essentials to take on a backpacking trip?
Food, water, compass/map, rain gear, etc.

How deep should your Cat Hole be?
A) 1-2 inches
B) 6-8 inches
C) 8-12 inches
D) 1-2 feet

Which one of the following is not a Leave No Trace
campfire?
A) Mound fire
B) Candle lantern
C) Pan fire
D)

How many feet away from a stream should dishes be
washed?
A) 50
B) 100
C) 150
D) 200

Name one way to remember an artifact without removing
it from the site?
Take a photograph or draw a picture.

How long does it take for rubbish to break down in a bog?
A) 5 days
B) 2 weeks
C) 6 years
D) It almost never breaks down

Name two places to gather information before going on
a trip?
The internet, National Parks and Wildlife service, friends, guide
books, etc.

It is acceptable to burn food scraps in a fire?
T/F (False).

Start with your pockets. Pull out rubbish that you found along the way. This will introduce ‘Dispose of Waste Properly’. Write this down on the dry erase board. Discuss the principle. Mention your clothes. You will be wearing polypro, fleece or wool. This will introduce ‘Plan Ahead and Prepare’.

Mention that wearing the proper clothing will reduce the likelihood that you will have to build shelters, build fires, prevent hypothermia and reduce the need to be rescued, all of which could potentially lead to creating impacts. Write this principle on the board and discuss further.

You will be wearing boots and gaiters so that you can ‘Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces’. Mention that you need to stay on the trail even when the conditions are wet and muddy. Write this principle on the board and discuss further. Move to the daypack. Describe the items as you pull them out. The following items represent ‘Plan Ahead and Prepare’: map, compass, rope, flashlight, batteries, extra clothing, emergency blanket, first aid kit, whistle, water purification and rain gear.

Discuss the items and mention how they tie into the principle. Next pull out a lighter or matches. Discuss ‘Minimise the Effects of Fire’. Add this principle to the board and discuss further. Take out your trowel, zip lock bags and toilet paper. As you have already mentioned the principle Dispose of Waste Properly this is an opportunity to discuss human waste. Don’t forget to mention to pack out the toilet paper. Pull out your binoculars. This is a good opportunity to mention ‘Respect Farm Animals and Wildlife’. Add this principle to the board and discuss further. Show what is left of your food. Another opportunity to mention Plan Ahead and Prepare. Show how your food is pre-packed

To represent the next two principles discuss what you don’t have in your pack. Tell them that you saw some beautiful flowers along the way and that you did not take them. This represents ‘Leave What You Find’. If you brought a camera now is a good time to mention it. You don’t have a portable radio and you are not wearing bright colors. Mention this to introduce ‘Be Considerate of Others’. Also mention your behavior on the trail.

Review the principles and wrap up the discussion.

Objective: To teach the history of Leave No Trace.
Materials: Rope, tape, Index cards, information on the history of Leave No Trace (see below).
Audience: Excellent for Master or Trainer courses.
Duration: 30 to 60 min.

Directions:
Set up: Write down important years in the history of Leave No Trace on index cards. Then write down the event that corresponds to the year on another index card and laminate them both, if possible. Tell the participants that they are going to explore the history of Leave No Trace using the perspective of time. Give two people the timeline rope with the year tags pre-fastened to it and have them lay it out for group observation. Explain that the group is to place the event cards on the timeline beside the corresponding year. Pass out the historical event cards. Have each participant read the card to the group and decide where it should go. After a brief discussion, add the card on the time line in the appropriate place. You will have to decide how much of the history to put in, as Leave No Trace grows so does its background. Information on the history of the development of Leave No Trace Ireland can be found under the ‘About Us’ section of the website - www.leavenotraceireland.org (a sample timeline is provided below).

Leave No Trace Timeline
*To date, no national Country Code has existed in Ireland, although a plethora of codes from various organisations have been developed*
1960’s - Leave No Trace was formally conceived of by the U.S.D.A. Forest Service in America.
Mid 1980’s - A formal Leave No Trace programme was put together by the Forest Service in America, it included wilderness ethics and travel camping.
1990 - The Forest Service worked with National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) to develop a hands on, science based, minimum impact education training for non-motorised recreational activities.
1993 - An outdoor recreation summit was convened, various outdoor industry and sporting trade associations, NOLS, non profit organisations, outdoor manufacturer and federal land management agencies came to create an independent non profit organisation called Leave No Trace, Inc (based in Colorado, Boulder, USA).
1999 - The Countryside Access and Activities Network for Northern Ireland (CAAN) revisited the Country Code and modified it to make it more relevant to recreational users.
2000 - Leave No Trace, Inc entered into the first of a series of Memorandums of Understandings with four primary federal land management agencies including the United States Department of Agriculture - Forest Service and the United States Department of the Interior - Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Park Service.
2004 - An ad hoc committee was established in Ireland to progress the idea of establishing one Country Code for all of Ireland. The committee consisted of CAAN, Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme (NI), Coillte, National Parks and Wildlife Service, Forest Service (ROI), The Heritage Council, Irish Uplands Forum, Mountaineering Council of Ireland, Mountain Meitheal, Scouting Ireland and The Presidents Award.
2005 - It was agreed that the Leave No Trace message was the most relevant to the Irish context. Leave No Trace differs from all existing country codes in that it is an 'Education Programme' that constantly puts the message and skills before outdoor users. Leave No Trace concepts can be applied in Ireland's uplands and lowlands, in urban parks, on lakes and rivers or in local neighbourhoods.
May 2006 - The first ever Master Educator course was delivered in Ireland, which was a huge success.
September 2006 - Leave No Trace Ireland was officially launched in Ireland with a full time staff member employed.
September 2007 - The management of Leave No Trace Ireland was passed over to CAAN.
2007 - In America, The National Association of State Parks Directors, the governing organisation for state parks in the United States and Leave No Trace created a formal affiliate partnership to expand the possible use of the Leave No Trace message on state park lands.
June 2008 - The second Master Educator course was delivered in Ireland as it continues to grow and gain support from different organisations and people.

Potential questions for discussion:
• How much do you think Leave No Trace Ireland has developed?
• What events led to the need for the formation of Leave No Trace Ireland?
• Does it seem that the American Leave No Trace programme was established early, late or on time in relation to the Wilderness Act and visitor use estimates?
• What do you think will happen with Leave No Trace Ireland in the future?
• Do you think Ireland is ready for the message of Leave No Trace?

Countryside Detectives

Objective: To increase peoples powers of observation in relation to how they behave in the outdoors by showing them
a real life example of a high impact trail and campsite.
Materials: As many of the props listed in the preparations section as possible. You need an area that is relatively private and where the things you set up will not be disturbed. Preferably somewhere with a short path and a badly used campsite and near a water source.
Age Group: 10yrs and over.
Duration: This depends on how in-depth you wish to go, you can run it with only a couple of impacts or concentrate on just one principle for 30 min, or you can use it as a whole day exercise.

Directions:
This activity involves a lot of preparation the first time, and depending on your location you may need to make representations of a lake, a fire ring, a trail etc. For the purpose of explaining how the activity works there is an assumption that you have a place with large fire rings near a river.

Preparations: You need to create an example of a very bad campsite:
1. Begin with the trail – scatter rubbish, orange peel, cigarette butts, crisp packets, tiny sweet wrappers, nutshells etc. along the trail.
2. If you have people to help you, situate 2 of them along the trail having their lunch so your group has to walk around them.
3. There should be a very colourful tent set up.
4. A large fire ring in the middle, with blackened rocks around it, (if this is not possible in reality make a false one with some black cloth for the ground and Styrofoam or papiermâché balls painted black).
5. In the fire rings place some half burned litter and food pieces.
6. The tent should be very close to the water source (if you have no river, a length of blue cloth and a sign saying the River Suir will suffice).
7. Next to the tent create a cooking area, here you could place empty tins of beans, pots filled with washing up liquid, paper plates, plastic knives and forks, baby wipes etc.
8. Inside the tent, place some sun cream and insect repellent.
9. Place a stereo outside the tent (still on loudly if possible).
10. Set up a toilet paper trail that goes between the river and the campsite, it is not 200ft from the river or the camp.
11.Spread out toilet paper all over the area (If you have a fake poo - even better).
12.Over towards the river, place some clothes drying on a rock next to a bar of soap, and a tube of toothpaste.
13.Back at the campsite place a bag that when you look inside there are some wildflowers, feathers, deer antlers and seeds.
14.If you have time you could remove almost all of the natural firewood (downed or dead wood) and see if anyone notices, also you could place a small handsaw and some pieces of chopped up wood.

Activity:
Begin indoors and very briefly run through each of the principles so that everyone is thinking along the lines of Leave No Trace. Divide everyone into smaller teams of 3 or 4. Each team gets a pen and a sheet of paper (clipboards are useful too). Explain that they are about to head outside into the countryside to look for situations that do not follow the principles of Leave No Trace. They have to try and find as many impacts as they can. It is up to you how many you put out, there are 14 main impacts described here. They then walk along the trail to find the campsite and write down as many bad impacts they can see or find. Once they believe they have all of them they should return to the start. When all the teams are back, everyone goes back to the campsite together. This time you are leading and as you walk ask people to shout out what they thought the impacts were as you pass them. When a group identifies an impact talk about what it was and discuss how they would do it according to Leave No Trace.

Objective: To look at how we interact with the land and discuss the possibility of improving how we look after it. Using group discussion and imagination.
Materials: Pictures of landscapes, people working on the land and using it in different ways, recreation, farming, building, people making trails and people cleaning up an area. As well as pictures of people damaging the land, quarries, people eroding trails, leaving litter, dumping etc.
Audience: 12yrs and over. Groups of any size.
Duration: 30 min to 1 hour.

Directions:
First, hand out pictures of beautiful scenes and landscapes in the outdoors. Tell the students to imagine that they are part of the picture…give them a minute to really transport themselves there. Ask them if they like what they see in each of the pictures, and prompt discussion of any personal experiences the students might have had in the outdoors. Next, explain to them that they are the caretakers of this land. Leave No Trace is all about this concept, to keep areas like these in its natural state we have to minimise impacts and respect the land. Break the participants up into 3 groups and assign each group one of the following questions:

A) Make a list of the ways we use the countryside.
B) Make a list of the ways in which we damage the countryside.
C) Make a list of the ways we look after the countryside.
Have the three groups write down their ideas in their separate groups, give them ten minutes and hand out the pictures as prompts. Bring all the groups back together, and share the different ideas. Write them up on a board in 3 columns. When everyone has shared their answers, prompt discussion with some of the following questions:
• Where does Leave No Trace fit in with our lists, have we any Leave No Trace ideas already written down?
• Are we doing enough, does our positive actions equal or outweigh the damage?
• Looking at the uses section, do we rely a lot on our countryside?
• Does the countryside need to be in good condition for us to enjoy it?

Human Impacts

Objective: To teach students the result of ‘Leaving a Trace’ using drawings and discussion.
Materials: Paper, crayons/markers, ‘human impacts’ prepared ahead of time on slips of paper.
Audience: 8yrs and over. Groups of any size.
Duration: 30 min or longer (allow the children time to really put some effort into the pictures).

Directions:
Each student is asked to draw his or her favourite place in the countryside. After they have finished, they each present their illustration to the group and explain a little bit about why they like this place. Next, the course instructor passes out slips of paper with different ‘human impacts’ written on them which the participants must add to their pictures.

Examples of ‘human impacts’ include:
• Dumping at your site (add black bin bags, broken glass, car tyres and a fridge).
• Thoughtless campers move into your favourite place (add bright yellow tents, a big fire, a radio and some food).
• People have gone walking all over your favourite place (add in wide muddy trails, big footprints and bare rocks on the paths).
• Some people were here before and had lunch (add in food scraps, litter, and some hand soap).
• A group of people came through your favourite place collecting natural objects, (remove any flowers, feathers, pretty stones, seeds etc).
• A group of people arrived to take some photos of the animals; they were not very thoughtful and pestered the animals so they ran away (Remove all animals, birds, insects and fish).
• Some animals found rubbish left by people (add in insects crawling over a fizzy drink bottle, a fox with its head stuck in a metal can, and a mouse eating some plastic wrapper).

For follow-up discussion, ask students how they felt about making the changes to their pictures (most of them will be upset at having to alter their own artwork). Ask students if they have ever seen any of the "human impacts" in real life and discuss what could be done in each case to prevent ‘Leaving a Trace’ in a natural area like the places they drew.

Will You Make Your Destination?

Objective: To generate discussion about the 7 Principles of Leave No Trace.
Materials: Leave No Trace educational materials and scenario cards prepared ahead of time.
Audience: Ages 8 to 14. Groups of any size.
Duration: Varies.

Directions:
Begin by asking the group what they like to do in the outdoors and present the 7 Principles of Leave No Trace. After discussing each principle briefly, explain to the students that they are about to go on an adventure. Depending on how well they ‘Leave No Trace’, they will either take steps forward, backward, or end up out of the game. Divide your group into 3 or 4 teams. Each team can come up with a name. They all start from the same position at the end of the room. If it is possible, set up a ribbon or rope to show where the finish line is and so the teams can see how far they need to go. Each team, one at a time, draws a scenario card from a hat. They read the scenario aloud and the team has a brief discussion about: what the character should have done in this situation so that they would be following the Leave No Trace Principles. Or what the consequences may be as a result of his/her actions. They must also say what principle the scenario falls under and give their answer to the panel.The panel decide whether it’s a good answer, whether thegroup should take one or two steps forward, backward or if they are out of the game.

Examples:
1. Fergus forgets his water bottle and drinks water directly from a mountain stream during a hike. He ends up contracting Giardia and has to go home, ending his trip.
2. Michael leaves food inside his backpack while he takes a short hike away from camp. When he returns, he finds that a small animal has chewed through his pack to get to his chocolate bars!
3. Tony has packed his favourite foods in his pack for dinner (baked beans in a can, cans of coke and a jar of applesauce). His pack is so heavy that he gets tired quickly and has to take many breaks. When he arrives at his destination, he is so worn out that he sets up camp right next to the trail.
4. Joe and Richard are going camping and would like to leave the rain fly sheet at home so they can see the stars, what should they do before they go so that they don’t get wet and cold. (Check the weather so that you are sure it will not rain).
5. Emily got ready to cook her evening meal but her camp stove (that she hadn’t tested since last summer) isn’t working. She ends up making a meal of sweets and dry cereal. She sleeps fitfully that night and worries about how she’ll manage for the rest of the trip.
6. Frank has put on his final layer of clothing. He didn’t bring a hat and gloves because it is August and he expected the evenings to be warm. Temperatures have dropped below 10 degrees. He decides to build a campfire to warm up. A ranger spots the fire and tells him to put it out. He is so cold he must go home.
7. Brian and Sarah are walking in the mountains, Sarah says she knows the mountains really well and doesn’t need a map. So after a few hours walking the weather changes, cloud comes down and they can only see 2ft ahead. The ground is boggy with holes and rocks, and they know that there are cliffs nearby. It’s getting cold but they have no choice but to sit and wait for it to clear a little before continuing on.
8. James brings his dog Rex to the forest for a walk, he does not know what types of animals live there and trusts Rex. When they get there, James lets Rex off the lead and they walk together for a while. A few minutes go by and James notices that he hasn’t seen Rex for a while, he starts calling him. He hears barking and follows the noise, where he finds him with an injured deer. The deer is badly hurt but James decides the easiest thing to do is to get in the car and go home. (What should he do now and what could he have done to prevent it).
9. Mary feels like a walk on the beach, so after work she gets into the car and drives to the nature reserve. She heads down to the beach and suddenly realises she needs a toilet, but the car park is too far away and she realises she will have to find somewhere nearby. So she makes her way to the sand dunes and finds a concealed spot, but she is spotted going to the toilet. She is ashamed at being caught off guard and rushes away. What are the impacts of human waste in the natural environment? How could this have been prevented?
10.Liam and Ben are camping for 3 days, they are staying in different campsites each night. They cook their food and leave scraps and rubbish behind them so their bags will be lighter on the way back. They keep noticing crows at all their sites, at first it was just the morning after they camped but now it’s all the time.

First team to make it to the rope wins.

Hide and Seek

Objective: To introduce children to the concept of Leave No Trace in a fun format that is familiar to most children.
Materials: Must be played outside.
Audience: 12yrs and under. Groups of any size.
Duration: 30 to 60 min.

Directions:
Split the group up into 3 groups of equal numbers. Tell them that they will be playing hide and seek but with a spin on it. Have two groups go out into the countryside to find a place to hide, not too far away. Before they head out tell the first group that they have to try to ‘Leave No Trace’ when they are finding a place to hide. Use this as an introduction to Leave No Trace and briefly discuss ways they can do this. Then have the second group go out to hide as well in the same area but they must ‘Leave a Trace’ - break small branches, leave footprints, drop some litter etc. Then the third group has to try to find the people hiding. When the group has returned, talk more in-depth about what Leave No Trace is and see if there was any difference in them being found, did the Leave No Trace hiders last longer without being found? Discuss ways that the participants can use Leave No Trace outside in the future.